Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

Former Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, now running for U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman’s soon to be vacated seat along side U.S. Rep Chris Murphy, may have had her front grill dented a bit in recent days, but it must be said the lady now is in fearsome forward motion. Mrs. Bysiewicz has called for U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan as soon as practicable and, by so doing, got a jump on the laggard Mr. Murphy, who has been advertising himself in different venues as the progressive’s progressive. The modern progressives, nearly all of them Democrats, not so long ago were bestirring themselves as anti-war zealots. Who can forget Cindy Sheehan’s often reported march on former President George Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch? During the Bush presidency, the air crackled with fervent calls by then presidential campaigner Barack Obama to shut down the Iraq war shortly after the Petraeus surge had been launched. The progressives were hot on closing down GITMO, still open for business. A not ye...

The latest Quinnipiac poll shows that Linda McMahon has whittled down Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s lead in the U.S. Senate race from a high of 40 percentage points to a worrisome 3. And yet, McMahon has come under fierce attack, if not by Mr. Blumenthal then by the media. Judging from Mr. Blumenthal’s slide in poll numbers, that attack has not been effective. Why has it failed? The attackers, just to begin with, lie under a suspicion of being ideologically allied with Mr. Blumenthal. The infrequent attacks upon Mr. Blumenthal by the media during his 20 year reign as attorney general have been soft core, and political consumers have now come of age. Mrs. McMahon has been on the attack well before the primary elections in a series of ads and media buys, and one is keenly aware of the palpable disappointment among Connecticut’s left of center media that Mrs. McMahon has so easily found a route around them. Whether one is disposed to agree or disagree with the thrust of her ...

A recent Quinnipiac poll shows Linda McMahon within striking distance of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who, despite an unending stream of press releases touting his triumphs as attorney general, this year is actually running for the U.S. senate. McMahon has shaved Blumenthal’s once awesome 40 point lead to 6 points. In further bad news for Blumenthal, Quinnipiac reports that President Barack Obama is on the downslide in Connecticut, which Obama carried by an overwhelming majority just two years ago. A majority of likely voters -- 52% -- in the Quinnipiac poll disapprove of how Obama is handling his job as president. Only 45% approve of his performance. The National Journal reports : “The numbers suggest that Obama is struggling even in deep blue states like Connecticut. Obama carried Connecticut by more than 20 points over John McCain (R) in '08. “The poll also indicates that Dem candidates may be wary of having Obama on the stump. Quinnipiac's polling director,...

President Barack Obama is due in Connecticut on September 16th in Stamford to raise money for U.S. Senate candidate-State Attorney General Dick Blumenthal, and Mr. Blumenthal’s office has just released a media report that the attorney general-U.S. Senate candidate will show up for the event. Mr. Blumenthal’s statement is straightforward enough. Over a twenty year period, citizens of the state have come to expect straight-talk from Attorney General Blumenthal: “I look forward to welcoming the President of the United States to Connecticut. It is an honor to have his support and his assistance. His visit will make a difference for us, energizing our supporters and helping us raise the resources we need against my opponent who is spending an unprecedented $50 million on her campaign.” A carefully crafted caveat was delivered by Blumenthal spokesman Marla Romash : “Dick has always said when he agrees with the President he’ll stand with him and when he doesn’t he won’t … The bottom line ...

There are some people who may believe that U.S. Rep Jim Himes, a Democrat who narrowly defeated Chris Shays in a tight race, is the second coming of Shays, but Mr. Shays is not among them, according to a story in CTMirror . "The sweet spot of the 4th District,” Himes said, “is socially progressive, business-oriented, and fiscally responsible, and I think that describes me. It's an interesting question, if you put Chris Shays between me and Dan Debicella [Himes’ Republican opponent], who he would be closer to." There are some important differences between Himes and Shays. While in office, Mr. Shays had a RINO (Republican In Name Only) rating of 70%, which is to say he voted with his party in the congress 70% of the time, not a bad batting average for Republicans considered “moderate” by Connecticut’s left of center media. Mr. Himes’ DINO (Democrat In Name Only) rating is (94%), a score likely to raise the hackles only of progressive purists. Shays chortles at Himes’ ...

In a blog entrée reproving former Democrat Party chairman John Droney for having suggested that besieged Senator Joe Lieberman should run as an independent, Courant columnist and radio talk show host Colin McEnroe reached over and slapped Democrat Senator Chris Dodd upside the head. The jolt to Dodd’s brain stem did not appear to be inadvertent. It’s no secret that McEnroe regards Droney as a crass opportunist. My chronic distaste for Droney has mostly to do with my belief that he's a bit of a bounder, as they say, and that, during the Rowland years, this acclaimed Democratic power broker never did much to unseat the Republican governor because he and his cronies liked the way Rowland and state Treasurer Paul Silvester ran the candy store. Droney capped off that marvelous phase of his life by becoming, appropriately, Rowland's defense counsel. McEnroe rose to the defense of people characterized by the politically inept Droney in a Hartford Courant story as “weirdoes.” Apparen...

Said the wizened Republican Party activist, “Rell won’t have a problem raising money (for the upcoming gubernatorial campaign), but any other Republican unfortunate enough to embrace her ideas is going to find himself down and out.” Governor Rell, dubbed “Snow White” by former Democrat Party Chairman John Droney, can well afford to forego tainted campaign contributions from the usual suspects, lobbyists and state contractors on the make, but her fellow Republicans may find themselves unable to mount successful campaigns by relying solely upon the kindness of strangers. It is no secret that Democrats who control the legislature are not anxious to adopt before statewide elections begin many of the reforms proposed by Rell. In the absence of statutory restrictions, they can plausibly argue that the acceptance of funds frowned upon by Rell is perfectly legal, though it may be morally questionable. But Republicans who support Rell’s vow to forgo such funding in the current election season w...

U.S. Rep Chris Shays, R-4th District, had his hair tousled in his recently concluded election with Westport First Selectwoman Dianne Farrell – which Shays won by a whisker. U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, was less than flattering to Shays during the campaign, and when Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader and DeLauro’s gal pal, said of Shays that he was “a rubber stamp for the radical right wing check-your-brain-at-the-door congressperson,” DeLauro did not demur. “This was the first year you really saw Democratic members go after other members,” said Shays. Apparently, the verbal bludgeons hit Shays upside his head: Even now, a month after the election, the genial congressman feels the shock and awe of it. Said Shays, “It was awkward.” Connecticut’s reporters and commentators, visibly shaken at the incivility of recent campaigns, are wondering whether the usual collegial comity that holds sway in Connecticut’s congressional delegation will survive such partisan slights. Awkw...

Governor John Rowland two days ago threw himself on the mercy of the media. In a written statement, Rowland admitted he had mislead the state's Capitol Press Corp and abjectly apologized. And what was the result? It was predictable, after his stunning confession, that he would be publicly mutilated. Nothing so arouses the media as public confessions of deceit. Two newspapers called for his resignation, firebrand liberals demanded the governor be impeached, and other leading Democrats asked that Rowland step down until federal authorities have completed their investigations. Much of the heavy fire came on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2003. The Hartford Courant ran two stories on page one under the headline "Tomasso Oversaw Cottage Work." One sub-headline read "Contractors: He Hired Them While His Company Sought State Job," and the other read "Rowland: Democratic Leaders Say Governor is 'Looking Into That Opened Pit." According to the story, William Tomasso ...