NJ-Sen: Rep. Rob Andrews (D) gauging support for Lautenberg challenge

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

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YES YES YES PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Coincidentally, if this winds up happening, the Byrne trojan horse should go down as one of the shrewdest political moves in recent NJ history.

[Verily]

I'd rather see Holt as Senator than Andrews, but, on the other hand, Andrews has the political acumen to defeat Lautenberg. I'm not so sure Holt would.

Rejoicing and all that.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I'd rather see Holt as Senator than Andrews, but, on the other hand, Andrews has the political acumen to defeat Lautenberg. I'm not so sure Holt would.

Rejoicing and all that.

Holt never seemed to have the ambition.  Andrews has ambition in spades.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Lautenberg has my endorsement if this is the case.

[Conan]

Lautenberg has my support, too. IIRC Andrews has made some stupid votes on the flag amendment and Iraq. Flag amendment I think was one vote shy of passing in the Senate. Plus, I'd rather have Holt or Rothman. How the hell is Andrews going to wage a 2 month campaign? I don't think he will risk losing his seat for this uphill task.

[Keystone Phil]

Please do it, Rob. Please.

The poor guy has terrible luck though so if he did do it, he'd lose just based on his history. If it wasn't for the history, he'd lose anyway. Lautenberg will beat him up over Iraq.

[WalterMitty]

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YES YES YES PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

^^^

agree.

i could support him in the general as well.

[Keystone Phil]

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YES YES YES PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

^^^

agree.

i could support him in the general as well.

Doesn't matter who you support in the General. The winner of the primary is the Senator, barring some disaster. We need Andrews to somehow win.

[WalterMitty]

i agree phil.

lautenberg ranks #99 on my list of favorite senators (ahead of only bob byrd).  he is plain awful and needs to go.

[Adlai Stevenson]

I would support Andrews in this case because I think there are too many elderley Senators and it bothers me, for all the impact that my endorsement would have on this race anyway...It will probably end up like the Case-Akaka race in Hawaii 2006. 

[Verily]

Similarities to Case-Akaka are superficial; Akaka is a very capable, if elderly, Senator, and his record bears this out. Case was challenging primarily out of his own political ambitions. Andrews has great ambitions as well, but the reasons for his challenge are better founded.

Lautenberg is harmless but useless, and we'd be infinitely better off with a centrist Democrat than a supposedly center-left Democrat who barely makes it to the Senate floor. Like I said, there are much better choices for replacements for Lautenberg, but I'd settle for Andrews.

[HardRCafé]

Lautenberg has my support, too.

Isn't this totally like the first time Conan has endorsed a Democrat?  Call CBS News!

[Sam Spade]

If this is true, I'm going to miss Andrews being in DC next year.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

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Footsoldiers are supposedly out today in South Jersey getting signatures to put Andrews on the ballot.

Unsurprisingly, Andrews has the endorsement of heavy-hitter Freeholder/Union Boss/Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney, whom is rather interested in Andrews' House seat should it open.

[minionofmidas]

Please do it, Rob. Please.

The poor guy has terrible luck though so if he did do it, he'd lose just based on his history. If it wasn't for the history, he'd lose anyway. Lautenberg will beat him up over Iraq.

Andrews has no chance. He's far too firmly defined as The South Jersey Regionalist Contender.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

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Rep. Andrews would not be getting into this thing if the numbers didn't look damn good.

[Keystone Phil]

Please do it, Rob. Please.

The poor guy has terrible luck though so if he did do it, he'd lose just based on his history. If it wasn't for the history, he'd lose anyway. Lautenberg will beat him up over Iraq.

Andrews has no chance. He's far too firmly defined as The South Jersey Regionalist Contender.

Well, that too but I agree that the numbers must look pretty damn good if Andrews is actually doing it. Lautenberg still has the edge, in my opinion, based on the perception that Andrews is more moderate, a South Jersey guy and favorable towards the Iraq war.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Andrews endorsements today: State Sen. Robert Smith, a big player in the Union County machine and Steve Adubato, a gigantic player in the Newark machine.

In fact, PolitickerNJ is reporting that a talk between Adubato and Lautenberg did not go well, and wound up devolving into a shouting match.  (Adubato is one man I would not want working against me, that's for sure.)

[minionofmidas]

Andrews endorsements today: State Sen. Robert Smith, a big player in the Union County machine and Steve Adubato, a gigantic player in the Newark machine.

In fact, PolitickerNJ is reporting that a talk between Adubato and Lautenberg did not go well, and wound up devolving into a shouting match.  (Adubato is one man I would not want working against me, that's for sure.)

Not good news for Lautenberg.

This might become an interesting test of how machine-ridden North Jersey really is. If their machine tells them to vote against itself.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Oh, and worth noting—some severe armtwisting by Rep. Rothman (who wants to run for Senate) has convinced Bergen County Chair Ferriero to recind his earlier backing of Andrews and reaffirm support of Lautenberg.

[© tweed]

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[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If you want to get rid of Lautenberg, you need to get someone to challenge him from the left, not the right. That's why Andrews will fail.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Oh, and he has only 2 months to run a campaign?

Poor planning there Rob.

[Keystone Phil]

Oh, and he has only 2 months to run a campaign?

Poor planning there Rob.

Yeah, that doesn't seem like the best idea unless he knows something we don't (which is obviously not out of the question).