The nomination of New Jerseyan Samuel Alito, Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court has added to GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Forrester’s problems with his Republican base vote. Forrester issued a statement today clearly annoyed some conservative activists: “As someone who supports a woman’s right to choose, I am troubled about one of his decisions that seems to challenge that right. We have to be certain that, in replacing Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the president is appointing a judge who is uncompromising in his support for women„s equality. Although this decision was rendered 15 years ago, I trust the Senate to probe his thinking on this point.” Some of Forrester’s own staffers say they believed the statement was not a great strategy. Among Forrester’s critics is Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan, the most conservative of the seven candidates in the ’05 gubernatorial primary. “We who share the values and principles that lie at the heart of conservatism are not the minority, we are the majority; not just in the Republican Party but also among Democrats and undeclared voters,” Lonegan said. “Unfortunately, Doug Forrester and the liberals who run the New Jersey Republican Party do not understand this. That is why Doug is far behind in the polls and on his way to losing this election.” “He lost my vote a long time ago. I am talking to a Republican loyalist who because of this is not voting for Forrester,” said Rick Shaftan, a political consultant who works for conservative candidates. “Maybe the lesbian left will put him over the top but I won’t.”
