Callers give NJ Republicans key to winning election: Oppose the gas tax

We're going to get a gas tax after the upcoming state election unless we hold our legislators accountable and vote for stronger candidates. 

I can't support a gas tax, and I know I'm not alone. According to a recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll, 57 percent of New Jerseyans oppose the gas tax, and some of you shared why this morning.

Eric, a 50-year-old caller from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, said he is a trucker who works in New Jersey and gets most of his gas here, so he hopes our legislature doesn't pass the gas tax. "Your roads aren't that bad- it's just that these people have deep pockets and are always 'Gimme, gimme, gimme.' It's gotta end," he said.

Javed from South Brunswick said that the government needs to do three things before he as a commuter can accept a gas tax. First, they would have to stop borrowing from the Transportation Trust Fund. Then they'd need to abolish the prevailing wage to normalize costs and prices. Finally, officials would have to pay back anything borrowed from the TTF. "I don't care how broke those funds are," Javed said. "If they can't survive on their own, they don't belong there in the first place."

Knowing how opposed most New Jerseyans are to this tax, I wonder why state Republicans don't just run their political campaigns on this issue. They could easily win by tapping into the public's anger like Governor Christie and Donald Trump have famously done in their own campaigns.

Republican state assembly candidate Synnove Bakke called in to help explain what the party's doing to win the next election and stop this tax.

Do you support the gas tax? Are you going to vote this November to prevent Democrats from staying in power and passing it? Do you have an exit plan to leave New Jersey if the tax is approved? Share your thoughts below or on Twitter with @nj1015 and @BillSpadea.