From the Blondin campaign newsletter:
For the past two weeks, I have been speaking to supporters and political leaders around the state, and I am very grateful to all those who have reached out to our campaign. We all know that there are major leaders on both sides of the aisle who have yet to make their decisions. The political situation statewide is tenuous and fluid, and is not the atmosphere in which a serious statewide office seeker can make an informed decision about next year’'s political races.
Interesting.
So far, Landino and Fleischmann have bowed out, Blondin is staying in, while Mantilla, Nussbaum and Rodriguez-Reyes haven't said a word.
9 comments:
I am glad for Audrey, she is a good person and a credible candidate. The people, not the 'party' should pick our leaders.
Translation of Blondin memo: I wasted a huge amount of time and am in campaign debt up to my ears. I know I'm screwed and haven't got a chance in Hades, but before I give up for good to that liar Susan Bysiewicz, I am going to make darn sure that Blumenthal is not running for Governor and Bysiewicz is not running for AG. Then I'll shut the door and scream my head off. ;)
MikeCT- I think everyone is getting tired of your ill-will towards the Blondin campaign. Seriously- What is your problem with Audrey? Your negative comments have been going on for months.
Audrey has been working very hard to get her message out for over a year, and shouldn't feel forced out of the campaign right now by a person who lied repeatedly to her face.
So MikeCT, if you're only going to continue bashing Audrey, you're only going to further damage your weak credibility.
On the off chance that the humor in my post was not abundantly clear to all readers, I added a smiley-face. Lighten up! In any case, I feel genuinely badly for all the SOTS candidates that have wasted their time and have said so here in the past. I agree that Bysiewicz is a liar and can’t be trusted and have said so in the past.
If you need a more dry and humorless explanation … As for Blondin, she has gone out of her way to praise Bysiewicz and decline opportunities to explain how she could do the job better. So she cannot credibly offer an alternative. The only rational explanation for her current behavior is that she is waiting to make absolutely sure that Bysiewicz does not do another switcheroo and run for AG (a very remote possibility). In any case, I don’t think she has a chance, or deserves it. As I’ve explained in the past, she actively supported Lieberman’s Presidential campaign, acted as a spokesperson for the campaign, and has contributed to him generously over the years. If she chooses to identify with the most reactionary elements of the party, then expects support from a more progressive base, she should not be surprised if some of us don’t welcome her with open arms. There are other weaknesses in her fundraising and historic lack of involvement in campaign finance reform and democracy issues, particularly relative to other candidates.
Let me put in my two cents about Audrey.
Yes, I would have liked to see her talk a little more on the issues. At the same time, yes I would have liked to see her blog be a little more conversational.
Yes, I supported Howard Dean in 2004 and she supported Joe Lieberman.
Yes, she is unlikely to defeat Susan Bysiewicz in a primary if it comes down to that.
However, I think she is doing a wise thing by staying in the race. She has been a great grassroots retail politican. As I have gone from event to event, I almost always have run into Audrey. She has made great use of the Internet to keep people informed and to spur them on. We need to see more people approaching campaigns the way Audrey has.
She has raised her visibility and her political capital considerably through her campaign. Staying in the race for the time being keeps her visible, it gives her a bully pulpit to speak from, without costing much political capital.
There are still a lot of shoes to drop, and by staying in the race for the time being, she keeps herself well positioned to take advantage of any changes.
I disagree with those who say that Audrey can't beat Susan. Susan is very unpopular in many political circles in the state and has made a lot enemies. I also disagree with those who say that Audrey has nothing to offer beyond what Susan has done. I think that a Blondin win would bring lots of change, mostly in the form increased communication. It is true that she is friends with Susan and this has put a strain on thier relationship, but Audrey is running for Secretary of the State to be the Secretary of the State nothing else. For correction her campaign is not in financial trouble and because she has her own money she doesn't need to have a boat load of fundrasiers. Her Campaign is not making decsions based on what Blumenthal and Bysiewicz are doing. I think that the party has to come to grips that both of their insider candidates haven't work out as they wanted they to and they better learn to except a Malloy or Destefano type candidate.
Anon,
By the way, I can recall commenting on Blondin exactly once before this week. If you can even remember that, the Blondin campaign really needs a thicker skin.
My acquaintance with Audrey goes back several years, we travel a lot of the same territory.
At the risk of agreeing with Aldon ;-) I can tell you from extensive experience and personal knowledge that Audrey - the Democratic State Central Committeewoman from the 30th District - is always out, has a lot of friends in northwest Connecticut, and everyone is quick to acknowledge that she is an activist.
Whatever her prospects in the SOTS campaign, that much will remain when it is all over.
Also, after Lieberman pulled out last year, Audrey went right over to the Kerry campaign & was the 5th CD Alternate delegate for Kerry to the Boston convention.
Then she ran the 5th CD last fall for Kerry, going all over the place for Kerry doing everything she could to get him elected. I think she went to something like 17 or 18 DTCs on behalf of the Kerry campaign-
She worked her heart out for Kerry for President- I don't think it is fair to label her for working on the Lieberman campaign, he is still the Democratic Senator from the state of Connecticut and you don't turn your back on your friends or fellow Democrats that serve their state with honor and distinction for many years. Furthermore, there was a statewide movement to see how popular Lieberman still was and the party still overwhelmingly supports Senator Lieberman. End of Story.
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