Christie Campaign Announcement In Middletown On Monday

Governor Chris Christie will accept the endorsement of the New Jersey Food Council tomorrow morning, 11am, at Super Food Town, 426 Highway 36, Port Monmouth.

The New Jersey Food Council is an alliance of food retailers and their supplier partners.  Food Circus Super Markets President Phil Scaduto is Chairman of the New Jersey Food Council.

• Tweet

Americans Defying Obama’s Shutdown Of The Lincoln Memorial

Government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the Earth

• Tweet

Lonegan Fires Shaftan

GOP nominee Steve Lonegan for U.S. Senate fired his long time strategist and pollster, Rick Shaftan, tonight over comments Shaftan made to Talking Points Memo.

• Tweet

Deplorable Conduct From The Lonegan Campaign

Rick Shaftan

UPDATE:  LONEGAN FIRES 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.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Lt. Governor Debate Tonight

The only debate between Lieutenant  Governor Kim Guadagno and her Democratic opponent, labor leader Milly Silva will take place this evening at 7PM.

News12 will broadcast and livestream the hour long debate.

Watch the debate live here.

• Tweet

Cary Booker, father of Newark Mayor Cory Booker, dead at 76

Cary Booker, father of Newark Mayor Cory Booker, dead at 76 (via NJ.com)

NEWARK — Cary Booker, the father of Newark Mayor Cory Booker, died Thursday after a long bout with Parkinson’s disease, the mayor’s Senate campaign said. He was 76. Cary Booker recently suffered a stroke and died in Las Vegas, where he was living…

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Lonegan to House Republicans: Wait For My Victory, Obama Will Fold

GOP nominee for U.S. Senate Steve Lonegan today urged Republicans in the House of Representatives not to give into President Barack Obama’s demands for re-opening the government and raising the federal debt ceiling, declaring, “When I win, Obama will fold.”

“Republicans need to hold firm because seven days from today when Bob Menendez escorts me down the Senate aisle for my swearing in, the message about what our party should do will be clear for all,” Lonegan maintained.

“I have come as far as I have in this campaign by ignoring the advice from all the pollsters and consultants who have told me to change what I think and change who I am,” Lonegan added. “New Jerseyans are looking for a leader who fights for working taxpayers, not a Hollywood wannabe like Cory Booker who will rubber stamp the President’s far-left wing agenda.”

Lonegan says his internal polling shows a neck-and-neck race in the U.S. Senate contest and that all the momentum is in his favor. “My victory in this election on Wednesday will send a message to Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi that the American people want an end to Obamacare and the rest of the President’s radical agenda.”

The former three-term Bogota mayor called on Republicans to stop listening to the same consultants and pollsters who blew the 2012 election and who are telling the GOP to fold and instead stand firm for seven more days.

• Tweet

What were they thinking?

Ben Dworkin, Director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, introduces U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan. September 24, 2013

I don’t think Steve Lonegan and Rick Shaftan are stupid.

I don’t think they believed their own bs over the years that a “true conservative” could win a statewide election in New Jersey, if only given a chance.

Surprisingly to many, Lonegan’s campaign since August was working.  He substantially narrowed the gap between himself and Cory Booker.  He unquestionably weakened the electorate’s perception of Booker.  Lonegan never moderated his message, but he significantly moderated his delivery and demeanor.  He was not a scary angry conservative.

The Lonegan I witnessed at Rider University’s Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics last month was not a flame thrower.  He was an honest and concerned adult sharing his wisdom with college students.

I never got to the point where I thought Lonegan would win next week.  I did think that if he got into single digits, he would be the front runner for a rematch with Booker in 2014.   I thought, if he kept doing what he was doing, in the style he was doing it, his best shot at beating Booker was in November of 2014.

I don’t think that anymore.  With tonight’s debate performance, combined with scheduled appearances with Sarah Palin and Mark Levin this weekend, I think Lonegan and Shaftan concluded they aren’t going to win, so they might as well have fun for the last week of Lonegan’s political career.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Booker wins on style

Cory Booker came to the second and final Senatorial debate prepared to portray Steve Lonegan as a Tea Party extremist, and Lonegan cooperated.

Lonegan came prepared with facts and punchlines.  Booker turned nearly every question into an opportunity to portray himself as a compromiser who will go to Washington to get things done and Lonegan as an extremist.

Early on in this campaign, Lonegan acknowledged he “lacked a filter” between what he really thinks and what he says.  He seems to have developed a filter over the last several weeks, but he left it at home tonight.

Lonegan’s hardest punchlines are likely to be used against him over the the final week of the campaign.  “You might not be able to swim in that river, but its probably because of all the bodies in it from shooting victims” and “you’ll abort a baby in its 8th month of delivery,” will very likely be used relentlessly by the Booker campaign and they ramp up their Get Out The Vote machine in the coming week.

With more substantive answers, Lonegan probably won on debating points.  But debating points don’t win elections. Both candidates were on message and their message was the same…Steve Lonegan is an antagonistic extremist.  At least he was tonight.

If the Lonegan/Shaftan strategy was to gin up their base, I’m sure it worked.  But it probably turned off moderate voters who were leaning towards coming out for Lonegan.  Booker’s money will make sure Lonegan rhetoric gins up his base in the coming week.

Sarah Palin and Mark Levin are coming to New Jersey to campaign for Lonegan at a Tea Party event in New Egypt on Saturday.  If you’re willing to bet on that as a winning strategy for a New Jersey election, you’re probably also willing to bet that the 0-5 Giants will have home field advantage at the Super Bowl in February.

If I were betting on the next Wednesday’s election, I’d take Booker and give 18 points.

• Tweet

Booker-Lonegan, Round 2

The second and final debate between Newark Mayor Steve Lonegan and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, the major party candidates to complete the term of the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, will take place this evening at 7PM.

The debate will be broadcast on NBC-TV, channel 4 in the New York market, channel 10 in the Philadelphia market, and livestreamed at nbcphiladelphia.com

• Tweet