Deplorable Conduct From The Lonegan Campaign
Rick Shaftan
GOP nominee for U.S. Senate Steve Lonegan’s chief strategist, pollster and spokesman, Rick Shaftan gave a profanity laced interview to Talking Points Memo this afternoon wherein he suggested that New Jersey voters would elect Lonegan to the Senate next Wednesday over Newark Mayor Cory Booker because of Booker’s “odd” way of relating to LynsieLee, the Portland, Oregon stripper with whom Booker interacts on twitter.
Shaftan implied that Booker is gay because he doesn’t relate to LyniseLee like a drunken frat boy might, with graphic descriptions of what he would like to do to her breasts. And he thinks that is why New Jersey will elect Lonegan.
In a disingenuous comment to The Star Ledger, Lonegan’s press contact, Will Gattenby , said Shaftan was not speaking for the campaign, yet attacked the TMP reporter published Shaftan’s comments.
“Rick Shaftan’s comments were not on behalf of Mayor Lonegan or his campaign,” said spokesman Will Gattenby. “This is a distraction from the issues by the left-wing media and a disreputable reporter, who on more than one occasion, has displayed a severe lack of journalistic ethics.”
Why would Shaftan be talking to any reporter, about Booker, if not for the campaign? Why would any reporter care about Shaftan’s vulgar comments if not for his key position leading a U.S. Senate campaign?
If Shaftan was aware that Hunter Walker, the TPM reporter, is alleged to reported off the record comments, why would he even talk to Walker?
Walker reported Barbara Morgan’s profanity laced response to former MMM contributor Olivia Nuzzi’s Daily News article last July about interning for Anthony Weiner’s New York mayoral campaign. Morgan, Weiner’s spokesperson, claimed her comments were off the record.
Why would Shaftan or Morgan use such language with a reporter while representing a candidate for such high public offices?
Gattenby verified the accuracy of the Star Ledger’s account of his comment.
Shaftan told the Star Ledger that Walker reported his comments accurately and doubled down:
“I didn’t think it was newsworthy enough to write about,” Shaftan told The Star-Ledger. “On the other hand, any story where Cory Booker is compared to Gary Hart and Larry Craig cannot, by definition, be a good story for Booker.”
Shaftan declined to comment further.
Shaftan is delusional if he thinks his behavior helps his cause or that resurrecting the @LynsieLee story will remind New Jersey voters of Gary Hart and Larry Craig. New Jersey voters are more likely to think of Lonegan as a Todd Aiken or Richard Murdock, two U.S. Senate candidates who cost the GOP seats last year with their stupid remarks, than they are to compare Booker to Hart or Craig.
Lonegan was not available for comment and has yet to return our call.
More from my site
Quinnipiac Poll: Women will put Booker of the top
Did Booker Endorse Christie?
What were they thinking?
Lonegan Fires Shaftan- Lonegan’s Own Words
Weiner’s Potty-Mouthed Hack Rips Nuzzi
Quinnipiac Poll: Lonegan Within 12 Points Of Booker
Booker’s lead “almost insurmountable” in Rutgers-Eagleton poll
Lonegan Challenging Eck’s Petitions
What is Booker Hiding? Why?
I apologize to Steve Lonegan and his supporters if any statements I have made have hurt his candidacy and do not want these comments or my presence in this campaign to serve as a distraction to his efforts to win this election and save our nation from the radical left-wing policies of Barack Obama and Cory Booker.
[…] contract as a vendor for my campaign will be terminated immediately.” Shaftan commented on MMM’s initial story about his conduct, “I apologize to Steve Lonegan and his supporters if any statements I have […]
You always were a loud mouth and nutcase, now you are an embarrassment to the Conservative movement in N.J..
PLEASE don’t go to the Rally tomorrow. We don’t want you embarrassing Palin & Levin. This set back conservative efforts eons. No need to dig a further hole.
You have become Ed Rollins, Jr. as far as NJ politics go.
Signed,
Silence Dogood, Redux.
Steve Lonegan and Rick Shaftan have been joined at the hip for years. It stretches all bounds of credulity to think this is the first time Shaftan has run off at the mouth like this and that Lonegan doesn’t know exactly the character of his political BFF.
Those who know Lonegan, worked with or for or around him and have heard him “off the record” know full well that he and Shaftan share many character and temperament traits. The only thing Lonegan regrets about Shaftan’s comments is that they were made to a reporter who published them — how stupid was that? — and now he’s stuck with them like gum on the bottom of his shoe.
Both Lonegan and Shaftan are pathetic opportunists and self-aggrandizers who care only for whatever feathers their nest. Kindred spirits now hoist on their own petard. Serves the both of them right.
Scott pretends that Booker isn’t a pathetic opportunistic low life. Booker’s associations with the Hollywood elite, B list porn stars, billionaire Bloomberg and a ficticious Sillicon Valley tech firm that funnels money his way, and he doesn’t pay the same taxes you and I pay, all say otherwise.
“Scott pretends that Booker isn’t a pathetic opportunistic low life. ”
That’s NOT the issue Pretender. The issue is Shaftan’s demeanor and actions which reflect poorly on conservatives and Lonegan.
Sorry, we’re not going to let you get away with deflecting the bad news over to Cory Booker even though Lonegan is right on the issues.