LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – Murray Sabrin knows the difficulty of pitching libertarian principles to voters in a blue state like New Jersey, but he has never been more excited about a political campaign in his life, he said, even his own.
A former candidate for New Jersey governor, Sabrin will try to boost Republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, at a gathering of state Republican activists this weekend.
“He’s raised more money than anyone ever thought he would, and thousands of young people are gravitating towards his campaign,” Sabrin said. “At this point in the campaign anything is possible.”
As the Libertarian party’s candidate for governor in 1997, Sabrin raised enough money to qualify for matching funds and earn a spot in three televised debates alongside Democrat Jim McGreevey and Republican Christie Todd Whitman.
After making a splash on TV, Sabrin’s campaign earned credibility and he went on to win nearly 5 percent of the vote on Election Day in an election that Whitman won by just a percentage point.
Sabrin is currently the executive director of the Anisfield School of Business at Ramapo University, and he recently talked to NJpols about Ron Paul’s campaign for president.
What is Ron Paul’s appeal in New Jersey?
“Start with the amount of tax dollars that New Jerseyans pay, and the little they get in return from the government. As an proponent of abolishing the income tax, New Jerseyans should be thrilled about his candidacy. Practically everything that Ron Paul stands for would benefit the people of this state, from federalism to decentralization, New Jersey residents should get behind his candidacy, and I’m going to encourage them to do it. ”
How did your support for Ron Paul and the connection to his campaign evolve?
“I’ve known Ron for more than 25 years now. We first met at a monetary conference in Washington D.C. in the early 1980s. I had heard about him from some of my libertarian friends in New York, and I was following some of his writings at the time as well. It was really a breath of fresh air to have someone in Congress with his political outlook. I became a supporter of his immediately and I’m not surprised that his campaign for president is having the impact it is.”
How many times have you heard, ‘you know he can’t win, right?’
“Sure, people say that, but anything is possible. Ron has real momentum, I’m sure of that. He has raised significantly more money than anyone ever thought he could, and thousands of young people are gravitating toward his campaign.
