*BREAKING* Christie & Lonegan: ‘Appearing Together’
{Update: I do want to add that Hunterdon County, the scene for tomorrow’s event, was a County that Steve Lonegan won outright in June over Chris Christie}
In what could be seen as an act of reaching out to the Conservative voters in New Jersey, who may very well decide this race for or against Christie, the Christie campaign has asked Steve Lonegan to join Chris at a event on Saturday at the Historic Courthouse of Flemington, in Hunterdon County @ 3:00pm.
Too little, too late? Or just in time? Only each Conservative voter can decide that. But Steve had the opportunity to reject the invitation and that in itself would have sent a very clear message. But he didn’t. Lonegan accepted the invitation to appear with Christie at this rally in what will be the final 72 hours before the polls open.
Does this change anything for those of you who are not supporting Christie. Does this appearance by Lonegan with Christie 3 days before the election send a signal that Conservatives should put their discomfort with Christie aside and vote for him?
This pretty much confirms that not only will Lonegan will be voting for Christie, but endorses him. With the race this close, the fate of this candidacy truly rests in Conservatives coming home on Tuesday and supporting the Republican candidate.
Is 4 more years of Corzine worth Christie losing? Is it better to have a seat at the table then not be invited at all, and have to wait 4 more years to find a Conservative candidate, just to be held at bay anyway by the Establishment?
This can be taken as a show of force for the Conservative movement by Steve Lonegan and a Christie win will give Conservatives the edge in keeping this candidate Conservative.
What do you all think about this late development?
Michael, I think that this interesting. I really like Steve Lonegan. It also shows that Christie finally realizes that he does need the conservative republicans in this state to vote for him in order to win the election. However, I do not want another republican that is similar to Christine Todd Whitman running this state.
October 30th, 2009 at 5:50 pmwe cannot afford another 4 years of corzine
October 30th, 2009 at 6:48 pmLonegan’s decision makes perfect sense, Michael.
In the event Christie were to lose the election, the bony finger of accusation would be pointed in Lonegan’s direction for refusing to endorse the Michelin Man or come to his assistance.
I suspect that since June 2 Lonegan has been playing a game of “endorsement chicken” with the Christie campaign: he never offered and they never asked. Apparently the poll numbers rattled them so badly they flinched and begged Lonegan to come in at the last minute.
Either way, Lonegan comes out a winner. If Christie loses, nobody can blame the former Mayor and Lonegan can say: “I did what I could when asked to but there is only so much you can do for the worst-run campaign in state history. If the establishment had only come to me sooner…”
On the other hand, if Christie wins, Lonegan can claim credit for dragging the RINO over the finish line, saying “See, the conservative base pulled through and saved your flabby ass. Now you owe us.”
In light of the fact that the NJ economy will continue to tank even after Christie takes office and the state will be in an economic shambles by then, it appears that Steve Lonegan is laying the groundwork for another primary run in 2014.
None of this surprises me.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:17 pmIf Steve hadn’t agreed to this, it would have been petty. If Steve has any desire to seek state-wide office, this is the right political move.
It’s also the right political move for Christie. Better late than never I suppose. Not that it sways me personally one way or the other. My vote will be based on more than something like this.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:17 pmAbsolutely meaningless.
If Steve were running, I’d be working for him. Without him, there is no good reason to support the two-party stronghold that has destroyed NJ and America.
Supporting the party that betrayed you is like helping a thief to shoot you in the back.
The only valid measure of any vote now is based on what will help destroy the two-party stronghold.
It is bad logic to say that you can break the monopoly by supporting it.
Without breaking that stronghold, we will never again see the type of limited government that all of us on this blog want.
My prediction. If Steve ever becomes governor, it will not be as a Republican.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:29 pm“My prediction. If Steve ever becomes governor, it will not be as a Republican.”
With all due respect Gene, it sure as hell won’t be as a Whig. Like it or not, in our present system of government the duopolistic party structure will never change and all that national third parties can ever hope to accomplish is to act as spoiler for one party of the other.
As for state-wide third parties, it depends on the history of the state and the party. In some states there are flourishing third parties that can actually secure victories on the local and state legislature level.
In New Jersey…not so much.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:53 pmNew York will elect a Conservative Party Congressman in about 4 days in NY-23.
Like you said, Manly, “In some states there are flourishing third parties that can actually secure victories”
New York is one of them and the Conservative Party is that party to do it.
October 30th, 2009 at 7:57 pm“New York is one of them and the Conservative Party is that party to do it.”
Indeed, but that’s as far as it can go. For this reason it’s imperative the conservative base of the GOP drive it back to its Reaganite core. The Gipper himself eschewed a third party and argued instead for a revitalized Republican Party.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:25 pmThe strategy should include trying to take back the Republican Party – but also supporting any other Party that has a chance of breaking the monopoly. No one can accurately predict what it will take to break the stronghold.
In the 1840’s, there were only two major parties – the Whigs and the Democrat-Republicans. There was a Manly Rash of the 1840’s who said that no one could possibly break the Whig Party.
But there was a relatively unknown fellow by the name of Abe Lincoln who said “Bull”.
The strategy of the Modern Whig Party in NJ is to support anyone, regardless of Party, who will properly represent citizens with fiscal responsibility, common sense using rational thinking, and the Constitution.
By the way, the Chairman of the Whig Party in Washington is working on Adam Kokesh’s Congressional Campaign – Adam is running as a Ron Paul Republican.
Consequently, I would support Steve Lonegan whether he runs as a Conservative, a Democrat,or a Whig.
But my prediction still stands – If Lonegan ever becomes governor, it will not be as a Republican.
Christie does not fill the requirement of offering a chance to break the monopoly. Consequently, Christie is not a wise vote.
October 30th, 2009 at 8:44 pmIt is going to be tough pulling the lever for Flounder.I just see Kean,Whitman remake been there do not want to do it again.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:10 pm“In the 1840’s, there were only two major parties – the Whigs and the Democrat-Republicans. There was a Manly Rash of the 1840’s who said that no one could possibly break the Whig Party.”
There were only two major parties even before there were political parties: recall the two competing schools of constitutional/governmental thought that arose after the conclusion of the War for Independence and during the years leading up to the Constitutional Convention.
On the one hand you had Hamilton and the Federalists; on the other you had Jefferson and the Democratic-Republicans. The former favored a stronger federal government and the latter a weaker one.
The former eventually morphed into the Whig Party which eventually yielded to the dominance of the Republican Party; the latter became the Democratic Party.
The Republicans no more destroyed the Whigs than Cro-Magnon man destroyed Neanderthal man – it was a question of evolution, in this case, political evolution.
All the while it was always a matter of two political parties insofar as they represent the two major (and today highly polarized) perceptions of the role of government in peoples’ lives. It always will be.
What appears to be a Third Party challenger in NY23 is simply a Reagan Republican running on the Third Party ticket because the corrupt, RINO establishment shut him out of the legitimate GOP selection process.
October 30th, 2009 at 9:31 pmI would like New Jersey to allow candidates to run on multiple party lines and eliminate the “primary loser can’t run in the general election” rule like New York. When running for Mayor of NYC in 1977, Ed Koch defeated Mario Cuomo in the primary and then had to defeat Cuomo again in the general when Cuomo ran on the Liberal Party line. In 1981, Koch ran as both the democrat and Republican candidate.
Our current system in New Jersey only strengthens the party bosses and the corruption it breeds.
FYI…..Steve Lonegan will also be at a rally for Christie in Bridgewater tomorrow at 1:30 PM. It will be held at the Somerville Elks Lodge, 375 Union Avenue, Bridgewater, NJ.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:30 pmChristie was at Sussex County stops today with Rep. Scott Garrett…I think they made a Bergen and Passaic stop too.
October 30th, 2009 at 11:12 pmI think if I jump on the Christie bandwagon now it will just encourage more poor Republican candidates in the future. It also makes no difference who will get elected, Christie will just pile more Republican hacks on top of the Democratic hacks that are already there and the Sate will go further in debt. On top of that I don’t believe anything Christie (or Corzine) says and I simply won’t vote for someone I don’t believe.
October 31st, 2009 at 12:00 amOver the last month, after going back and forth between Jason Cullen, Ken Kaplan, and Kostas Petris, I finally settled on Chris Christie. Watching as Jon Corzine pulled just about even with Christie in recent polls is what pushed me in that direction, because Corzine has been abysmal in every possible way. His campaign ads attempt to distract people from what’s wrong with New Jersey by shifting the focus to social issues – he has to do that because when it comes to taxation, state spending, and government waste, he has been a pathetic failure.
Sometimes I wonder whether or not supporting Christie is the right thing. I supported Steve Lonegan in the primary, was definitely bummed when he lost, and automatically thought of Christie as being in the company of such “Republicans” as George W. Bush, John McCain, and the Jersey RINOs (Bill Baroni, Frank LoBiondo, etc.).
There are several points that I disagree with Christie on: his stance on guns, his apparent belief in global warming/climate change, and some other social issues. But at his core, he comes off as a fiscal conservative who recognizes that government has grown too big and we’re spending way too much money, and he’s the only candidate with a shot of winning that will make the necessary changes to stop our bleeding.
Now, with the likes of Lonegan and Hank Butehorn announcing support for his candidacy, I feel more comfortable in my decision to support Christie. It has to be better than four more years of Corzine. And, if Christie fails, I truly believe that Lonegan has built up a strong enough following over the years that he can challenge him in a primary and win. 42% of the vote with a significant funding disadvantage and only one endorsement from a NJ legislator was a very impressive accomplishment. If Christie turns out to be like that other Christie, many GOP voters who didn’t this time around will be willing to give Lonegan a shot.
October 31st, 2009 at 12:05 amWhat do the Christie haters say about Lonegan now? They must say that Lonegan is a RINO if they are to be consistent! They cannot rationalize this one without being a bunch of hypocrite fools that they are!
I hope they can wipe the egg of of theirs faces! Go LONEGAN!
October 31st, 2009 at 12:19 amChristie haters, RussOCNJ,yuke,Manly Rash et al come aboard.
http://www.politickernj.com/wallye/34660/lonegan-stump-christie-bradley-corzine
October 31st, 2009 at 1:09 amRWR
October 31st, 2009 at 6:58 amI am willing to bet you a Christie sized lunch that he will not reduce the size and scope of the state government.Governor Kean and Whitman left the state in a fiscal mess, they did nothing to reduce the capital outlay of this state.
RWR: “What do the Christie haters say about Lonegan now?”
You must have skipped over post#3 in this thread. Go back and read what I wrote.
RWR: “They must say that Lonegan is a RINO if they are to be consistent! They cannot rationalize this one without being a bunch of hypocrite fools that they are!”
Nonsense. There is no rationalization involved, only political calculation. New Jersey is not the U.S. and nationwide a far grander strategy is playing out, even as Lonegan’s strategy is beginning to go into play here in NJ. Why do you think he’s cutting all those radio commercials urging people to vote “no” on the ballot question?
If the ballot question gets defeated he can take part or most of the credit for leading the charge against it, thereby demonstrating that his influence among voters still counts.
October 31st, 2009 at 10:22 amConversely to RWR’s point, I think that the anti-Lonegan Christie supporters need to stopping pointing blame on conservatives for dividing the party. Steve, for one, has stated that he could support Christie since the night of the primary election. Meanwhile, Steve could’ve been insulted that Chris didn’t reach out the him until he was desperate, but instead Steve did the classy thing and accepted Christie’s invitation.
October 31st, 2009 at 10:40 am********** UPDATE ****************
LONEGAN WILL NOT BE IN BRIDGEWATER
**********************************
My previous information came from a local political source. I spoke with Lonegan this morning and he said he was only doing the Hunterdon stop.
October 31st, 2009 at 11:23 amI’m a Lonegan supporter like Hank & Doherty, but like them, I can see the clear difference between Corzine & Christie!Vote CHRISTIE!
October 31st, 2009 at 6:11 pmLonegan said numerous times during the primary that he would support the winner. Even though Christie was never asked once what he would do nor did he say he would have supprted Lonegan if the party had done the right thing.
Christie calling on Lonegan to help at this point is out od deperation, he knows he is done and is trying to hang onto some level of hope to get the usual people to go through the motions this weekend.
Steve Lonegan is a man of his word, and he said he would campaign for Christie is asked and is doing so. It is not a reflection on Lonegan in a negative way.
That being said, I am now being told that I have to vote for Christie in order to send the national message about the bamster and how bad a President he is. It will send a signal that President Obama has lost his politcal clout so to speak.
But Christie has also embraced Obama (although not embraced by Obama like Corzine has been.) What few specifics we do have from the Christie people is fake phony green jobs based on a hoax and support for the racist unqualifed Sotomeyer. Plus Christie has used Obama voters in his advertising and has used Obama tactics to win the primary.
So a Christie win in no way shows anything about President Obama.
I really hate to say this, and am in no way going to vote for him. But the best way to send the national message unfortunately would be to vote for Daggett. Daggett policies may be in line with Obama in many respects but he has not been endorsed by him nor has he used him in any way.
This would send the message that we in NJ will hold Corzine accountable for his lousy tenure as Governor, while at the same time we will not be fooled by a faux hack insider with no policies or plans just because he is not the other guy.
A Daggett win plus a conservative assembly will send the message nationally and locally. Since we are going to have a liberal, and the choice is between three liberals, lets have the one who is NOT establishment.
As I watch the polls, I have to wonder whether we will be in for a surpirse Tuesday night.
November 1st, 2009 at 9:00 am