Monday, July 03, 2006

Lamont: Building Exclusion One Bit at a Time

A few weeks before the Democratic Nominating Convention, Ned Lamont visited the Weston DTC pitching his candidacy in an earnest way. Where Lamont has been well received in small towns, many in eastern Connecticut, his message has not appealed quite as well closer to home. Nor, after a glance at the delegate map of the convention does it seem to resonate much in the urban corridors as well.

That night revealed two things about the Lamont campaign and what they didn't want to emerge as an issue. The first concerned Lamont's membership in the Round Hill Club. A few days before, according to Lamont's scheduler, he had resigned his membership to the club because he did not want it to become a campaign issue. The reasons for it becoming an issue vary, according to people who were there than night. The Round Hill Club does have a certain reputation, that actually much of Greenwich has, concerning just who can become a member. Perhaps it is better expressed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who wrote in a preface to his book:

“If Greenwich is the Republicans’ Mecca, then the Round Hill Club is the Kaaba. In the foyer I passed beneath an oversized photograph of Senator Prescott Bush, a former Greenwich resident and the current president’s grandfather. Somebody pointed to an anteroom and commented: “That’s where George met Barbara,” referring to the president’s mom and dad. It was the club’s annual meeting—always well attended—and as I stepped to the podium I looked out over a sea of skeptical faces, the faces of affluent conservatism.” by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy


Membership to an exclusive club in Greenwich for a successful businessman is hardly a contentious issue. It just so happens that it is common knowledge that this is the Bush family's club, and according to Vanity FairPrescott Bush, grandfather to George W., was once president of the club.

Maybe such coincidences wouldn't be so interesting were it not for the campaign Lamont is running against Joe Lieberman. Since the Lamont campaign is so fixated on Senator Lieberman's rhetoric about all things George Bush, perhaps they don't want it known who Lamont actually hangs out with on the golf courses, cutting deals and otherwise engaging in country club business.

The second item that the Lamont campaign wished to downplay was the business record of Lamont. Some business people, like George Soros, align their business interests with their politics. That is quite an admirable thing to do and It is generally a good indicator of one's political philosophy, though not necessarily one's political affiliation.Lamont Digital Systems, according to its web site, Lamont Digital Systems builds and operates advanced telecommunications networks for college campuses and residential gated communities serving over 175,000 subscribers. Residential gated communitiess are not quite the type of housing one expects from a liberal thinking executive, especially in North Richland Hills, Texas.

Senator Lieberman has a long record of support for the people who don't live in gated communities, and don't belong to exclusive Greenwich country clubs. The blogsphere would have you believe that Ned Lamont would never support a single Republican agenda. Except of course, if there was a digital video system in a gated community involved.

6 comments:

ctblogger said...

Trufgrrl,

you are by far one of the worst bloggers I've ever read.

With the biggest story in the country happening right now, this is the best you can do?

What happened to this blog? The biggest story in the country happened today with Joe making his cut and run move, I'm getting calls/emails/IMs from anyone who has anything to do with the Democratic Party in the state, and freaking CNN just mentioned my blog, and here at one of the first blogs that covered Connecticut Poltiics, we haev a "blogger" who is allowed to post this trash.

Genghis...come on man. You're better than this.

ctkeith said...

LMAO,

This was what you were working on.

Why don't you go look and see which of the two men trying to win the Aug. 18th primary has more Greenwich millionaires on his donor list.

For someone who got themselves put on a zoning board to do political favors in order to increase their buisness you don't seem to bright.

Thecitizen said...

This is the most laughable post I have read.

As a voter just getting interested in whats happening .
I think The Lieberman blogger needs to wake up and smell reality and the real issues that affect us.
The more i read blogs from Lieberman supporters Its good to know Ned Lamont will win in the august primary because of the grassroots support we has Dems are giving him.

Authentic Connecticut Republican said...

ctkeith said... "
.... got themselves put on a zoning board to do political favors in order to increase their buisness.....
"

I don't have a dog in this fight.

However, I did spend the better part of 2 decades on a zoning board and would sue (more likely I'd just beat someone to death with a baseball bat) over such a charge were it ever made against me.

The above withstanding; I have seen such behavior a few times and when possible I took action. (no charges, just got the offender off the board (thinly veiled threats of newpaper stories, etc.))


Unless you're prepared to support such a charge it should be retracted as such behavior is thankfully rare.

Just for the record:
I haven't a clue who you or Trufgrrl "really" are; nor do I really care.

Authentic Connecticut Republican said...

Chris MC said... "
I could tell thirty years of stories supporting that comment..


I'm sure - but you'll probably agree that while such self-serving behavior does occur it's usually noteworthy due to the fact that it's not common.

I've longed to make betrayal of the public trust by any office holder (paid or not) or gov't. employee to be high treason.

While I'm generally opposed to capital punishment (get the wrong guy, plus it costs twice as much as a life sentence) it seems in order for that handfull of misfits that are willing to sell their position (and soul) down the river at our collective expense.

I suspect we'd only need to hang a few of them every few years before everyone got the idea.

We could sell hotdogs, balloons...make a pretty festive day of it!

Authentic Connecticut Republican said...

Had we had Malloy's system in place, it never would have happened."

We shouldn't need a system.

What we need to do is pay stricter attention to where we dig up candidates in the 1st place.

We should look to our communities service organizations and churches for those that seem to keep showing up and working and cajole them into running.

Those without the "volunteer gene" disappoint us too often.