“I have a handicap, you know. I’m a white guy, running in the State of New Jersey. That’s my handicap. “
“I took down an inappropriate, silly tweet after 20 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes. 5 months later, Anti-Semitic, hate filled videos are still posted on Cory Booker’s website. Where’s the race card now? Where’s the media now? “Where’s the liberal left now in defending us against this kind of hate filled Anti-Semitism?”
~Steve Lonegan
Former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, the front runner in the August 13 Republican primary for the nomination to replace the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, held a press conference in Kinnelon yesterday afternoon to address the reaction to the tweet(pictured to the right) posted by his campaign on Thursday night during the Democratic Senate Debate.
Lonegan billed the event as a “press conference on political correctness” but the tweet and his opponents “pulling the race card” was the topic. In classic Lonegan fashion, the candidate confronted the problem and flipped the criticism back on his opponents. In this case, his opponents being Booker, who is expected to win the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, the “liberal media” and Dr. Alieta Eck, his opponent for the Republican nomination.
Lonegan said the tweet, which was removed quickly, was posted by a young staffer who remains employed by the campaign. “He made a mistake. I’m not going to ruin his career by firing him. I don’t do that. I will help him learn from it,” Lonegan said.
“Racism, racism, racism. They can’t wait to play the racist card,” Lonegan said of the Booker campaign and the media, “They couldn’t wait for the opportunity, any opportunity at all, a silly map, which is meaningless, sent out by some kid in a campaign, that had no intent other than to ah, whatever the intent was, I don’t even know what the intent was. But they can’t wait to pull the race card. Cause that’s how they play politics.
“Instead of talking about the important issues that are confronting this country, the failing ObamaCare system, the Common Core education standards, a failing economy, the destruction of our currency, or failed foreign policy, they want to immediately more into the politically correct syndrome and pull out the race card at any excuse.
“This is coming out of Cory Booker, the guy who is supposed to be the great uniter. Well Cory Booker is the great divider.
“Well I tell you what. This is one Republican who is not going to be scared off by the race card. Who’s not going to have this race issue divide me from our base, or from the rest of the country. I believe Americans are sick and tired of the race card being used, whenever possible, it get people off message.
“Sick and tired of it. This is one Republican who is not going to be scared off by the race card. I am going to talk about the issues that confront this country.
“If you don’t support ObamaCare, that makes you a racist. If you don’t support Obama for President, that makes you a racist. If you criticize Cory Booker’s failed policies in Newark, that makes you a racist. That’s how they play. I’m not going to fall into this whole mold of being scared to death to talk about the key issues that are confronting this country.
“There was no racist intent whatsoever, not the slightest bit, out of this campaign, and there never will be. I’m talking about the issues that will unite America and make America economic prosperous again.”
“But again, you’re going to see this over and over again. I anticipate it a lot over the next 63 days out of the liberal media, particularly CNN and MSNBC and other media outlets. They’ll be anxious to use the race card.
“I have a handicap you know. I’m a white guy, running in the State of New Jersey. That’s my handicap. Is that a racist comment? Go ahead. Say it’s a racist comment. It’s not. It’s the truth.”
Lonegan said the real issue is Booker’s failed record in Newark…with the failing economy and rise in violent crime. But that Booker and the liberal media is using his campaign’s tweet, which he said he wished never happened, and the race card as a distraction.
“Cory Booker’s little gift business from Silicon Valley”
Lonegan then flipped the race card back on Booker and the liberal media.
Lonegan said that the Washington Beacon [sic] reported five months ago that Booker’s social media venture, waywire.com, “Cory Booker’s little gift business from Silicon Valley,” featured racist videos. Lonegan challenged the press to search “Zionism” on the site to find “the largest collection of Anti-Semitic, Anti-Jewish videos on the Internet.
“The depository is Cory Booker’s waywire website. This was revealed by a Washington Beacon [sic] article five months ago. But if you go there right now, this minute, those Anti-Semitic, hate filled videos are still posted on Cory Booker’s website.
“I took down an inappropriate, silly tweet after 20 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes. 5 months later, Anti-Semitic, hate filled videos are still posted on Cory Booker’s website. Where’s the race card now? Where’s the media now? Where’s the liberal left now in defending us against this kind of hate filled Anti-Semitism?”
Lonegan said, “I’m going to repeat this more time, I will not let political correctness and this race baiting game get in the way of an effective campaign in the State of New Jersey.
“I will take full responsibility for my campaign putting up a silly tweet, and that’s all it was. I will also take full responsibility for acting immediately to take it down.
“I suggest Cory Booker take responsibility for the hate filled, Anti-Semitic videos posted on his website. A website gifted to him by Silicon Valley moguls.”
