Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

Depending upon which report one credits , former U.S. Sen, Chris Dodd may be on his way to Hollywood to accept a position as a lobbyist for Tinseltown. Citing a person close to the Motion Picture Association of America, the Los Angeles Times reported that “Dodd had emerged as the top contender and was now the only candidate in negotiations for the job, which pays $1.2 million a year.” The transition from the U.S. Senate to Hollywood should be effortless for Dodd, who in the past has rubbed shoulders with some notable denizens of Fantasyland. No doubt some critics of the former senator will get in their licks. When Mr. Dodd threw his hat in the presidential ring sometime past, a Washington based British journalist writing for the Tribune Review noted sourly in a column that Mr. Dodd had been friendly with Bianca Jagger, Mick’s ex-wife. The columnist noted bitterly in a January 2007 report that Mr. Dodd was known as the Senator from Accounting” owing to the legislation he had ...

Did Bank of America write Dodd’s Housing Bail Out Bill? The scoop was not, as may be expected. Provided by Connecticut’s main stream press. "Some journalists and Republican lawmakers are asking if Countrywide bought a bailout bill with its VIP loans to Dodd, who is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. But when asking cui bono? about Dodd's bill, we need to look to Bank of America. "Bank of America agreed in January to buy Countrywide, and the deal is near completion. House and Senate staffers opposing the measure say Bank of America operatives wrote that chamber's version of the bailout. "One Senate staffer was told by a lobbyist, 'the bailout section is exactly what Bank of America and Countrywide wanted.' The Senate staffer added 'its obvious they got what they asked for.'" These stories exist, when they exist at all, in out of the way places, though the Los Angeles Times did consent to notice back in June.

Women’s groups are trying to make lemonade out of Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid. Stacy Mason, executive director of a political action committee called Women Count, and others are demanding a plank in the Democrat Party’s upcoming convention protesting slights committed by exuberant supporters of likely presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama. “There were so many examples in the media of sexist commentary,” said Ms. Mason, “where we never heard from, the party leadership or Barack Obama.” Like what? Quoth the Los Angeles Times: “Some Clinton supporters have complained of jibes against the New York senator by TV talk show hosts, off color novelty items that surfaced during the campaign and incidents such as one where hecklers yelled, ‘Iron my shirt!’” Oddly enough, this sort of thing never happens to the iconic Madonna or Paris Hilton, the light as air hotel princess noted chiefly for her notoriety. Hilton recently flitted through a recent John McCain video, her presence in t...

The jury sitting on the meaning of the Iowa and New Hampshire canvasses is now in. The Journal Inquirer Following Hillary Clinton’s New Hampshire win, the editorial page editor of the Journal Inquirer unburdened himself in the form of a “Memo to Barack: This will not be easy.” The editorial makes the following points: • Barack has had to fight for what he is and has, while Hillary has had both her senate seat and her senate re-election “handed to her.” • Hillary was President Bill Clinton’s “consort.” The words “wife” or “First Lady” apparently are not in the editor’s lexicon. • The Clintons were not civil to the newly elected George Bush. The editorial page editor, who has been around for awhile, was uncomfortable with early Polls after Iowa showing Barack defeating Hillary by 10 percentage points. • “You mess with the Clinton’s at your peril.” • “The Clintons see the presidency as their due - their property. Theirs. Their whole campaign has been: Restore the monarchy.” • The Clinton’...