Lonegan or Christie?

This Tuesday New Jersey’s Republican voters will get to pick a candidate to face off against John Corzine in the gubernatorial election. The choices are Steve Lonegan and Chris Christie.

Let’s face it, New Jerseyans are fed up with Corzine. New Jersey is a mess. The state’s debt has gone through the roof, unemployment is high and New Jersey already has the nation’s highest property taxes. There’s been an exodus of businesses from the state and if things don’t change soon it will continue to get worse.

Chris Christie is a former US Attorney whose career was built on going after corruption. Steve Lonegan is a former mayor and small business owner who won election in a town that voted nearly 65% for Obama.

The debates between Christie and Lonegan didn’t clear up anything for those of you seeking out differences between the two. In each of their ads they claim to be big tax-cutters and advocates of limited government.

Here’s the difference I see. Christie is an establishment guy. While his corruption fighting is a good thing his mindset is embedded in government and its greatness. Christie is a lawyer. Lawyers are adept at nuance and playing games with semantics. In other words Christie, regardless of what he says, will be moderate and likely to keep with the status quo.

Lonegan isn’t a very charismatic guy. Unfortunately that seems to be the main qualifier in winning elections. But Lonegan worked in the private sector. He is aware of the damaging effects of oppressive and restrictive government policies on businesses. And face it, businesses are the ones that create jobs. Private sector job growth is essential if New Jersey is going to be turning things around.

The argument against Lonegan is that he won’t be moderate enough to win in the general election. Well, if moderation means letting the state continue on a path of economic destruction, and Jersey voters decide to vote that way they deserve what they get. Why settle for another middle of the road milquetoast Republican when the state needs a giant overhaul? Besides, with Corzine’s approval rating sinking below sea level the GOP should be able to put up a corpse and win.

Running a government should be like running a business. Only one of these candidates has experience in that field. That is why Lonegan will get my vote.