Garden State Patriot

Following the rally and meeting with some of our representatives, Steve Lonegan gave his take on the day’s events. 

And here some more video of the rally from AFP.

Cross-posted at Conservatives with Attitude!

Yesterday, scores of New Jersey patriots – and patriots from all over the country – descended on the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Our message was clear: KILL THIS BILL!

We were greeted by several terrific addresses from Congressional Representatives like Michelle Bachmann, Mike Pence and Scott Garrett. Mark Levin, Jon Voigt and our own Steve Lonegan also joined the chorus of speakers.

Afterwards, our delegation fanned out - some meeting with Congressman Garrett and others with Reps. Rothman and Adler.

Here is the first of my videos from the rally. Unfortunately, I was much too far away to capture all the speakers but this will give you a sense of the size of the crowd and you can hear all the speeches in their entirety. I will upload more later (as it’s been a bit time-consuming!). So please look for more shortly.

And at the end of the day, a rainbow formed over the Capitol! A sign of good fortune? We can only hope!

Also, here is an article of interest on yesterday’s protest focusing on Steve Rothman.

Cross-posted at Conservatives with Attitude!

Earlier today I posted about the ‘Congressional House Call’ day being planned by Americans for Prosperity. This event is growing by the minute. I just got off a phone call with Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, AFP’s Tim Phillips and Steve Lonegan. In just a day and a half, Steve Lonegan has 20 buses ready to go from New Jersey area alone to DC. If this is any inkling, we could be on the cusp of witnessing an unprecedented event on Thursday – with thousands of activists prepared to go to Washington, go to the Capitol, and tell their representatives face-to-face that we do not want this!

So, if you haven’t yet joined up and wish to, there is still time. Here is the specific info on buses that will be leaving from the New Jersey area.  

To join the New Jersey Delegation Bus to Washington, DC with Rep. Scott Garrett, Steve Lonegan and your fellow activists, click here.

New Jersey Transportation:
*6:30am- Blue Heron Park and Ride
(located off of Rte 15 at the Blue Heron Exit in Sparta)

*7:00am- Ridgewood Park and Ride
(located on Rte 17 south in Ridgewood)

*7:00am- Shore Mall (behind Value City)
6725 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Twp, NJ 08234-3904

Philadelphia Transportation:
*Rockledge/NE Philadelphia- 8:00am
Huntingdon Valley Mall
Huntingdon Pike and Rockledge Avenues ( Abington, PA)

* Center City ( Philadelphia)- 8:30am
On 3rd Street between Chestnut and Walnut
(outside Independence National Park Living History Museum)

* South Philadelphia-9:00 am
Oregon Diner, 3rd and Oregon Streets

Please email infonj@afphq.org or call 201-487-8844 with any questions.

If you cannot come to DC, I would also suggest that you go to AFP’s web site and see what you can do to do something locally at your representative’s office.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Steve Lonegan took a little trip to North Bergen to show us where our Green Acres funding has been spent. The video says it all.

And so does this one from Hoboken:

For more, go to StopHigherTaxes.com.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Why should you oppose Ballot Question #1? Because not only does the money pile debt on top of mountainous debt, but because the money is also abused by politicians to pay for things that have nothing to do with open space. Like astroturf fields, skating, parks, and parking garages. Steve Lonegan explains:

How is this money spent?

Instead of rural and suburban communities, the program spends millions on “recreation” programs in urban areas.  Grants are weighted so that cities receive three dollars for every dollar spent in rural and suburban communities.  

Is there anything “green” about building parking lots on the last remaining open space in North Bergen – or laying artificial turf over farmland in Burlington County?

These headlines tell the story:

Hoboken siphons $2M in state funds (Jersey Journal, 05/15/02)
Hoboken has shifted $2 million in Green Acres funding, earmarked for a stalled project, to three projects they can begin right away… About $1 million will go to rehabilitating the soccer field which was constructed about three years… About $250,000 will go to constructing a one-half-acre skating park… About $400,000 will go to creating the Jackson Street Garage Park.

Hudson athletic fields to get synthetic turfs (Jersey Journal, 04/27/09)
The county received about $7 million in grants this month from New Jersey’s Green Acres Program… the cost of construction for a new dual use synthetic turf field for soccer and football, as well as the installation of a sports lighting system, permanent bleachers, fencing, landscaping and a restroom building…

Green Acres helps to fund stadium in park (Herald News, 06/11/09)
“It seems like a conflict of the mission of Green Acres,” said Tony Lopez, who has lived across from the park for 23 years. “Park space in urban areas is scarce, and they’re taking 4 acres. I can’t describe it. It’s a tragedy.”

Artificial turf risky for kids?
Critics also worry about impact on ecosystem (Record, 11/23/07)
The artificial turf is generally made with plastic fibers stitched onto a nylon mat to resemble blades of grass. Granules of chrome rubber, sometimes mixed with sand, are sprinkled on the field to make it spongier…  The irony, environmentalists say, is that a number of these fake grass projects have been subsidized by the state’s Green Acres program — money intended for land preservation.   In recent years, state officials have Green Acres funds for 13 artificial turf projects.

Plans move ahead for turf field in Mt. Laurel (06/12/08)
Plans are moving forward to install a synthetic turf field at the Conrow Farm site on Mount Laurel Road, including lighting and parking.  Under that program, up to 50 percent of acquisition costs are paid by the state and 25 percent each by the county and township.  

And as Steve mentioned, like education dollars, this money isn’t distributed fairly. Urban areas take the bulk of the dollars – and then waste it on things like the aforementioned projects.

What happened to the $200 million they borrowed just two years ago?

Well, $47 million of it was cut out and earmarked for recreation projects like stadium parking lots, artificial turf, and skateboard ramps.  Where did that money go? 

Well it didn’t go to suburban and rural communities.  That’s because of a funding formula that uses a bias in favor of urban areas.  Under this formula, cities get three dollars for every dollar that goes to suburban and rural communities. 

(Scan pages 3, 4, & 5 of the 2009 Green Acres Program Project Descriptions document.)

Take a look at the millions going to cities and urban counties.  Note, by comparison, the paltry amounts going to rural and suburban communities.

(Scan pages 7 through 39 of the 2009 Green Acres Program Project Descriptions document.)

Notice something missing?  There’s no mention of any money going to Sussex and Hunterdon Counties – two of New Jersey’s most rural counties.

Ask yourself:  Is this program based on the considerations of open space, or is it based more on political considerations?

Be sure to send trenton a message this Election Day. Say “NO” to more spending and debt. Vote “NO” on Ballot Question #1! For more go to StopHigherTaxes.com.

At last weekend’s Conservative Leadership Breakfast (hosted by Conservative with Attitude’s own Michael Illions), Steve Lonegan gave a presentation on the open Space ballot initiative. Steve is leading the opposition to this initiative which will only add to the state’s already out of control taxes and debt.

In the following two clips, Steve explains in detail what Ballot Question #1 is all about and why you should emphatically vote “NO!”

For more on this, go to Stophighertaxes.com

Americans for Prosperity has posted some invaluable information pertaining to the Open Space ballot question. I would urge you to read the following and vote ’NO’ on this initiative.

The “Green Acres” program, touted by politicians as a way to preserve the natural environment in New Jersey means nothing more than higher taxes and more debt for New Jersey residents.  Ballot Question #1 proposes an additional $400 million for this program—we must Stop Higher Taxes and Stop the Debt — by voting NO on Question One on this November’s ballot.

Here is why Ballot Question #1 is a disaster for New Jersey:

The state’s debt has exploded from $4 billion to $46 billion in only fifteen years. We face a budget deficit next year of almost $10 billion—we cannot afford anymore debt!

New Jersey’s statewide system of preserved open space now amounts to over 1.4 million acres – that’s more than a quarter of all the land in the state! And now, in the midst of the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, this is not the time to spend more money and go deeper into debt.

With the highest property taxes in the nation, Garden State homeowners already put 7 percent of their paychecks toward property taxes. By purchasing more open space, Trenton will diminish the property tax base, and you will pay the difference in higher taxes!

Where will the $400 million go?

$20 million will go to pay off lawyers, bond counsels, consultants and other political hacks. Open space programs have been riddled with corruption.

Millions more will be used to purchase decrepit buildings in urban centers.  What’s that have to do with “open space.”

The state cannot even maintain the parks we already have — the same parks that Governor Corzine who supports this boondoggle — threatened to close last year.

Worst of all, Trenton will be adding to the fiscal ball and chain that follows every child and taxpayer who lives in New Jersey.  What the bureaucrats spend today the children of tomorrow will pay.

Stop Higher Taxes and Stop the Debt — by voting NO on Question One on this November’s ballot.

In addition, AFP’s Steve Lonegan will be holding a teleconference on the open space initiative next Thursday, as well as appearing on NJN for a debate which will air this weekend.

I am scheduling a special teleconference for important individuals like yourself to help provide up-to-date information and ask questions. Please join me on Thursday, October 15 at 8:00 PM. Call in to 1-877-229-8493 enter pin code 13103.

This weekend I am appearing on NJN’s “On the Record” with Michael Aron. I will be opposite the bill’s prime sponsor Assemblyman John McKeon. The program airs Sunday October 11th at 9:00am and 11:00am and again Monday at 6:30am.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Steve Lonegan also had an opportunity to address the activists at the AFP Summit this weekend. Steve primarily focused on an initiative that will be on the ballot regarding open space. This measure, as Steve details, would only add to New Jersey’s debt. Check out his address here and I will certainly have more on this as we head towards November’s election.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

This quote appeared in yesterday’s e-mail from Assembly Republicans called ‘The Pulse.’ When I first saw it I was a little taken aback. It seemed to me to be a bit of a slap at conservatives and typical of a party that continues to stake out the moderate/Dem-Lite/RINO territory. Well, I wasn’t the only one with a reaction.

Steve Lonegan also questioned its intent. Here is his e-mail response today:

Conservatives were surprised to read the following quote from “The Pulse”, the official newsletter of the Assembly Republican Caucus:

“The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower, Quoted in The New York Times, November 10, 1963

This quote was not accompanied by a link to the entire New York Times story of November 10, 1963, so we don’t know the context of President Eisenhower’s remarks.  Perhaps he was talking about the planned speech by Malcolm X, scheduled for later that evening.

What we do know is that this quote was unearthed and published at a time when tens of thousands of our fellow Americans are protesting at town meetings and “tea party” events, against attempts by a Democrat administration to enact socialist health care and the cap & tax energy scheme.

These Americans have been called “extremists”, all summer, by the liberal media and left-wing politicians like Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

For decades conservatives in New Jersey have been marginalized and treated with disdain by the Republican establishment.  This pattern continues.

In light of current events, the thought process behind including this comment is questionable, and the judgment, poor.

We expect more from people who call themselves “Republican leaders”.

Frankly, I couldn’t agree more. I’d like to hear someone in the Assembly try to explain this one away.

Cross-posted at Red County and Conservatives with Attitude!

Steve Lonegan is returning to the organization he helped build before his run for governor, Americans for Prosperity. As an active AFP member, I am happy to Steve return to this important conservative organization.

LONEGAN REJOINS AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY FOUNDATION

Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan is returning to the Americans for Prosperity Foundation as a senior policy director for the New Jersey chapter.

“I welcome this opportunity to educate citizens about the dangers of Washington and Trenton’s socialist policy agenda,” Lonegan said.  “Big government has one goal and that’s replacing individual initiative and excellence with collectivism and overall mediocrity.  Americans need to know what’s at stake with Washington’s plans for our nation,” Lonegan added. “Their policy ideas will destroy our nation and, like Rush Limbaugh, I hope they fail.”

Lonegan sees the current policy debate over health care reform as the top priority.

“If advocates of government-run health care get their way and put one-seventh of our economy under government control, there will be no turning back and America, as we knew it growing up, will be dead,” Lonegan boldly said.  “I am committed to making the case for the free market in health care and making sure government does not come between our families and our doctors.”

“No one understands the challenges our state and nation face better than Steve Lonegan.  His profound knowledge of economics, budgeting and entrepreneurship is unique,” Colette Campbell, state director, said.