By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
Most of the focus has been on the Kean Family and Joe Kyrillos, Save Jerseyans, but here’s another well-known New Jersey Republican politician that’s not standing with Chris Christie when he announces for president:
Steve Lonegan.
“America needs a President that understands that only liberty can lead us to prosperity,” Lonegan said in a statement released by the Ted Cruz presidential campaign, one which went on to confirm that the former Bogota mayor and reoccurring statewide candidate will serve as its New Jersey state chair. “We need a President who will support our Constitution fearlessly and cut the size of government, not just slow down its growth. Senator Cruz not only understands this, but has the record to prove it. He has shown the courage to lead our nation back to greatness in the world.”
The Christie/Lonegan relationship has always been… complicated. These larger-than-life GOP’ers infamously faced-off for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2009. Christie subsequently endorsed Lonegan during a 2013 bid to replace Frank Lautenberg in the U.S. Senate, which the Governor’s brother, Todd, even donating to the campaign and the Big Guy’s NJGOP helping retire Lonegan’s campaign debt. Still, Lonegan hasn’t backed away from continuing to critique the Governor’s positions on a number of issues including Common Core/PARCC.
In recent months, however, Steve has led a more behind-the-scenes kind of existence, building up “Fix the Dollar” (a monetary policy-driven advocacy group), travelling, and surf fishing in his adopted hometown of Lavallette.
_____
The blind leading the blind. Doesn’t get much more ironic than that.
Makes no difference to me. I will support Gov Christie till the end and I hope he decides to run.
Jerry Scanlan why support him? I live in Jersey and can not for the life of me think of anything he has done to improve our state!
Surprised he isn’t backing Rand who wants to audit and end the Fed. But Ted is just as good. Steve Lonegan is right. Christie is crazy thinking he can run.On what accomplishments? He has done more harm than good. But that is what you will always get with Progressive Republicans, more government.
There are so many government jobs that went away since Christie took office. He is not about more government.
Justin J. Rivera I’m not a Lonegan fan, but going right for the blind joke is like going for a Christie fat joke…
Christie lost me when he broke his promise to fight NJEA. I’m in Scott Walker’s corner, but Ted or Rand would also be great.
Fact is why would Chrisite deserve the Republican nomination or any support from NJ voters? Downgrades, mass exodus, common core, liberal appointees, more illegals and in state tuition as a magnet, higher taxes, AC bankruptcy, and continuing the crony capitalism that is killing small business, more green energy spending .He even bows down to CAIR. The list is long, I could go on, but this is not limiting government, he continues to grow it. Picking the low hanging fruit to demonize as in teachers, fire fighters, police, and social security is easy. He never stood up to the Feds, just kept taking their money with all the strings that go with it. He doesn’t give a damn about the real people hurting in his state. He is part of the corrupt machine and he believes government is the answer. He is not, nor has he ever been a Conservative thinker. That is why Conservatives like Lonegan, and many others in his party do not and will not support him. Where is the list of reasons why he deserves support???
Governor Christie did not create the state pension problem. It was the five governors before him. Blaming Christie for the pension problem is like jumping off the Empire State building and then blaming the concert for the damage it caused. I was a state worker ten years ago, I don’t remember the unions staging protest or putting up commercials when the State Government was not paying what it promised or stealing from the pension system. The state doesn’t have the money to make the payment. Chrisite said if they did, he would pay it. Do you know what it would take to make that payment? I’ll will inform you. It would take at tax increase of 29% on every citizen in the state of New Jersey, or taking the sales tax from .07 cents to .10 cents….. good idea
Take away pension and benefits from the equation and the state spending is 2% below where it was when Christie took office. I would say that is doing something he did to improve the state. You can thank me and Governor Christie for saving you life ;).
Who cares at this point it still very early.
I agree, we need to put a great candidate in the race. I like Christie’s chances.
Phonies
Neither more nor less likely. Endorsements mean nothing to me.
no
So Lonegan is endorsing the guy who cost him the election against Booker.
Absolutely! I will back the most conservative candidate and right now that looks like Cruz, Rand and then a toss up between Rubio, Kasich and Walker. Jeb Bush needs to walk out in front of a bus, hand in hand with John McCain, Lyndsey Graham, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, all of whom are New World Order corporatists.
.
Go with a Winner!
Cruz, 2016!
Cruz voted YES for TPP fast tracking. So much for being a patriot. Voting YES for something a public cannot even read cuz it’s a State Secret???
I guess his Goldman Sachs/CFR wifey told him who the real boss is the US of A…