Lonegan Wins "Shut Up And Sit Down" Award

By Dan Gallic

Back when I was blogging on a regular basis for a number of conservative blogs I wrote a weekly feature titled, “Sit down and shut up!”. This article was dedicated to the person or organization that was creating trouble for the sole purpose of garnering attention for themselves.


I am duty-bound, by reason of my participation in today's civil society and a proud member of the Republican party, to write another “Sit down and shut up!” column dedicated to Steve Lonegan's ridiculous letter and press release issued yesterday which asked for, … well no, actually demanding the passage of a resolution at the Republican State Committee.


Now, I will be the first one to say that the Republican State Committee, along with it's leadership, has lacked any formal reason and was more a rubber stamp for the establishment's idiotic moves than anything else in the past, but the recent State Committee has a number of new energetic new members, even a couple who worship Steve Lonegan, that might make the organization one of substance.


At their first meeting two committee members, the one's who worship Steve, offered a resolution that tied the NJGOP platform to the national one. Well, according to the rules governing most meetings, a meeting is convened, it's called into action, business is done and in the midst of business being done a member of the group may call for a motion and if the motion is seconded it is debated and voted upon.

Well, that's where the story gets stupid. NJGOP's attorney decided that motion was invalid due to some silliness and squashed the motion. OK.. OK... I can here the Lonegan people screaming at me from here. The attorney was Mark Sheridan, yes, the same Mark Sheridan the argued for the Estabrook/Unanue/Zimmer candidacy was valid in last year's US Senate primary. Guess what people, the guy was paid to argue hypocrisy and he prevailed. Now he's being asked to argue silliness and he is arguing silliness, as he is paid to do.

These events happened nearly a month ago. At the same meeting the new chair of the New Jersey Republicans was installed, the Christy-chosen conservative extraordinaire Assemblyman Jay Webber. Shouldn't the Lonegan lovers be happy? Or at least content for five minutes? Lonegan's answer was a resounding “NO!”.

Yesterday's Lonegan letter, condemning the NJGOP for not acting on this motion and condemning Mark Sheridan for not following Roberts Rules of Order, was a selfish act perpetrated by the loser in the New Jersey Republican primary. It reinforced one thing, Lonegan is a loser.

There is NOTHING to gain, but attention for one's self, by making this issue a grandiose flutter of useless motion. Such actions are usually saved for important causes or issues that move the ball forward for a particular candidate. This is not the case here.

All Steve did was throw down a gauntlet to the state committee demanding this impotent resolution be passed. The state committee now has two ways to act, they either pass it and bend to a loser's demands or reject it, either by not bringing it up or voting it down, and thus Steve has an issue in which to attack them. Although attacking an organization that the general public has no idea exists is a strange way to lobby for passage of a motion.

Steve's letter is not about principled action or righteous indignation on the part of conservatives. It is about Steve Lonegan, and his ill-advising advisor Rick Shaftan, requiring attention at a time when the attention should be given to the positive message that Chris Christie is delivering in stark contrast to tax-raising, big government, debt-incurring Jon “I never say a liberal spending idea I didn't like” Corzine.

If Steve Lonegan was truly interested in becoming a great part of the Republican party he would be standing next to the NJGOP and throw darts at Jonny-boy Corzine on Christie's behalf. Instead he offers more of the same and for that reason Steve Lonegan is honored to be this week's “Sit down and shut up!” honoree.