Rockem Sockem Republicans

This Thursday night there is a debate between the Republican candidates for the 7th Congressional District. While Linda Stender has been focused on organizing her base of support and filling her campaign war chest, the Republicans have been playing Rock’em Sock’em Robots with each other.

I will be there, hopefully live-blogging.

Former First Daughter Kate Whitman has been attacking the cr#p out of Senator Leonard Lance, her [former?] family friend, with 12 waves of mail pummeling his record. How they mend fences on their side after that kind of race may be a good lesson for Obama/Clinton. She’s got mucho bucks, and has been using them to add some mud to the race.

I have not been able to get my hands on any of the hate-mailers targeting Senator Lance ---not being a Republican; I am not on their prime mailing list. And my Republican friends in Flemington [the Senator’s home turf] have not kept the mailers long enough for me to get a copy. As a good Republican friend [unnamed, though] said to me, “When I get that crap, it goes right into the recycling bin.” Good thing she is recycling.

So, the others in the race are not getting much press, especially Iraq War veteran, Tom Roughneen. There is not one thing Roughneen and I agree on –he supports staying in Iraq until the “job is done”; he supports a constitutional amendment banning abortion, and supports extending the Bush tax cuts. However, he seems to be a bright and genuinely passionate candidate who is a good man. Not at all your average run of the mill neo-con Republican. He will not win, but will be back in a future, perhaps more local, race.

Now, I am going to go out on a limb here, and make a prediction on a winner: Mayor Marty Marks of Scotch Plains.

While the good money is on Senator Leonard Lance, Marks has received the endorsement of the active Right to Lifers in the district. A low turn out, combined with a seven candidate field, sprinkled with pro-life activists working election day for Marks, with just a touch of the two top candidates splitting party regulars----I think will make for a Marks victory. With seven in the field, someone who gets 25% of the vote could come out on top.

Pity the candidate who spent all their money, and came in second.