Garden State Patriot

My friends, the Republican Party is currently adrift. Shellshocked from the past two elections on the national level and bewildered by the radical turn of Obama’s America, the party is desperate for conservative change and conservative leadership.

I only see one viable candidate in this primary who would provide us with the conservative change and leadership we need and that is Mayor Steve Lonegan.

I first met Steve when I joined Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots organization that Steve helped build into a powerful voice for disenfranchised conservatives. Since then I have met Steve a number of times and heard him speak eloquently about the state he loves. There is no person I know who understands the issues confronting the state better and who has put forth clearer solutions on how to tackle them.

As Mayor of Bogota and State Director of Americans for Prosperity, Steve not only demonstrated that he was a man of ideas, but a man of strong leadership. Where other Republican politicians have cowered and acquiesced to special interests and the Democrat machine, Steve stood up to them and often times emerged victorious such as in leading the fight against Corzine’s scheme to monetize our roads.

While my friend, Mr. Rooney at SaveJersey rightfully points out that there is a fight within the Republican Party for its future direction, I disagree with his assessment that this is between liberal Republicans and ‘liberterian-leaning’ Republicans. This is a pure choice between a moderate and a conservative. It is also a choice between reform and revolution.

Throughout this primary, I have said that Mr. Christie has an admirable record as a prosecutor. However, as a candidate for Governor, Mr. Christie owed us more than platitudes and generalizations. He told us he was going to ‘gut COAH’ but never told us what that meant. When asked about his plan to cut income taxes, he could not give a number. When he was asked how he could cut income taxes and keep the property tax rebates, he was evasive and did not answer.

We Republicans pride ourselves on being deep thinkers. We expect our candidates to speak with us openly and be specific on their plans. We also pride ourselves on promoting serious candidates while objecting when people treat elections as a popularity contest. For many Christie supporters, I fear they have succumbed to this mindset. When we ask why they are supporting Mr. Christie, we are simply told ‘he is electable.’

Well, I am not seeking someone who is merely electable. I am seeking a conservative candidate who will face the voters squarely and will explain to them what is ailing our state; then boldly pursue the right course to fix the problems. I am certainly not seeking someone who is capable of winning but will fail to govern according to these principles. I do not want a governor who will not stand tall because the polls tell him otherwise or because he feels he must ‘cooperate’ with the Democrats in the legislature. I fear this is what Mr. Christie will do.

We the people deserve better than that. New Jersey is in dire straits. Our problems are serious and require more than inconsequential reforms; they require drastic changes. We don’t need to gut COAH, we need to end it. We don’t need across-the-board tax cuts, we need a new system. We don’t need to change the Abbott District formula, we need to deconstruct it.

If you agree that this is the kind of agenda New Jersey needs, then there is only one candidate in this race truly committed to doing so. There is only one candidate up to the task and that is Mayor Steve Lonegan.

I hope he has your vote.

Cross-posted at Conservatives with Attitude! and Red County.