Friday, May 22, 2009

Bret Schundler: Why I Endorsed Christie Over Lonegan

A number of people have asked me why I endorsed Chris Christie over Steve Lonegan in the election for Governor.

Part of the answer is that Chris is more successfully advancing issues that are important to me.

Both Chris Christie and Steve Lonegan are pro-life, pro-school choice, pro-reduced state spending, and pro-lower taxes -- but Chris Christie is more successfully winning support for these issues.

I don't want New Jersey to remain a state where outright infanticide, in the form of partial birth abortion, remains legal.

I don't want our state to be a place where children are cheated out of an education by politicians who throw money at failing schools when what the schools need is the increased accountability for performance that only school vouchers and/or tuition tax credits can bring.

I don't want New Jersey to remain a state where ever more residents and business owners want to leave. State spending and tax rates need to be CUT to make New Jersey a place people can afford to stay.

I have other far more serious reasons for not supporting Steve Lonegan, but for the sake of party unity, I would rather speak about why I support one candidate than why I oppose another. So just looking at the positive standard of who is being more effective building support for the conservative changes New Jersey needs, I think it's clear that the answer is Chris Christie. It's why Chris is so far ahead of Corzine in the polls, while Lonegan, as unpopular as Corzine is, still looks vulnerable.

This is NOT 2001. BOTH Chris Christie and Steve Lonegan are conservatives, but Chris is doing a better job building support for conservative policies, and that's a big reason I'm supporting him.

BRET SCHUNDLER

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Christie had no stance in December (see the NJN interview). he uses focus groups to tell him what position to take.

For instance, he wants to cut the income tax but keep the rebates ... but the rebates come from the income tax so where does the money come from. Christie is not credible on any postion. Lonegan has his plan in a 2007 book, Putting Taxpayers First.

Anonymous said...

Bret's "other, far more serious concerns" are shared by many former Lonegan supporters that have seen the light. His campaign is but one glimpse of this guy's true nature.

MikeGSP said...

Bret, is Mr. Christie conservative on the issue of state aid?

He certainly won't commit to changing the formula to be on a per pupil basis. Lonegan will. And that would mean REAL property tax reilef for struggling rural and suburban taxpayers.

Mr. Christie hasn't even said how much he will cut income taxes. For all we know, he's going to cut income taxes by a mere fraction.

Let's face it. The only reason Christie is ahead of Lonegan in the polls is his likeability. It certainly is not for being more knowledgeable abot the issues facing the state, let alone having a better plan to address them.

Is this a popularity contest or are we looking for the most qualified individual?

Anonymous said...

I support Christie because I am jealous of Lonegan and mad at him for stealing my thunder a few years ago. I’m getting back at him. Bret

Michael Borg said...

In 2001 we had the opportunity to elect a conservative Republican in Bret Schundler. Lonegan, instead of unifying the conservative base -- split it and Forrester won. He didn't like Bret, and wanted to hurt him. Was he thinking of conservative principles when he made that decision?

You can be Pro Life, Pro-Traditional marriage, all of which I support, without being hateful. Whether he is, or not, Lonegan comes across hateful. He attacks every Republican who disagrees with him, don't know if it's intentional, but that's the way it comes across. He does the same thing to fellow Republicans, that the Democrats do...he demagogues those he disagrees with.

As Republicans we have to stop doing that...my brand of Republican is more Republican than your brand. Aren't we tired of losing?

What are three huge problems New Jersey has to deal with?

Taxes:

Both Republican candidates support lowering them.

Political corruption:

Christie has a track record of stamping it out. What is Lonegan's plan in dealing with the culture of corruption in NJ politics?

Homeland Security:

Again, here Christie has a proven track record, this will not be on the job training for him. I'm not sure that as Mayor of Bogota, Mr. Lonegan has much experience. What are some of his proposed policy's on this issues?

We need Independents to win this thing, and so far it looks as though Christie has the temperment to win them over.

Whoever wins let's commit to supporting that candidate, and let us not destroy him during the primary season.

Anonymous said...

Too late- the personal nonsense will go on and on, shame on both of their campaigns, and, hence, them..it's already another bash-fest, and worse, a yawnfest: June 3rd will be a relief just to not hear the primary-nonsense any more.. and,face it,the NJ electorate just isn't mad enough to do anything about it..this is over before we begin, as usual:the GOP in NJ is deader than Kelsey's..grandfather..how depressing and frustrating..

Anonymous said...

Bret Schundler is Judas to New Jersey gun owners. When Schundler ran for Governor, he told gun owners during the GOP primary that he supported reforming New Jersey's horrible gun laws. When McGreevey questioned him during a debate, however, Schundler quickly forgot his promises and said that he saw no need to change New Jersey's current gun control laws. For that reason alone, I will never trust Bret Schundler.