There is a special election happening this Wednesday in the state of New Jersey to fill the vacant seat of Frank Lautenberg (RIP) who died earlier this year. The race is between the liberal progressive democrat candidate Cory Booker and the Conservative Republican Steve Lonegan. Every election is important and should never be under-stated but this election has a lot riding on it. This election will not only have an impact on the future of New Jersey, the future of America but could also have a major impact on party politics especially within the Republican Party. The choice in this race could not be clearer – it is a battle between left v right, right v wrong, good v evil and put simply it is liberty v tyranny.
So what are the difference between Cory Booker and Steve Lonegan? There are many but I believe it all starts with how they both view the federal government. Cory Booker believes people vote to send politicians to Washington to solve the nation’s problems and Steve Lonegan believes government is a necessary evil and should be limited as much as possible and that the solutions for most problems lie with the individual. Steve Lonegan believes what Ronald Reagan spoke about years ago when he said “government is the problem, not the solution”.
This election is interesting because it is happening during a government shutdown and in the interviews and debates, a lot of questions have focused on the parties working together and how they reach across the aisle. Cory Booker has repeated each time how he wants the people of Washington to come together and find a compromise and has spoken about how he reached out to Chris Christie despite the fact he continuously calls the Tea Party extremists.
If you truly believe in reaching across the aisle and compromise that means including EVERYONE and not just people you think you can work with and politicians would be well served to remember they work for the people FIRST and should stand for the principals of America, regardless of what your party leadership says. Steve Lonegan has always spoken about he will stand with the Conservative Caucus in the Senate and fight with people like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Rand Paul for America’s founding principles, beliefs and fight to return freedom and liberty back to the individual.
One of the biggest issues in this campaign is Obamacare. Cory Booker 100% supports it. In last week’s debate Cory Booker was asked what he thought the biggest problem with Obamacare was and he responded by focusing solely on its implementation. Maybe Mayor Booker has forgotten, ignored or simply does not care that Obamacare is and always was a train wreck for any number of reasons –
• Intrusion into the liberty and freedom of the individual
• Service always goes down and prices are sky rocketing.
• Death panels
• President Obama lied when he stated, “If you like you healthcare coverage, you can keep it”.
• President Obama has made several changes to the law since SCOTUS decision.
• Obamacare increases tax on life saving devices
• Very few politicians have actually read the bill
In contrast, Steve Lonegan has campaigned against Obamacare since day One and supports a full repeal and will stand with the Conservatives in the Senate who want it fully repealed.
One issue that is always important is the economy because the ability to gain employment affects every single individual in America today. Mayor Booker likes to speak about all the development and investment he has helped bring to Newark but what impact has that had on the unemployment rate there. When Cory Booker entered office he inherited an 8% unemployment rate which now sits at 14% which is nearly double the national average (7.3%) and the state average (8%). Steve Lonegan supports reducing taxes, reducing the size and scope of government, reducing regulations on all businesses, rejecting the left wing idea of global warming and new taxes that are driving energy prices through the roof, reducing and repealing welfare programs like Obamacare, free cell phones and will oppose any future bailouts. Lastly Steve has joined his Conservative colleagues by calling for the dismantling of the IRS. If implemented, Steve’s ideas would help lead to economic growth in America that has not been seen since the 1980’s under President Reagan.
I had the honor of interviewing Mayor Lonegan last month and I was highly impressed with his vision for America and the America Dream. However I felt he was really passionate about his values which he told me were “Faith, Family, and Country”. In this campaign Steve has defended traditional marriage between one man and one woman and respects the religious institutions to decide on marriage, whereas Cory Booker wants marriage for everyone and anyone and believes that “right” should be defended by government. Depending on your view of politics, I have been lucky / unlucky to watch many political debates but in the first debate Steve Lonegan gave one of the strongest defenses against abortion I have ever witnessed. Life is truly sacred and should be defended at all costs. However Cory Booker disagrees with the Pro Life view and instead supports not only tax funded abortion as a woman’s right to choose but also supports late term abortions up until and including in the ninth month of pregnancy.
Lastly I want to put every issue aside for a moment and talk to you about opportunity. Can you imagine the impact on politics in America if a Conservative like Steve Lonegan won in the liberal state of New Jersey? This would not only disrupt the establishment in Washington but might change the ideas strategist’s like Karl Rove support but most importantly it would send a very strong message to the elite in Washington that NO ONE IS SAFE and that politicians SERVE the American people and not the other way around. If you live in New Jersey, please support Steve Lonegan in his final push to win the Senate seat in every way possible. If you want more information on his policies or want to contribute to his campaign, please visit http://www.loneganforsenate.com/ . Good luck Steve, I hope and pray you win. God Bless.