Ron Paul

Dr. Murray Sabrin is a new PolitickerNJ.com contributor

Steve Lonegan has been an unpaid PolitickerNJ.com columnist since March 2007.  As he begins his campaign for the 2009 Republican nomination for Governor, his column will go on hiatus.  We are grateful for his willingness to use PolitickerNJ.com as a forum to express his views and for his contribution to the political debate in New Jersey.  We look forward to Mayor Lonegan's return next year, win or lose.

Joining our list of contributors today is Ramapo College Professor Murray Sabrin, a former candidate for Governor and U.S. Senator.  We welcome Dr. Sabrin and look forward to hearing his views.

CLICK HERE TO READ DR. SABRIN'S FIRST COLUMN

As New Jerseyans get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving the nation's economic outlook is indeed bleak, and there doesn't seem much to be thankful for after eight years of the neoconservative Bush administration and seven years of the McGreevey, Codey, and Corzine regimes.

From Peter F. Boyce, Constitution Party Candidate for Congress NJ-2:

First of all, thank you one and all for helping with our Constitution Party campaign for Congress. Catherine and I appreciate all the sacrifices and donations but most of all, we were encouraged by your friendship and support.

SOUTH BOUND BROOK - The Somerset County division of the Constitution Party of New Jersey (www.SomersetCP.com) unanimously expressed its outrage and disappointment in the passing of the government's bailout bill on Friday. Eight out of NJ's thirteen representatives, as well both senators, voted for the 451-page bill filled with hundreds of millions of dollars in pork projects.

VINELAND – The American public has the right to openly question their politicians and they will enjoy that right on Saturday, September 27 as NJ 2nd District Constitution Party Congressional candidate Peter Boyce (www.boyceyourchoice.com) hosts Dr. Chuck Baldwin, the party's presidential hopeful.  The free admission "Truth in Tandem Townhall" will be held at Cumberland County College, in the George P. Luciano FamilyCenter for Public Service and Leadership,  from 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.  All questions on any of the critical issues facing America today are especially welcome.

RAHWAY - The entire public is cordially invited on September 26 from 7:00pm - 10:00pm to meet Chuck Baldwin,Constitution Party candidate for president (www.Baldwin08.com), as he travels to New Jersey to meet with voters face-to-face. This event is free to the public and will be held at the Firehouse Restaurant, 455 St. Georges Ave. in Rahway, NJ. This will be a great opportunity for anyone to meet-and-greet a presidential candidate.

Ramapo College Professor Murray Sabrin, the leader of Ron Paul’s New Jersey presidential campaign, won 14% of the vote in his bid for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination yesterday – which was nearly three times the percentage Paul received in the February 5 New Jersey primary. Sabrin is now expected to seek the Republican nomination for Governor in 2009 (his fourth bid for statewide office), and will seek to harness the grass roots support of the Ron Paul wing of the New Jersey GOP.   That’s bad news for Steve Lonegan, the former Mayor of Bogota and the de facto leader of the state’s conservatives.  Lonegan endorsed Joseph Pennacchio on Monday, and will have a tough – though not impossible -- time convincing the Paul supporters to switch to him in a race where he can’t really afford to lose conservative/libertarian votes.

Even though he says he’s the front runner in Tuesday’s Republican U.S. Senate primary, Murray Sabrin is already thinking ahead to 2009.  One Sabrin friend, with knowledge of the campaign strategy, says that the Ramapo College professor is likely to run for Governor next year.  That throws an interesting wrench into the plans of former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, who is likely to count the Ron Paul/Libertarian wing of the New Jersey GOP as part of his natural base in a gubernatorial primary against U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.   Sabrin has been complaining about Lonegan since last month, when the conservative leader pulled out of a campaign fundraiser and slapped his wrists for running an especially nasty Senate campaign.  

Senate candidate Murray Sabrin was presidential candidate Ron Paul’s biggest advocate in New Jersey.  And tonight, Paul, a Texas representative, returned the favor by visiting the self-proclaimed Republican frontrunner for a fundraiser at the Hilton next to Newark’s Penn Station.

The event, which attracted about 100 supporters, cost $250 per head and $100 for the under 30 crowd, who made up about a quarter of the audience.  Though the campaign wasn’t certain exactly how much they made tonight, spokesman George Ajjan announced with great fanfare that the campaign has raised a total of $500,000 so far. 

The general theme of the night was an impending economic collapse if the government doesn’t radically alter its fiscal policy.  But Paul, Sabrin and economist Peter Schiff – Paul’s economic advisor --  all said that the Paul’s presidential campaign ignited a movement that has continued with Sabrin’s Senate candidacy, which Paul referred to as “the strategically most important Senate race that’s going on in the country.”