Quote:this guy's in the GOP? The Bizarro GOP? No wonder he can't get into the Republican debates, he's not batshit crazy.

Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, a longshot in race for GOP presidential nomination, shakes supporters? hands at Downtown Jersey City?s Made with Love bakery cafe

Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 9:59 AM
By Adam Maher/The Jersey Journal


Andrew Previtali, of Riverdale, right, listens to Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer who met with reporters and constituents at Made With Love Organic Bakery & Cafe in Jersey City on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011.

Republican presidential candidate Buddy Roemer was in Jersey City yesterday to meet and greet supporters over a few cups of coffee at Made with Love Organic Bakery & Cafe on Jersey Avenue.

A Harvard graduate and former Louisiana governor, Roemer, 68, has not been able to participate in the GOP presidential debates due to his minuscule poll numbers and fund-raising challenges.

?First, they told me I needed to get to 1 percent of the polls, and when I got 1 percent, they told me I need 2 percent. And then when I got 2 percent, they told me I needed to have raised at least $500,000 in the last 90 days . . .

?We had only raised $265,000 at that point,? Roemer said at his coffee-with-the-candidate session.
?Of course, the $265,000 we raised last quarter was collected in average donations of only $40, no one else can say that,? he added.

His goal is to get 1 million Americans to each donate $100 to his campaign.

?The harmful influence of money in politics is exactly what is wrong with our political system,? Roemer said.
Roemer is running on a platform of balancing the budget, protecting American jobs from overseas competition, and getting rid of corporate loopholes in the tax code.

An insulin-dependent diabetic for more than 40 years, Roemer also believes President Obama?s health care legislation was watered down too much by special interests, including Big Pharma and tort lawyers.
Riverdale resident Andrew G. Previtali made it to the cafe.

?I am in support of Roemer because of his stance on Chinese imports,? Previtali said.

?We need to regulate the massive imports into America, because they are causing detrimental damage to our country?s economy.?

One patron of the cafe was just getting a cup of coffee and definitely not a Roemer fan. ?I never thought I?d be this close to a Republican,? she said.

Roemer is making up for his lack of debate exposure by appearing on popular cable TV shows such as ?The Daily Show with John Stewart? and ?The Rachel Maddow Show.?