Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM EDT
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Steve Lonegan issued an op-ed taking aim at what he believes is the abandoning of the same conservative principles that helped Chris Christie defeat him in the primary:Since the Primary Election, loyal Republicans have been baffled by the behavior of the GOP establishment in New Jersey. First, operatives in the campaign of our nominee for Governor, Chris Christie, monkeyed around with the social issues page on his website, gaining the attention of the media before resolving what they caused.
Then, at the meeting of the Republican State Committee - the men and women elected from each county to formulate and advance the party's principles - the party leadership blocked a move to formally adopt the platform of the national Republican Party, as well as blocking a resolution condemning Governor Corzine's tax hikes. At least one major newspaper, the Star-Ledger, linked the leadership's refusal to adopt our Party's platform to the fact it contains Pro-Life and Pro-Traditional Marriage planks. We've talked plenty here at Blue Jersey about Christie's missing shared values and the state party has been all over him. I wrote about the party plank issue yesterday, but the only response Christie gave was to make a joke that the news was out and he was a Republican. Lonegan concluded his letter this way:Republicans have a base vote who wants fiscal change. It is the hollow men who reject it, and they do so for the simple reason that it is in their financial interests to maintain the status quo. At the back of every seemingly inexplicable betrayal by a GOP "leader" sits a close personal advisor with his own personal reasons. And in a state GOP without principles - that fails to adopt its own party platform - this kind of venal corruption is rampant.
That's why it is so important for the New Jersey Republican State Committee to take a principled stand, adopt the party platform, and then use those principles when the hollow men come round with their personal agendas. But Christie wasn't moved by the letter or the concerns being raised by conservatives as he tries to move more towards the middle in the general election:"I don't think Steve really means that. He probably just had a bad morning," he said. It's unlikely many of these conservatives would support the Governor, but the numbers game for Christie to win the Governors mansion assumes that his base turns out as he tries to get more of the vote in the middle. Carl Golden did an op-ed that "sore-loser Lonegan could cost Christie the election" saying:If the Lonegan wing boycotts the Christie candidacy, the candidate's task of overcoming the Democrats' registration advantage will be that much tougher. Christie will be forced to make up the difference by peeling off a greater number of unaffiliated voters - the very people who've demonstrated election after election that fringe ideology is unacceptable and their support will be given to the candidate of responsible and more centrist policies. Meanwhile, they are also having an internal party struggle in the 3rd district where they have a candidate who has made racist statements that received the nomination, but refuses to step down under pressure from the State party. Will Christie stand on stage with him if he doesn't get off the ticket?
You wonder at what point the base gets tired of being kicked before they just stay home. If they don't see Christie as a better alternative for them, would they still give him their vote? |
| Jason Springer :: Christie blows off conservative concerns as a "bad morning" |
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