Check out the latest nonsense from  "New Jersey conservative Republican leader Dr. "Maverick Murray" Sabrin, the Garden State’s strongest advocate of limited government and individual freedom and the front-runner for United States Senate":

NJ-GOP Senate candidate "Maverick Murray" Sabrin issued a press release asking taxpayers to send him their rebate checks so he can "stimulate" the economy by spending their money on his campaign ads for the June 3 primary election.

Ron Paul arrived in New Jersey yesterday to help his uber-pal Murray Sabrin raise money to take on the GOP's country club establishment in the June 3 primary for US Senate.  To help promote the event Sabrin's campaign offered a free autographed book by Ron Paul.

The wild and wacky NJ-GOP senate race got even wilder and wackier when Murray Sabrin, who now calls himself "Maverick Murray", issued a press release demanding that US Attorney Chris Christie immediately investigate his opponent, former congressman Richard Zimmer, for alleged corruption related to the filing of candidacy papers to replace Andy "The Bean" Unanue (who is still vacationing in Colorado) on the ballot.

In the New Jersey GOP Senate primary race we start with Mean Murray Sabrin, Jersey Joke Pinnocchio and Annie "the Nebish" Estabrook.  First, Murray attacks Annie, Annie gets all famished and flubs her lines, then Annie has a stroke and everyone else in the GOP gets agita.  To cure the agita the GOP big shots turn to Andy "The Bean Baron" Unanue who, they later find out, is really a nightclub owner from New York who lives with his parents in New Jersey so he doesn't have to pay taxes, and then is fired from the bean factory by his own cousins who claim he was drunk on the job.  

In Garden State politics, much like the world of fashion, one day you are in, and the next day you are out:

Despite being poised to enter the Republican Senate primary race for the second time in two weeks, Princeton biotech executive John Crowley once again withdrew his name from consideration today.

"John was deeply impressed with the outpouring of support for his potential candidacy for the US Senate. Many people both locally here in New Jersey and nationally had been encouraging him to run over the past week, but given his tremendous level of responsibility to his family, his company and to the US Navy, he’s decided not to enter the US Senate race this year," said Crowley’s friend and advisor, Bill Spadea. "I know there was a lot of legitimate anticipation that John would enter this race we’ve been upfront with the many obligations he has, and his decision had to come down to his family."

There were other considerations as well, like Crowley’s role as CEO of Amicus Therapeutics and whether he would be able to disentangle himself from company affairs soon enough to declare a candidacy.

Seriously, how much did they like Crowley? This much:

Mr. Crowley, who turns 41 on Monday, first said no weeks ago to a possible Senate run. But after fielding calls from Senator John McCain of Arizona and other prominent Republicans in recent days, he reconsidered. And several Republicans who had talked to Mr. Crowley lately said he was setting up the machinery to run, with supporters even contacting the media to arrange interviews....

For Republicans, [] Mr. Crowley had been an especially attractive candidate — even though most conceded that they did not know where Mr. Crowley, a Navy reservist with a law degree from Notre Dame and a business degree from Harvard, stood on key issues, like the war in Iraq, the economy and abortion rights.

With their (second) dream candidate out of the race, the GOP field is left with NYC resident and party animal Andy Unanue (who almost was out but now may stay in), Paulite nutter Murray Sabrin and "nationalist" nutter "Jersey Joe" Pennacchio, perhaps the weirdest dentist in American public life since Dr. Orin Scrivello, D.D.S., who has called for the homeless to be interned on former military bases.

So the next time you're fretting about the developing North/South Jersey civil war on the Democratic side, just remember: compared to what NJ Republicans are facing, we've got it easy.

Race tracker wiki: nj-sen

I'm beginning to think Frank Lautenberg must be subsidizing Republican Murray Sabrin's campaign as his own personal attack dog, considering all the damage Murray is inflicting on his GOP primary opponents.  By the time Murray gets through with them, if either of them wins the nomination they'll be so bloodied and battered their own mothers won't recognize them.  

Regardless, Murray closely resembles Joe Cantwell (played by Cliff Robertson), a main character loosely based on Richard Nixon and Joe McCarthy from Gore Vidal's play called
"The Best Man" about two rivals for the presidential nomination.  I've seen the movie version several times and, though made in 1964, eerily resembles many of the current crop of presidential contenders.  Joe Cantwell, just like Murray Sabrin, comes across as a reactionary Goldwaterite with a mean streak which exemplifies Cantwell's belief that the ends justify the means.  Like Murray, Cantwell doesn't hesitate to dish the dirt against his main rival for the nomination, accusing the latter of extra-marital affairs and a history of mental illness.

Politically speaking the New Jersey GOP is beginning to resemble downtown Basra as Republican Shiites battle each other for control over the hearts and minds of the Party Faithful, and the patronage that goes along.  In the Senate primary the contest between fundamentalist Mullah Murray Sabrin, "Jersey Jerk" Pinnocchio, and GOP country club favorite Andy Unanue keeps getting uglier and uglier.  A political news website is reporting that Unanue lives in New York but is using his parent's address in New Jersey to register his car and vote.  Even more troublesome is a report that the family's food business, Goya Foods, paid thousands of dollars for Unanue's political consultants when he considered a run for Congress a few years ago.  This report, if true, would involve serious violations of campaign finance laws.

As a follow-up to a recent diary posted about neo-Nazi Hal Turner his connection to NJ GOP Senate candidate Murray Sabrin could pose a problem for the latter in his quest to gain the seat currently held by Frank Lautenberg.  Sabrin was the 1997 Libertarian candidate for Governor who was able to raise over a million dollars from libertarians across the country, and also appeared in debates with the Republicrat candidates.  

This Easter weekend New Jersey's Republican leaders are praying desperately in their country club hangouts as they anxiously await a decision next week by a potential messiah who will deliver them from the yoke of having to choose between the lesser of two clowns to run against Frank Lautenberg.  Andy Unanue is young, articulate, moderate and most important, as heir to the largest Hispanic-owned business in the US (Goya Foods), fabulously wealthy and willing to finance his own campaign.  

The real challenge for the chablis-and-brie country club set will be getting their chosen savior passed the gauntlet of reactionary Pharisees who seem to be coalescing around "Ron Paul wannabee" Murray Sabrin.  The small but potent group of Pharisee wingnuts in the NJGOP is already gearing up to politically crucify Andy Unanue should he have the temerity to defy their aspiration to win the primary for Sabrin.  Expect the mud-slinging (mostly in one direction) to be fast and furious.      

A couple of weeks ago, Anne Estabrook, a wealthy moderate businesswoman recruited by John Ensign and Mitch McConnell to run against Frank Lautenberg, dropped out of the New Jersey Senate race after suffering a stroke.  This left the New Jersey Republican Party in the unenviable position of choosing between Ron Paul devotee and former Libertarian candidate for governor Murray Sabrin and State Senator Joe Pennacchio, a kind of crazy backbencher from Morris County.  

Indeed, things looked so good for New Jersey Republicans that after more than half a dozen state legislators and other current and former officials declined to run, one county chair floated the name of, I kid you not, Rudy Giuliani, and someone else said "How about Mike Huckabee?"  This left Pennacchio the de facto leader for the Republican nomination, despite the discomfort of party leadership. Just a few examples of Pennacchio's brilliance:

Things are really getting ugly in the NJ Senate race with Murray Sabrin's latest salvo at "Jersey Joe" Pennacchio.  This time he calls Joe "fascist" for some political ramblings he wrote seventeen years ago, and demands he drop out of the race.  Interesting, and hypocritical, that the 1997 Libertarian Party candidate for Governor would imply "Jersey Joe" is extremist.  I was involved with Sabrin's 1997 campaign, and some of the people I met were from the far reaches of the outer limits as far as the political mainstream is concerned.  Among them was campaign operative Hal Turner whose expressed views would make David Duke blush with embarrassment.

With Murray and "Jersey Joe" going at it like two wrestlers in a no-holds-barred, no disqualification barbed wire cage match, Frank Lautenberg might just as well take a six month vacation cruise and still coast to reelection.  

Rasmussen has a poll showing Frank Lautenberg beating three GOP contenders with support around the mid-forties to mid-thirties for the latter.  

The scary thing for Democrats is that Lautenberg's disapproval rating is 39%, high for an incumbent.  

Also his opponents are virtually unknown.  Anne Estabrook is a wealthy businesswoman who thinks she can be the next Christie Whitman.  

Democrat Frank Lautenberg has nothing to worry about getting re-elected this year if his opponent is Christie Whitman wannabee Anne Estabrook.  Country club Republicans and other party regulars like Estabrook because she can self-finance her campaign.  

At a recent question-and-answer session someone asked Estabrook about gun control (she supports it) and it took  nearly half a minute to go through her notes and finish her answer.  One of her primary opponents, former libertarian turned paleoconservative Murray Sabrin, put her videotaped response in an email to his supporters.  From there it went all over the internet.

Lautenberg may have some snow on his roof, but at least his furnace is working.