Monday, November 13, 2006

Rell Abandoning Simmons?

Kevin Rennie, ever the most trustworthy of sources, says it's true in the National Journal's Hotline blog:
Republicans and Democrats from DC have descended on the district to instruct partisans and monitor developments. As of Friday, however, Simmons had still heard nothing from Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell, re-elected in a landslide without coattails on Tuesday. Simmons was never a favorite of the Rowland-Rell administration, but most governors would have offered a word of encouragement and some troops as soon as a recount became inevitable.

Interesting, if true. The recount continues today, with Courtney still up by a little over 160 votes.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

No need to single out Rell. The entire CT GOP is in disarray and lickin' its wounds.

Anonymous said...

How many times can Rennie get it wrong and still have a job? I was on a conference call yestetday afternoon with the RNC people, going over the recount process. All of Rell's people were on and they're all out doing the recount today. Someone is playing Rennie.

Anonymous said...

Rennie is playing Rennie. He should try a column exploring the qusetion: What can Rell learn from Johnson's defeat. Politically, the two are equivalent.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:25: No. Kevin Rennie is playing US.

Anonymous said...

How many times can Rennie get it wrong and still have a job?

A lot. He's a Republican.

Heckuva job Rennie.

Anonymous said...

Oh, please. Kevin Rennie is a nasty little toad -- the GOP's own Kevin Sullivan. Rell's staff is fully engaged in supporting Simmons, and Rennie is just fuming because no one paid any attention to his pre-election bile.

Anonymous said...

Think Rennie will do a retraction? Oh that's right, there's no editors at Hotline!

Anonymous said...

Rennie likes all this talk of Rennie.

Rennie is still bent at Rowland Rell and the GOP leadership of the last few years for casting him aside as an egotistical whack job

since losing his senate seat and watching Kevin O'Connor get the job he really wanted he has gone out of his way to screw his old team

the problem with paying no attention to kevin rennie is the fact that he is often right

In the late years of the Rowland era the Gov cared little about the party Rell it seems cares even less.

Anonymous said...

Rowland was never happy that Simmons voted against Rentschler Field and that means Jodi isn't happy either.

Anonymous said...

Hey, A little bit dramatic:

your yahoo news story...

a little bit dramtic.

The republican party is a better party without Lincoln Chafee

if we could only trade in shays for simmons and elect Caligiuri over Murphy in '08 - the results of 06 would be fine with me

Anonymous said...

George Gallo is going to work for the House Republicans as Chief of Staff. Cafero and company will continue to take the GOP down a path of elimination.

Anonymous said...

http://www.norwalkadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.cafero3nov13,0,506078.story?coll=nor-news-local-headlines

How timely. Cafero's latest bluster. His strategy lost the House seats and now he boasts.

Anonymous said...

George Gallo as Chief of Staff to House Republicans should not sit well with Democrats.

Regardless of the results from last Tuesday George Gallo is as smart and savy as political professionals come.

Gallo comes to the table with some serious firepower. He is close with both CT and DC talent.

Expect a brand new approach to strategy based on numbers and tactics that will include an agressive new media push.

You can bet to see more of those partisan nut jobs from yn2.

Gallo can also raise money.

Something House Republicans need to improve to have any long term shot at increasing the number in their caucus.

As a Democrat I have concern that our Dem leadership does not have the same ability as does Gallo and his team. Nuts or not.

Anonymous said...

Is there a need to raise money? Public funding starts in '08.

Anonymous said...

Public funding = candidates must still raise $5k. So parties may help their candidates identify donors that would help a candidate reach that $5k threshold. BUT if a candidate can't raise $5k on their own, they probably are not serious contenders.

Anyone happen to know if the $5k must be raised within a candidate's district? Within CT? Or just anywhere within the USA?

Anonymous said...

anon 12:56 - "Is there a need to raise money? Public funding starts in '08."

Funny. If it does, it won't end the need for parties to raise money. (Big if considering the lawsuit challenging the over-reaching of the broad lobbyist and contractor money ban.) Public financing changes the way money is raised, and how much needs to be raised by each candidate. It does not end the need to raise it. With nice loopholes there for party committes and the like, someone like Gallo can use the new rules very effectively for the benefit of their party's incumbents and endorsed candidates.

Anonymous said...

How the hell is Kevin Rennie a Republican we are supposed to be talking in the present tense here and he is certainly NOT a republican the guy lives to black ball republicans

GMR said...

Courtney just had 100 votes taken away from him, apparently, so the margin is now around 60 votes. Have military ballots been counted yet?

Anonymous said...

What's the CT law on absentee ballots? Must they be "received by" Election Day? Or "postmarked by" Election Day?

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:07

I feel your pain. This is what Caferno said: "We as a Republican Party in Connecticut have done a very poor job defining ourselves. We've allowed the national party and Republicans in Washington to define us," Cafero said. (Absolute balony. The thought of George Bush defining Jodi Rell is just silly.) "We are the party of the Jodi Rells and Chris Shays. (And Nancy Johnson – who lost) We're moderate, common-sense Republicans. And people in Connecticut are pretty moderate - fiscally conservative (as defined by what, exploding budgets?), socially liberal, common-sense people."

Anonymous said...

I don't see how Rell could "abandon" Simmons since she did nothing for him in the first place.

Anonymous said...

It was nice of Gallo to hop on here and toot his own horn. Let's be real here:

1) Gallo's no fundraising wizard. He had a lineup of political talent pumped into the state because of the three congressional races this year. it's a little tougher to raise money when "T.R.Rowe" is your headliner.

2) After Simmons loses, Johnson loses, and Mehlman departs, we'll see how tight he is with the DC crowd.

3) Gallo can bring all the "firepower" he wants to the table...let's see if he and Cafero have the stones to trim some of the hangers-on and souless wretches that populate the House R staff. My guess is, it'll be tolken changes at the top, and the rest will stay right in place.

Anonymous said...

Rell wants a bill that would make it illegal for the Chief of Staff of the House Republicans to raise money on company time the way Moody did for her. So who cares how much $$$ Gallo can raise if he could anyway? No answer needed. and to yesterday's 12:07 and 2:04 symphony, let me ad that Cafero is hardly a social liberal.