...it took Loengan this long to return to his real full-time job of stabbing fellow Republicans in the back.

If only Stevie went after Democrooks as aggressively as he does Republicans. Oops, that might undermine his value to the left as this year's 'Great Divider' of the republicans.

Steve, please stop it. You're failing it, big time.

I suppose he has a secret list of these known traitors/rinos/staffers who are so all powerful that they control the minds of all republicans? Good grief, Barry Goldwater would be a rino by these standards.

It was a great piece that every citizen of New Jersey should read regardless of party affiliation. Until a problem is clearly defined, it would be difficult to find an adequate solution. Lonegan has exposed the cancer in our midst. Hopefully, it has not spread to our vital organs and can be successfully eradicated before it is too late.

Hate to tell you - Lonegan's beliefs were rejected in the primary. He should do the party, and his credibility a favor and shut up until after the election if he has nothing good to say. Do you see any other primary loser in any other election attacking the party from which he or she were rejected? Poor loser. You are correct though, he has exposed a cancer. Unfortunately for him, he is the growth.

Kean Jr., DeCroce, Sheridan and people who probably agree with 94% of what Lonegan believes are now "cancer?" I dunno, if you want to go the "cancer" analogy, I would reference real tumors like Corzine, Codey and democrat legislators who have train-wrecked this State to the point where we will be lucky if we aren't in bankruptcy. I honestly don't get the heavy focus on the 5% of issues that divide different republicans. There is a chance here to get rid of Corzine and replace democrats in legislative districts we need to retake the Senate and Assembly and people are focusing on calling different republicans "cancer?" 

Lonegan's pathetic attempts at relevancy are really becoming laughable. This guy has lost more elections than Murray Sabrin. He is a footnote in New Jersey politics and nothing more. Why would anyone care what this pathetic loser thinks?

Put on the brownshirts, fellas! Time to come out of the closet.

Somebody tell Lonegan to get a job.

yes it would have been very easy for Lonegan to keep quiet and let this REP GOV GOV BUS GO QUIETLY over the cliff. Then wait and say I told you so.

Lonegan is not like that.Which ever way you slice and dice it this cap en Trade bill is bad for America and bad for NJ.
Lonegan knows that there is little or no time left for NJ. NJ will be another California in a few months time and the Republican establishment will not be able to justify or pay the IOUs

Lonegan has just thrown a huge monkeywrench
into the Christie campaign.
Look at this formula

Conservatives sitting on their hands plus Daggetts 8-10 % = A Corzine Victory.

You can blame Christie for his me 2 on Obama energy plan.

You lost. Please go away. Your "message" was defeated on numerous occassions. You're becomming reminiscent of Kim Jong Il, the least of which your choice of eye wear, the most of which is the childish way you stamp on the ground and scream "look at me" when the rest of the world goes on living without noticing you. Nobody wants to hear your nasaly voice, and the affeminite way you decried "There-elll beeee challllenges!" on primary night was simply comical, not threatening. Please shut up. Very truly yours, The real world. P.S. You win, irony. The committee member who tried to champion your stupid coupe with the State Committee carries the surname Eichmann. I guess Rommell was stuck in traffic.

You don't get it. The people in the primary rejected him. Not only this time, but the previous time as well. Hell, at least DOug Forrester made it out of a primary but you don't see him spouting off as if he held a mandate.

"fellow Republicans" when they will not adopt the party platform?

We need to put our own house in order before we can criticize others.

Are you the guy that does Lonegan's hair? Maybe you could use him in your next commercial.

Why should the NJ GOP adopt the national platform?  Last I see, the Democrats control the Presidency, the US Senate, and the House of Representatives.

 The Lonegans should practice what they preach... smaller government.  Not only from a fiscal standpoint but also a legislation standpoint.... stop trying to regulate individuals personal lives!

not because they followed the platform but because they stopped following it.

Three days ago, a jury unanimously found that Steve Lonegan and a few other fromer Bogota government officials violated the rights to free speech and free association of a Bogota Police Officer.

This happened on Friday, July 10th, 2009.

The jury awardd a settlement of about $15,000 plus about another $100,000 in attorneys feed to the plaintiff.

My understanding is that the plainiff claimed that Steve Lonegan asked an officer to lean on a county committee candidate in Bogota and ask that candidate not to run. Bad enough, except the fact that the candidate's opponent was on a disciplinary hearing committee with Lonegan that was holding a hearing on discipline on that same police officer.

Additionally, the plaintiff claimed (and I do not believe Lonegan denied) that Bogota legal billing records were not being sent to Bogota town hall, but instead to the home of a Bogota council president. On top of that there were two different contradictory sets of the same year's worth of legal bills -- one set was deliberately vague and arguably was designed to conseal the fact that Bogota was planning to obtain the private cell phone records of another police officer and install GPS devices in patrol cars without letting officers know about it.

Some how Lonegan delivered the two sets of bills to a police officer in a college parking lot. Lonegan apparently does not know how his wife got the bills or at least he does not know how they ended up in his house.

 When testifying Lonegan tried the poor blind man with a walking stick shtick. But when he testified he was the same arrogant incredible pol we have all come to love to hate. I don't think the jury bought a word of his testimony. The story is in Saturday's Record, which scooped this site, which tends to gloss over any Lonegan wrong doing.

Correction: it was Lonegan's wife that delivered the bills to the police officer and not Lonegan himself.

Instead of negotiating with Mayor Lonegan terms of endorsement, Christie has ignored the 130,000 people who voted for Lonegan and the 11,000 petition signers as well as the hundreds of volunteers Lonegan has at his disposal. 42% of Republicans thought Lonegan was good enough to the be nominee. Christie's win was hardly impressive given his built-in party advantage as he veers to the left campaigning in Camden & Jersey City versus consolidating his base with conservatives and targeting Bergen, Middlesex and Passaic counties. Lonegan is right and Christie is being led by the nose from these paid consultants like Palatucci, DuHaime, et al who only have a financial stake in the race and nothing more. Lonegan wants to rebuild the party and Christie wants to win an election with the people who let the party fall apart (Wilson, Kean, DeCroce). Vote Column "A" - All the way!

It shouldn't matter if he lost by 1 votes or 100,000. HE LOST! Get over it. Time for Steve to go away and let the primary winner battle the Deomcrats in the governor's mansion instead of the sore losers in Bogota.

so much for unity, and communication in the Republican party. Yes Christie should have met with Lonegan, to get his supporters support, He failed the first test PARTY UNITY.

NO CLEAR MESSAGE and no clear alternative for Republicans is a disaster. To those of you wanting Lonegan just to go away. That wont happen so deal with it.

can the NJ Republicans win without conservative support ?. The answer to this great question will be answered in November.
The its my party too thing works both ways ?
or what.

the old adage returns. If you don't like the message, attack the messenger. For a moment, let's ignore that Lonegan wrote the piece and focus on what was written.

Can anyone deny that there are significant problems within the GOP in New Jersey? Can anyone deny that these problems stem from a lack of principles? Can anyone deny the existence and influence of the permanent bureaucracy and hollow men with their own agenda that frequently conflicts with the needs and best interests of our state, Party, and citizenry?

As I see, it would be derelict for any Republican not to shout fire to avoid their house from burning to the ground.

No matter how you slice it, Lonegan got the majority of conservative votes. The RINO Machine didn't win by all that much. Consider this - Christie outspent Lonegan by 2-1, if not more and he still didn't do all that well. The conservatives are tired of settling. Why vote for a liberal? Only because he says he's a Republican? Anyone who votes for Christie is uninformed (and I'm being nice!) or dreaming of a job from him. Giuseppe, tell me where a Flat Tax doesn't work? What's so great about COAH and Abbott? What has Christie told you about the Highlands Act? Also, Giuseppe - who is that effeminate guy pictured next to your post?

Can anyone deny Steve Lonegan is a political opportunist who failed twice to get out of the primary and now is doing his best to splenter the party to boost his ego? Not a personal attack - just the facts.  And who cares if he got the majority of the conservative votes?  He did get the majority of votes - that is how elections are won Einstein.

Lonegan.  You are a joke in most conversations throughout New Jersey.  No one cares about you being a sore loser.  Christie gave you a beatin, and God willing, he'll give Corzine a beaten to.  Some Candidate you would have made.  Instead of getting Steele to come visit and energize the campaign like Christie is doing today, you would have called him a sellout, trashed the rest of the states few Republican politicians and then gotten arrested trying to disrupt Obama's 2012 campaign visit coming up on thursday.  Lonegan, YOU STINK!  SHUT UP and go back to bogota or borgata or Columbia or who cares, just leave...

Arti Lang would be a better candidate than you.

Lonegan is under some insane delusion that he has been charged with this war to shape the platform of the New Jersey Republican party. Sad thing is, the majority of NJ Republicans don't agree. Do us, yourself, and everyone a favor Mayor...go away...

Lonegan is throwing hot dogs and beer while Christie's crowd is tossing the brie and chablis.

why not work within the system for change. The reason Lonegan lost was his poor relationship with the county chairs and his failure to win county conventions. Throwing stones at Christie after a primary  ( right or wrong ) wont win you any more converts or supporters

I couldn't style Lonegan's hair, silly, because you can't style a hair piece. It already comes the way it looks, nothing I can do. I can, however, use him in a commercial. Procede is the only product that truly works for hair restoration. I'm Giuseppe Franco. I don't own anything about this product. I just know it works. Alright, fine, I guess I got called out by OC. I'm not really Giuseppe Franco. It's just a name that I use for this site. I'm sorry, but we don't all use the names printed on our birth certificates as our message board handles. Hence, the effeminite dude in the picture is some guy from these silly hair restoration commercials you'll frequently see on YES and SNY. How do you pronounce your name, by the way? Is it like "oak?" Maybe "ouse," with a soft c? What kind of name is that anyway, Scandinavian?

GF - I did not "call you out" - please re-read the posts and I will await your apology.

"Instead of negotiating with Mayor Lonegan terms of endorsement, Christie has ignored the 130,000 people who voted for Lonegan and the 11,000 petition signers as well as the hundreds of volunteers Lonegan has at his disposal."

 You truly never cease to amaze me. Christie met with Lonegan. Lonegan appeared and praised Christie at a fundraiser at PNC. Christie met with Lonegan supporters. As always, Lonegan says one thing to your face, and like a weasel does something else when your back is turned. He has now lost outside of Bogota too many times to count...get real. You have a Republican who has been in the lead for 19 straight polls. You have a Republican 25% ahead with Independant voters. You have a Republican with a real chance to win---and you people continue to do what the Dems never do---fight, fight and fight. What a bunch of self destructive clowns.

"Christie outspent Lonegan by 2-1, if not more ".....

WRONG !!! Check the ELEC filings my incorrect friend....Lonegan spent the same that Christie did. Lonegan went into debt at the end of the campaign and continues to raise money and apply for matching funds as we speak. Why speak about something that you clearly no so little about.

I admit I haven't followed ELEC reports. I wasn't aware Loonegan went into dedt, and now wants taxpayers to pay off his campaign debt? No wonder he won't go away. Why doesn't the "taxpayers best friend" and the politician who "puts taxpayers first" just ask his creditors like Mountaintop Media/Rick Shaftan to forgive his debt and spare the already overburdened NJ taxpayer?

Even if Christie had a 2-1 advantage keep in mind Lonegan has been campaigning for years and used his job with AFP to leverage donations, gain name recognition and visibility. Just getting himself arrested generated tons of free publicity. In fact, according to Shaftan several months ago, he didn't think Christie would even get into the race because Lonegan had so many advantages.

Most of those that have posted here have identified themselves to be Republicans via previous posts on this site. It is those very people that should care the most about the issues that Lonegan pointed out in his op-ed (see: http://www.politickernj.com/lonegan/31348/why-principle-matters#comment). No where does Lonegan attack Christie or lament about losing the primary.  Instead of discussing the merits or suggesting solutions, they instead take the low road of attacking the man who is doing everything he can to prevent the S.S. NJGOP from crashing into the iceberg.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie barely acknowledged Steve Lonegan’s missive against the state’s establishment Republicans during a campaign appearance today.to see exclusive video of this event go to...www.newjerseyfordummies.com

Come up with your own material. The SS Lonegan bit was used by me. PS - for all of your doom and gloom about Christie and the NJGOP, did you see the latest poll? Shows how much you know.

What do polls mean if, in the end, the problems will not get corrected? If Corzine, Pelosi, Obama, Reid, et al had an (R) after their name you would be 100% behind them. This is how the GOP wound up with people like Specter, Jeffords, and Chafee. My support is based on a candidate's position on issues and on their character.

I would rather suffer defeat trying to do what is right than succeed in doing what is wrong.

As for originality of material, neither you nor I invented the SS whatever metaphor. I used it because it was fitting.

The reason Lonegan lost is because the county chairs lined up behind a loser like they always do. But this loser, whom I call Mr 35%, and his handlers continued to have him pretend to be something he was not, an actual conservative. Then some real conservatives were bullied, threatened and intimidated into supporting Christie. One major case in point was Chris Smith. Who was used to help Christie pretend he did not believe in killing babies. Chris Smith except for this issue is a moderate/liberal, his most recent Gaia vote is simply more proof of that. Meanwhile, the Chirstie values clock continues to tick forward as heis handlers try to figure out what the man should believe. Core beliefs do not need someone to explain them to a person, you either have them or you do not. Chris Christie is an empty suit. Lonegan did not work within the system because the system is broken beyond repair. The attempt was to replace the system. That was what the Lonegan ticket was all about. We lost, and in most cases have gone away. To the point of some changing their party affiliation. But for some of us it is just too much fun to watch you liberals in the party, and in some cases conservatuves, fall all over yourselves trying to defend this nobody. Mr 35% will be lucky to get that at this point.

As usual, you have no idea what you are talking about. Just because they have an "R" after their name does not gain my support. I did not support Lonegan - he had an "R" after his name. I did not support Specter - in fact I was working with the Toomey folks. So it goes to show you that you talk out of your posterior. And I used that metaphor to discribe Lonegan with Gilligan Shaftan. Like I said, be creative. Get your won material. paramus - you sir are the loser. it seems you constantly back them. Like I have said, take your ball and go quietly home. We do not need you.

"The reason Lonegan lost is because the county chairs lined up behind a loser like they always do."

So far as I know this is the first time county leaders unanimously supported a candidate. Last year seven counties endorsed Jersey Joe, one county even went for Sabrin. In 2005 the machine-endorsed candidate here in Ocean County lost to Doug Forrester.

Shaftan admitted that lines don't mean very much and that Lonegan voters would have no trouble finding their candidate on another line.

I will be joining you in that battle next year. For the record, I am talking about supporting an (R) in the general election. Obviously, all that run in a Republican Primary would have an (R) after their name.

I would not have supported Specter. Again, you have no clue what you are talking about.

to read that you are not one of the many Republican hacks that blindly follow the party bosses. Unfortunately, there are too many that care more about backing a potential election winner than what policies would result from that victory.

I tried to explain that to you on numerous occassions, but you obviously assumed otherwise. Remember when you ASSUME - you make an ASS out of U and ME. Thank you Felix Unger.

what are your thoughts about the NJ GOP voting to adopt the platform of the national Republican Party and condemning the Corzine budget and tax increases?

How many states have adopted the party platform?

In all honesty, I think the platform is meaningless. You have individuals voting on different pieces of legislation with different opinions, not the party. That is what is great about this country.

New Jersey is one of only two states that have not adopted the platform.

If the individuals want to run as Republicans they need to represent Republican values otherwise they should run as independents or some other political party.

To repeat a point in the letter to Chairman Webber, it should come as no surprise that in a state where Republican leaders refuse to adopt Republican principles there is no semblance of principled leadership.

Somebody please go feed the baby! He won't stop crying!