Allen drops bid for Congress

that's an interesting turn of events.  I can't see another consensus candidate emerging from Burlington. 

I think Adler is breathing a sigh of relief too....his most moderate opponent just dropped out.  He'll have a much easier time carrying the moderate Burlington towns against a staunch conservative from Ocean.

I'm a bit taken aback by this news, as Allen seemingly has coveted a higher position than state senator for quite some time, and the NRCC was calling her the day that Saxton retired.  Out of all the candidates, she was the one who I was both hesitant about in terms of formidability but also looked forward to: her ties to the Bush administration are umistakable and would have been a political albatross. I'm also guessing that the NRCC couldn't commit funds for the race -- $2 million was the quoted amount in a Philly Inquirer article on Allen -- and this, along with a strong opponent like Adler awaiting, helped deter her.

From my vantage, the pendulum just swung a little more to Ocean Co. in terms of the GOP nod, since they will have one consensus candidate at the end of the day. 

we can thank Bill Layton for losing our congressional seat to Ocean Co

the power hungry lobbyist that feels that the county chairmanship is his birth right is responsible for poisoning the well

I do not think it is a lost cause.  The Ocean County candidates are not the most stellar group.  And with Saxton's assistance if he decides to back Chris Myers, he will surely have a better than decent chance of winning the nomination.  As for the spending in this race, give me a freaking break.  Anyone who has worked on a campaign - and I don't mean on the fringe knocking on doors, handing out leaflets at a bus station or making random calls - knows that spending this early won't make much of a difference.  So the NRCC is wise to hold back for now.  Chris will be able to raise enough money to compete and I know the NRCC will be there to assist.  As I mentioned in a previous post, they raised $40+ million last quarter and will have the resources to get involved whether people here believe it or not. 

Its disappointing that Glenn Paulson and Bill Layten continue to destroy the party and cause great candidates like Senator Allen to not run for office.

It is there destructive behavior that will continue to hurt the Republican Party.

It is time for them to act like men and not little boys. Its time for them to end their ridiculous and illegal attempts at a party takeover. It is time for them to support and respect Dawn Lacy so the Party can move forward with the important business at hand.

First of all, he's about three feet too short to be worthy of that title. Second, besides the tiny (no pun intended) group of people who have either been promised something, have a job to worry about, or a skeleton they do not want exposed, there is nobody else out there drinking that kool-aid. 

The people who have been promised positions are the gullible ones; to date, 4 people have been "tapped" for Freeholder and 3 for the Clerk.  They want to be Paulsen's friend, kiss his ring, and become "made." They should take notice where being Paulsen's "friend" has landed some people. And if they don't look good in stripes, they should pay heed: You are not his friend until he owns you.