NJ Republican Congressional Nominees Square Off In Debate
By Dom Giordano
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – On Talk Radio 1210, Dom Giordano hosted a debate between Tom MacArthur and Steve Lonegan, who are campaigning for the Republican congressional nomination in New Jersey's third district to replace the retiring Jon Runyan.
Lonegan stated his goal in the campaign is to reduce the size of a federal government that he perceives as too large.
"We need to continue to grow and prosper and lead the entire world in freedom. But we've watched that torchlight of liberty diminishing as government grows bigger and bigger. I believe in the people of this country, the right of the people to keeps the fruits of their labor, to make their own healthcare decisions, to determine the future of this country, not big government. Yet the problems facing our country today are the government itself."
MacArthur said that, if elected, he would make sure important work gets done.
"I'm running for Congress because I believe we need fewer people in Washington just complaining about our problems. We need people that want to solve them...I served as a local councilman and mayor and put conservative principals into action, reduced the size of government, reduced operating expenses, had low taxes, and earned a AAA bond rating."
Lonegan called MacArthur a liberal Republican from the New Jersey establishment while branding himself the only conservative running.
"I am a proud conservative who will stand up for conservative principals. That means the full repeal of Obamacare, replacing it with free enterprise. That means to fight for the flat tax. A flat tax which is the best way to do what I want to accomplish, which is to end the IRS as we know it…I want to take on the so called 'war on poverty' and this failed program of, every year, building more and more tax payer funded low income housing." Lonegan said.
MacArthur dismissed Lonegan as an unelectable fringe candidate who won't change the nation's direction.
"I'm not going to waste my time rolling around in the mud with a candidate that can't win and hasn't won elections and whose toxic, angry tone has turned off New Jerseyans for fifteen years. I am running to solve problems, real problems that we have in this country and I'd like to do it in the style of a man that admire greatly, and that's Ronald Reagan, who showed that you can win elections, you can restore hope, and good forward direction through common sense conservative principals," MacArthur stated.
Listen to full debate below...
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4