OPINION by Bill Collier: Bob Hugin, the “Republican” nominee who bought his way to a primary victory in the New Jersey senate race, is a freedom taker. If he wins the senate race in New Jersey, conservatives there will only have the choice of two freedom-taker parties. It is a worst-case scenario for Hugin to win. A BEST case scenario? Murray Sabrin, the Libertarian candidate, pulls an upset. A better than the worst scenario, but not the best scenario would be that Hugin loses and his freedom-taking agenda is discredited within the GOP, leading to an uprising of conservatives. I propose that those who only focus on a Hugin win because any Republican is allegedly better than Menendez are playing checkers instead of chess. 

If Hugin wins he controls the Republican Party and no doubt he will complete the work of turning that Party into the front porch of the Democratic Party, yet another Progressive bastion of power, leaving true conservatives and liberty-minded Republicans out in the cold. If you think the State GOP is weak on principle now, just wait until Hugin and his cronies start setting the agenda. What a “victory” it would be for such a man and his Progressive agenda to become the master of the house.

Hugin could win. Why? Well, he’s up against a guy who is ethically challenged and who is rumored to like underage girls (regardless of the substance of that, and I am not saying I know or think it is true).

A recent poll conducted by Gravis and paid for by the Sabrin campaign shows Sabrin may be at 16% to the other two who poll at 31% and 30%, with Menendez in the lead and with Sabrin taking votes from both candidates. This is a “perfect storm” scenario in which both the Republican and the Democrat are weak even with their base, and both men embody ideas and practices that turn off many voters. The choice is between two progressive elites, neither of whom identify very will with the people they want to “serve.”

Hugin winning would spell the end of freedom-minded people within the GOP leadership. Conservatives would be out. One can see good conservatives like Mike Doherty getting primaried and having false accusations piled on them. At the least, they would be sidelined and lose influence. Hugin seems like the type who would play dirty pool. Look at how the Hugin machine torpedoed Steve Lonegan: they caused a guy to win who we all can see seems to be throwing the race. Indeed, Hugin et al have far more sympathy for Josh Gottheimer than they do the likes of Lonegan and his supporters.

As a Senator, Hugin would gladly fill the role of John McCain and we can see headlines, “EVEN MEMBERS OF TRUMP’S PARTY ARE CALLING ON HIM TO RESIGN.” If Menendez does this, who would see that as news? Forget the nuance that Hugin is a never-Trump liberal, he’s a Republican and that’s all that would count. The DNC Press wouldn’t add any context at all that might mitigate anything Hugin says. The lying Press would call him a hero!

If Hugin loses to Menendez, that’s not the best result, but it is acceptable. Why?

For starters, who doesn’t suspect that Menendez’s ethical troubles are NOT over? He carries so much baggage that, as a Senator, his declamations against the GOP and the President would fall on deaf ears, for the most part. He’d be an opponent of conservatives, but he would be far less effective than Hugin would be. Menendez may not even be able to finish his term. What is most problematic of Hugin wins is that the enemy within the tent is always the most deadly! A Hugin loss stops that scenario.

The best case scenario is Sabrin wins. I don’t think he would not be an opponent of conservatives on many issues. In fact, he would be less opposed to things you and I hold dear than Hugin would! The chances are, if he wins, the GOP will try to persuade him to caucus with them OR at least get him to join them on key votes. He certainly wouldn’t caucus with the Democrats.

If Sabrin wins you get two things: the freedom takers in the GOP leadership are fully discredited and we see conservatives replacing them AND you have a Senator who isn’t a rabid anti-Trump loon, as Menendez and Hugin are. Perhaps even the GOP could convince him to caucus with them, though it is most likely they will get his support for key votes on things like repealing Obamacare and upholding the Second Amendment. He won’t caucus with the Democrats, so it would be a loss for them.

If Menendez wins you have a damaged opponent who may not finish his term and the freedom-taking elites in the GOP lose all credibility. You essentially don’t “win” but you live to fight another day.

If Hugin wins, you have a rabid opponent who would transform the whole NJ-GOP into a freedom-taking mirror of the Democrats and an enemy within the camp who the media would constantly use as “proof” that conservative ideas and the President have no credibility. The NJ-GOP would “learn” that they can screw the base with immunity! And this could embolden freedom takers like Hugin in other states. THIS IS THE WORSE-CASE SCENARIO. For freedom lovers, there is no upside if Hugin wins!

Conservatives in New Jersey should be hoping and working toward a Sabrin victory, as long a shot as that is. If Hugin loses this is a massive blow to his freedom-taking pals in the GOP and a conservative rebirth is possible. This is the attainable goal: defeat the enemy within and rebuild the Party with freedom-lovers at the helm. The best outcome is not impossible: if money and people back Sabrin, Menendez is the easiest Democrat opponent they’ll face in their lifetime. It’s a unique opportunity.

Rarely do I go against the Party nominee, but in the end, I am first and foremost a freedom-loving American (after being a Christian, of course), and then a Conservative, and then a Republican. Hugin is a freedom-taker who hates conservatives, he, therefore, is a larger threat than Menendez and isn’t 10% as good as Sabrin.  As a Christian, I find his adoration of abortion to be morally reprehensible. As an American, I find his globalist pretensions to be dangerous to our country’s sovereignty. As a conservative, I find his distaste for our values to be disheartening. And as a Republican, I find the course he wishes to plot for the GOP to be a one-way ticket to political suicide.

I urge my friends and everyone in New Jersey to think long and hard about this election and whether they wish Bob Hugin and his Progressive globalist pals to become the masters of the NJ-GOP, thus freezing conservatives out of the political process altogether in New Jersey.

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