Sunday, December 18, 2005

Open Forum

Ask, and ye shall receive.

Just to get us all in the holiday spirit, here's the text of Patty Rowland's 'Night Before Christmas', as read to the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce two years ago Saturday. Read and cringe all over again! I wonder how sales of Marvelous Max the Mansion Mouse are doing...

Check out the new poll on the Moody scandal on the sidebar below the maps.

What's happening around the state?

28 comments:

ctblogger said...

Patti Rowland poem, classic!

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else see the NY Times article today on the New Haven cop suit? How did DeStefano get the police endorsement for the mayors race when he is willing to sacrifice a good cop for political gain? Does that stuff really fly in New Haven?

Genghis Conn said...

Ebpie,

I'd be shocked if she managed 200k. She started late, and her fundraising rules do hamper her ability to raise money.

Anonymous said...

How much can an individual give to a gubernatorial campaign? $2,500?
There are 100 people in this state who'll write her that check, easy.

If she doesn't hit $500M, she is in big trouble.

She might be inexperienced and inept, but her Chief of Staff knows how to play the game. What was her name again?

Ooops, wrong thread.

Anonymous said...

huskyfan1999:
Heh. Ed's a good guy, but he took Aniskovitch out after ctkeith primed the pump, and there was dirt on Aniskovitch beyond being Rowland's winger.

Ed's in no position to challenge Lieberman. Neither is Weicker.

But Gov. Weicker certainly has stepped over the line and committed to running in November, hasn't he? Too bad. I really didn't think he'd fall on his sword like that.

Anonymous said...

This the Ed Meyer who was a right wing NYS legislator in the 1980's?

The fact Aniskovich ran an inept campaign is overlooked by everyone on the Left

Anonymous said...

Ed Meyer?!? Okay gang... that's enough Egg Nogg for this season...

Anonymous said...

On Rell's fundraising number, I think she'll need to hit $450-$500k. This would put her above anyone else's best quarter, and she can trumpet doing it without lobbyists/ad books/contractor money. Given that she started late, and basically lost Thanksgiving week, this week and next due to holidays, that should be a pretty good number. (When you back out the lobbyist/ad book/contractor numbers from DeStefano and Molloy, the multiple would look even better.)

Anonymous said...

I don't think there is any threshold that Rell needs to meet in order to be considered successful. She's not taking any of that drity, filty, corrupting lobbyist/contractor/adbook money that both DeStefano and Malloy have chosen to take.

If that kind of money is so corrupting, why don't DeStefano and Malloy return it? I won't be holding my breath.

Genghis Conn said...

That is interesting. Might be worth its own post later today. Thanks, Ebpie.

Anonymous said...

Heh. Hence Gallo's statement that a Weicker entry would prompt interest from Republicans in getting into the race.

Hoo boy. Imagine a Weicker 33, Lieberman 32, [Unnamed R] 34 outcome? Lefties would have to do a Jonestown.

Genghis Conn said...

That result is not at all out of the question. Republicans have been getting about 30-35% of the vote every time Lieberman is up for re-election.

Anonymous said...

you mean lefties doin' a Jonestown?

;-)

Anonymous said...

Huskyfan 1999: Blumenthal shares Joe's geographic base, they are close politically, and to challenge a sitting Senator from your own party, you need more than ambition to justify it. Plus, as Blumenthal has made clear, he's perfectly happy being AG and raising his family.

Anonymous said...

Chris McCard.....please dont tell us about credibilty that REll would have...you have no experience in bigtime politcs and long ago lost YOUR credibility on the Dean campaign

Aldon Hynes said...

Chris McC raises the concern, "Weicker 33, Lieberman 32, [Unnamed R] 34 outcome? "

I am guessing that Chris is thinking that Weicker would be running as an independent and Lieberman would be running as a Democrat.

Most of the people I know who are encouraging Weicker to run are encouraging him to run as a Democrat. I know that Colin has said this isn't likely, but it is really Weicker's best chance.

Of course my dump joe friends might question whether Joe would run as a Democrat.

Aldon Hynes said...

In other news, I received the following release from James Howell, Executive Director of AFSCME, Council 15:

(Full Disclosure: AFSCME Council 15 has endorsed Mayor DeStefano)


For More Information: James Howell, Executive Director, Council 15

For Immediate Release: December 15 2005


Hartford— AFSCME, Council 15 Executive Director James Howell questioned Governor’s Rell’s ability to lead Connecticut forward when it comes to crime, citing her meeting about youth violence that excluded the mayors or police chiefs of any major Connecticut cities as evidence that she doesn’t understand the dynamics of change when it comes to public safety.

“Making our cities and towns safer is going require a dramatic collaboration. Does Governor Rell really think she can solve crime problems at a meeting in the Governor’s Mansion with three people who don’t know the first thing about youth or violence? That is laughable.” Howell, whose union represents 3,500 police officers statewide, said. “We need the mayors at the table. We need the educators at the table. We need the cops at the table. And you know what? We need some dollars on the table. There are significantly fewer cops on the streets of our cities than just four years ago.”

Anonymous said...

Aldon -

Weicker himself has said he'd only run as an independent. He has no interest in becoming a D. And he's ruled out the R nomination. I think it was in the NYT piece last week.

I'll venture that Lieberman doesn't switch parties. Think that's a safe bet?

Anonymous said...

Huskyfan1999

Dick doesnt like running a hard race thats why he isnt running for Senator. And if Joe winds up at the Pentagon the governor appoints the replacement. If Dick was going to e appointed he had better hope the Governor is a Dem mwhich at this point doesnt look all that likely...sorry guys but I am a realist.

Anonymous said...

kerryguy said:
"But since she will be competing directly with the state GOP for those donations, she seized the field by installing George Gallo as state chair - the same Gallo under whose watch Rowland pilfered over $300k in party funds.

Competing with? What is to prevent big donors from giving to the campaign and to the state party?

Anonymous said...

Chris McC is exactly right and if they give the max by next Saturday they can do it again the Saturday after that....new year means the donation slate is wiped clean!

She will have plenty of cash on hand.

Anonymous said...

hf99:
Blumenthal shares Lieberman's geographic base and they are close politically...

And you need a much better reason to take on a sitting Senator from your own party than personal ambition.

And as has been pointed out, despite what keith and df84 & company imply, Lieberman's record overall is one of a moderate. This is primarily about Iraq, and more broadly about the appearance at least of Joe's support of the neo-cons and their President.

Even Weicker, at least so far, has emphasized that his candidacy (should it materialize) is about challenging the propagandization of American foreign policy, specifically the invasion of Iraq.

So anybody running against Lieberman would be tossing whatever s/he's about politically to be the "anti-Iraq" candidate. It's a pretty thin platform.

Anonymous said...

Rell could NOT recieve an additional contribution from the same person.

The slate is wiped clean after the primary, not after the new year...otherwise DeStefano & Malloy would have an even larger advantage.

But good research Disgruntled, I applaud the effort

Anonymous said...

kerryguy -

OK, I guess I am assuming we're talking about that category of donor for whom five or ten grand isn't a big deal, and there are easily 100 of those Rell can reach by phone between now and Friday if she even has to call them herself. Which she doesn't, since her influence peddler in chief is on leave and can devote herself full time to raking in the dough.

Rell's pledge, as DeStefano and Malloy have both said, is baloney. She can't take the cash from the party if she sticks to her pledge, but she was very careful to protect the in kind donations like polling and everything else that her R leadership Hamzy and Ward went ballistic about during the floor debate over the CFR legislation.

So assuming she gets the $500M in her bank account by the end of the quarter, and Gallo gets another $500M in the RSCC coffers, they start out the year just fine.

If not, one has to wonder just how weak the Connecticut Republicans' franchise has become thanks to the Rowland legacy. Their Prescott Bush fundraiser was underattended this year, right?

Anonymous said...

I followed you until the part about it killing off the underticket - you mean there would be no money, or what?

If the party is pulling in dough and not spending on Rell, where else would it go?

Anonymous said...

Got my Xmas card from the Governor today. I found it odd that the postmark was from Akron, OH.

Outsourced out of State?

Anonymous said...

Seeking to shift public attention from internal ethics problems, Gov Rell has adopted a new image and has begun a concert tour. (Tour photo courtesy of the Hartford AdvocateM.)

Gabe said...

KerryGuy -

And yes, Ed Meyer is the former NY state pol, whose votes there screwing CT residents will come back to haunt him if he ever ran for something bigger here

What votes?