Steve Lonegan: Leader not tweeter

Steve Lonegan: Leader not tweeter
Monday October 7, 2013, 8:21 AM
By ALFRED P. DOBLIN
RECORD EDITORIAL COLUMNIST

HE’S A LEADER, not a tweeter. You got to love Steve Lonegan. That was his message during a U.S. Senate debate with Cory Booker taped in Trenton on Friday. The Republican and the Democrat faced off during a 60-minute debate that aired Sunday on ABC. I was a panelist.

Booker is the undisputed king of Facebook, but Lonegan is emperor of In-Your-Face. I say that with some admiration. Agree or disagree with his policies, Lonegan has done what Barbara Buono, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, has failed to accomplish: Run an effective campaign.

Despite a misstep over Booker’s pedicures, Lonegan has been doing what he does best. He is an everyman, angry, agitated and never silent. He is more than the natural progression of Howard Beale, the run-amok anchorman from the film “Network”; he is Howard Beale and Howard Roark, the Ayn Rand protagonist. Lonegan believes every man (and I assume every woman) should be able to pull himself or herself up by their bootstraps. Reduce government. Get rid of unnecessary federal departments, like education, and go out and get a job.

Booker is an unabashed social liberal, with a few exceptions. The contrast in style could not have been greater watching the two men face off Friday. They are both completely comfortable in their own skins. Booker is criticized for being more of a brand than a public official, but if Booker is a brand, Lonegan is brand X. They both understand that contemporary politics is fueled by personalities first and politics second.

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