tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post113380339826302812..comments2023-10-18T11:04:13.946-04:00Comments on Connecticut Local Politics: Lowell Weicker and the 1990 ElectionGenghis Connhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13042849182723767087noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1134503933860367532005-12-13T14:58:00.000-05:002005-12-13T14:58:00.000-05:00weicker has no relation to pfizer.weicker has no relation to pfizer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1133849187739289262005-12-06T01:06:00.000-05:002005-12-06T01:06:00.000-05:00Very good point, Blue in CD2. Weicker's name reco...Very good point, Blue in CD2. Weicker's name recognition wouldn't carry him far with the general voter who came of age or came to town during the Rowland years.<BR/><BR/>And in a general, not many U's and R's are going to be impressed with a third party candidate running to the left. Or a D running to the left, for that matter.<BR/><BR/>Hmmm. Is Weicker the Frank Lautenberg of Connecticut? <BR/><BR/>Could he really contend against a sitting Senator with plenty of dough and not that high negatives?<BR/><BR/>At the moment it seems to me that his only good shot at not screwing up his historical position by embarrassing himself (imagine if Joe Louis actually did come back ten years later for a rematch while Ali was still in his prime) would have to be to take Joe out at nomination time.<BR/><BR/>Some of the yahoos around here might like that idea, but if Weicker was the alternative, I can't imagine the party stalwarts committing that kind of treason en masse. He'd have to primary for the D nomination. <BR/><BR/>And as one astute (and much more to to the left than I) friend of mine said to me on the phone today, last time he saw Weicker, the Governor was walking with a cane.<BR/><BR/>Under the new rules, it isn't inconceivable that he could get on the ballot. And he is the scion of the Pfizer family fortune. (Heh, and Joe is a friend of Pfizer - just an aside.) And supposedly MoveOn would get behind him, presumably bringing more dough with.<BR/><BR/>Hmmmm.<BR/><BR/>Now, you have to consider that the (paleocon) R's already kissed him off back in '88. Joe's since earned the love of the neocons (most of whom, by the way, were D's before the Carter Administration). Which is no mean feat, since the paleos profoundly disagree with the neos (and Buckley never liked the Bushes, if memory serves). And all that despite his (I think - if you accept Aldon's earlier post on the subject - we can largely agree) moderate voting record overall. Making Joe a rare political animal indeed.<BR/><BR/>Nope. Weicker is a Connecticut elder statesman who retired a success. I don't believe he's passed into the kind of foolish hubris that would have him tilt at Lieberman. He's telling the truth. He ain't running.<BR/><BR/>Get another horse ya'll.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1133819064649248422005-12-05T16:44:00.000-05:002005-12-05T16:44:00.000-05:00DeanFan,The "they" im refering to are those people...DeanFan,<BR/><BR/>The "they" im refering to are those people unhappy with the current (D) Senator and who would like to unseat him during mid-term's.<BR/><BR/>I have the strong feeling that it wasnt Weicker's idea to possibly unretire to make a run at Lieberman's seat.<BR/><BR/>I think he was coaxed into this, that is if the rumors are at all true.<BR/><BR/>Whoever is holding the stick to dangle the carrot in front of Lowell is the "they".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1133817412759425272005-12-05T16:16:00.000-05:002005-12-05T16:16:00.000-05:00A friend of mine who is a registrar of voters regu...A friend of mine who is a registrar of voters regularly comments that if you don't register with a party, you are throwing away half your vote.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, that isn't all that accurate. In a city like New Haven, where the Democratic Party has a very strong majority, you are throwing away a lot of voting power by not registering your party affliation. Likewise, in the 2nd CD where their was a congressional primary last year, you lost an important chance to vote if you didn't register party affliation.<BR/><BR/>However, in other areas, there aren't primaries and registering as unaffliated doesn't really make much difference.<BR/><BR/>So, I'm not sure that the increase in unaffliated voters really means a lot in terms of how people will vote or reflects a breakdown of the parties. It may simply reflect the lack of exciting primaries in recent history.<BR/><BR/>That said, the lack of exciting primaries could be viewed as either great party solidarity and strength of the parties, or it could indicate a general lack of interest and breakdown in the political parties.Aldon Hyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00527868669926331034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1133816214464072712005-12-05T15:56:00.000-05:002005-12-05T15:56:00.000-05:00This was the triumph of the Hartford Courant. The ...This was the triumph of the Hartford Courant. The paper was like a daily press release singing Weicker's praises.<BR/><BR/>A map of the 1990 results shows the state split roughly on the area code divide. Rowland won 203, Weicker 860. The weak Democrat showing in metro Hartford and the defection of liberal WASPy R's in places like Essex and Avon was the ticket for LowellAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1133814292955336872005-12-05T15:24:00.000-05:002005-12-05T15:24:00.000-05:00I was 13 when Weicker was elected governor... lots...I was 13 when Weicker was elected governor... lots of movement since then.<BR/><BR/>Some total figures: In 1990, there were about 700,000 registered Democrats, between 550,000-600,000 independents and 450,000 Republicans in Connecticut. Those are the only numbers I have at hand right now; they are imprecise.<BR/><BR/>Now, there are 670,000 Democrats, 438,000 Republicans and 876,000 independents, according to the <A HREF="http://sots.ct.gov/RegisterManual/SectionVIII/SOV04Enroll.htm" REL="nofollow">SOTS site</A>. <BR/><BR/>The number of members of a party have dropped slightly, but the number of independents is much, much larger. That could actually bode well for a Weicker run, depending on who those folks actually are. That increase is also a sign of the breakdown of state political parties.Genghis Connhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13042849182723767087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1133811763851602082005-12-05T14:42:00.000-05:002005-12-05T14:42:00.000-05:00Based on a quick analysis of the voter files from ...Based on a quick analysis of the voter files from the 149th A.D. (where my wife ran last year), it appears as if 50% of the Republicans, 56% of the Democrats and 72% of the unaffliated voters registered after Weicker's last election.<BR/><BR/>That said, I registered here after the last Weicker election, yet I remember hearing about him from back then. My guess is that the same applies to Genghis, and perhaps quite a few other people here.Aldon Hyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00527868669926331034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1133808123314030992005-12-05T13:42:00.000-05:002005-12-05T13:42:00.000-05:00It would be interesting to know how much of popula...It would be interesting to know how much of population / registered voter turnover there has been since the last time Weicker was on a ballot.<BR/><BR/>It seems they are looking for a well known person to challenge the name cache of Lieberman.<BR/><BR/>How many new voters/new residents are there? How much name recognition does Lowell Weicker have to Jim Constituent? <BR/><BR/>I feel like Weicker is less well known than some people are assuming.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214263.post-1133805823569343872005-12-05T13:03:00.000-05:002005-12-05T13:03:00.000-05:00Rowland chose Bob Jaeckle, the House Minority Lead...Rowland chose Bob Jaeckle, the House Minority Leader. The Senate Minority leader was backing Weicker.<BR/><BR/>Morrison chose someone named Sandra Bender, who was an unknown bank executive.Genghis Connhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13042849182723767087noreply@blogger.com