A conversation with Douglas Steinhardt
/by Joshua Sotomayor - Einstein
In a December 18th interview on NJ Spotlight News with Chief Political Correspondent Michael Aaron, would-be GOP Gubernatorial candidate Douglas Steinhardt, a self-professed Reagan fan violated President Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment that “thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” This was of course a desperate attempt to paint himself as the conservative candidate for the GOP Gubernatorial nomination. The interview by Aaron was a series of straight forward questions each ducked by Steinhardt, the immediate former NJ GOP State Chairman.
When asked by Aaron, “to control spending, what big ticket item would you cut if you were governor?” Steinhardt had no answer but a vague platitudinous response about “bold” programs, “cutting spending so people would keep more of their tax dollars,” and how we need to “keep jobs here.”
It is unclear what “bold” programs Steinhardt was referring to as he could not give specifics. It is painfully obvious that New Jersey needs to cut spending, let people keep more of their own money, and keep jobs in the state.
But what is inexplicable is why Steinhardt, who was theoretically leading the state GOP for 3 years and who has planned for run for governor for months if not longer, could provide no actual budget items as an example of wasteful spending he would eliminate.
Aaron politely pushed back on Steinhardt’s non-answer on cutting state spending, precipitating Steinhardt’s responds that, “I think you gotta roll up your sleeves and look under the hood so we can figure out exactly what’s going on.”
This second non-answer on what he would cut from the pork laden budget that is killing New Jersey begs the question, what was Steinhardt doing for 3 years as state chair if he cannot identify a single specific item he would eliminate from state spending?
When asked by Aaron “if you were governor would you undo New Jersey’s strict gun laws?” Steinhardt ducked the question, discussed his childhood on a farm, and stated that the real problems in New Jersey are “our states failure to enforce the gun laws that we have that keep our communities safe.”
Yet in reality, the restrictive NJ gun laws make our communities less safe by prevent more law-abiding citizens from legally owning guns while preventing zero criminals from access to firearms.
Asked about voter fraud in the 2020 election, Steinhardt hemmed and hawed, calling evidence of voter fraud mere “claims” and “claims the law allows them (witnesses to voter fraud) to assert” as well as stating that, “eventually January 20th is gonna roll around and our constitutional republic will move on.” As if this passivity to defending the vote was not enough, on the mandatory vote-by-mail elections New Jersey was recently subject to he said, “I don’t think he (Murphy) proposed a fix to that yet, we have to wait and see what comes up in 2021.”
Steinhardt repeatedly ducked questions, failed to identify a single budget item he would eliminate, offered vague empty promises rather than actual concrete solutions, responded with lethargy in defense of basic freedoms, and was passive and deferred to Democrat Governor Feckless Phil Murphy in how the next election is run instead of taking a stand for the people.
That’s Doug Steinhardt and that was in a straightforward interview less than 6 minutes long - how the heck can anyone believe he could be a good Gubernatorial candidate?
