Political junkies consistently note a marked reticence on Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s part about the prospect of being Governor of Connecticut. And candidly, it isn’t a good fit. Now in his sixties, with his kids nearly grown and a new day dawning on public service, Blumenthal sees new and desirable possibilities. None of these is the Governor’s mansion. He has long harbored, it is said, a desire to serve in the United States Senate or a seat on the Federal bench. But he might also find great satisfaction elsewhere:

… We’re a nation in crisis … how exciting to face that crisis and all the challenges at a time when the nation is excited for the first time since John F. Kennedy about the possibilities for service at the national level … Obama has made politics again a noble calling and I think that raises all kinds of opportunities for me … I think we’re in transition. You know, the political landscape has really changed. … Barack Obama’s victory has offered tremendous new opportunity and we have challenges like never before. … for example, keeping people in their homes. We’ve sued Countrywide the big mortgage lender and we’ve won a settlement with them, but the Federal Government ought to be doing what that settlement does, keeping people in their homes by lowering interest rates and reducing the principal that people have to pay – that kind of challenge, for me is what’s gonna really preoccupy my attention…

Blumenthal has been devoted to all manner of consumer protection, perhaps most famously in the leading role he played in the successful litigation against the tobacco companies that gave him the kind of national bona fides that few candidates for a regulatory role in Washington can match. And the crisis in the financial system is historic. Might this be a perfect fit for Dick Blumenthal?

Consider this from a story last week:

… no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed.
“It’s a mess,” said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department’s inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. “I don’t think anyone understands right now how we’re going to do proper oversight of this thing.”
In approving the rescue package, lawmakers trumpeted provisions in the legislation that established layers of independent scrutiny, including a special inspector general to be nominated by the White House … Some lawmakers and their aides fear that political squabbling on Capitol Hill and bureaucratic logjams could delay their work for months.
The legislation grants the special inspector, who is expected to be the primary overseer of the program, a budget of $50 million. The measure calls for him to conduct audits and investigations of how the government spends money under the bailout program, including on equity investments in firms. In particular, he is to report about any assets acquired and their value, plus an explanation of why they were acquired and details on individuals or companies involved in the transactions. … Some Republican lawmakers have said they are also concerned that Democrats may avoid acting on the nomination so that Barack Obama can choose his own special inspector general after he becomes president.

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Sounds like a helluva gig for the right guy.

Now, what candidate might have all of the following: a champion the White House might listen to (say, Joe Lieberman); be virtually guaranteed a warm welcome from the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee (Chaired by Chris Dodd); and be acceptable to an Obama Administration? Someone eminently qualified, passionate, and tireless to construct this new office? Someone with the legal mind and political experience to make his way successfully in the corridors of power in Washington? A true regulator, not someone coming from one of the firms he would be regulating? An advocate with decades of experience not just enforcing the law, but a champion committed to doing what is right, as a public service?

Richard Blumenthal for Special Inspector General.

Sources: WFSB, Face the State; Amit R. Paley, The Washington Post.

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Shelly Sindland hosts Fox 61’s contribution to our Sunday morning diet of news and opinion.

Connecticut joined the ranks of the truly progressive as same-sex marriages are now being performed around the state. Shelly interviews the first couple married in the state, just re-elected State Rep. Beth Bye(D) of West Hartford and her wife, Dr. Tracey Wilson. Following that Shelly gives some equal time for opponents’ comments.

Next up is J. Paul Vance Jr., who announced he was running for Mayor of Waterbury when he filed his campaign committee papers in July. Vance makes an announcement late in the interview and Shelly delivers some red meat in this segment, so check it out.


Shelly wraps things up with a look at what is in store for the new President. Joe Biden told supporters to expect that President Obama will be “tested” within the first six months of taking office with some foriegn policy crisis. National security expert Scott Bates, V.P. The Center of National Policy weighs-in with his perspective, including his experience during several visits to Iraq.

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It is fascinating, in a “you know you should look away but you can’t” sort of way, to observe the devastation that a bunch of over-leveraged, greedy punks wreak when their self-enrichment scheme goes off the rails.

Fresh off the news that the Bristol Press and New Britain Herald will soon be closed comes the news that additional layoffs will occur at what remains of the the New Haven Register, according to reports from the recently delisted media holding company.

These guys are a poster child for poor corporate conduct. Here is Connecticut Republican State Chair Chris Healy on the subject of the Journal Register Co.:

… in the mid-1990’s, the Journal Register Co., a hedge fund with no newspaper people to speak of within its ranks, came to town looking to buy a community newspaper. They had already taken over the New Haven Register. The owners of the Register, the Miller family of Pittsfield, MA, who also owned the famed Berkshire Eagle, were up against it financially and sold their most profitable paper [the Torrington Register-Citizen]. …

After assuring everyone that all would be the same, the Journal Register gutted the newsroom, closed the bureaus, pulled the Capitol reporter and cut the pages from around 48 to 24. They added a Sunday edition that was merely a pile of ads with little more than wire copy. Ad rates went up dramatically. Hey, they thought, what are these yokels going to do? It worked well for the shareholders and the corporate types at the Journal Register Co. … now even the Register Journal has hit a wall and the fire sale is on.

The long-term trends and other poor investments across the country has caught them short. Their stock, which once traded in the 40’s, is now worth a cent.

When the Chairman of the Republican Party devotes this much time and effort to over 1200 words detailing how egregiously your conduct has violated the principles of business, community, and the field you’ve invested in, you must really suck. But, you don’t care, do ya Journal Register ?

Sources: Paul Bass, New Haven Independent; Chris Healy, The Everyday Republican

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The smoke-clearing phase of the political season is underway, and seemingly all eyes are on the continuing spectacle of Joe Lieberman’s excellent political adventure.

But at the center of our fiscal and economic universe is the financial meltdown and ensuing proposals for keeping our listing economy from completely capsizing. Our senior Senator has settled one question - he is not interested in picking up the Foreign Relations gavel from Vice President elect Joe Biden, the most sought after assignment in the upper house for those who seek the oval office. With any chance of becoming President or Secretary of State off the table, the global financial system at - let’s all hope and pray - an inflection point, and the world economy at a turning point, Dodd finds himself at the center of the universe:

… Dodd said President Bush should nominate Obama’s choice for the new treasury secretary now, before the president-elect takes office in January, to get a head start on resolving the nation’s credit crisis and help ease the wild swings on Wall Street. Obama has not yet picked anyone for the position. …

Dodd noted that the nominee could be approved in Congress’ upcoming lame-duck session and could be working side by side with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson for more than two months before Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

“I think it would send a very important signal at home and internationally,” Dodd said, “given the global impact of this economic problem, that going from one administration, one party to the next, there’s a transition.” …

“This is the issue of the century,” Dodd said of the banking and credit crisis. “If we don’t get this right, everything else is at risk. The national security of the country is affected by it.”

So, any remaining thoughts that Dodd might be departing early for a cabinet or diplomatic assignment can be safely laid to rest.

With Connecticut’s economy so closely involved with the financial industry, and the impact of lost revenue from lower Fairfield County contributing to a fiscal crisis in Hartford, we need Dodd right where he is, looking out for Connecticut’s interests in this crucial sector of our economy.

Looking to 2010, when Dodd’s seat is on the ballot, this may also change the calculus for him. If he was leaning toward vacating the seat, perhaps now he stays put. We’ll have to watch what he does in terms of fund raising and the below the radar groundwork for his campaign over the next six months.

Source: Christopher Keating, The Hartford Courant

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Veteran Bristol Press reporter Steve Collins reports on his blog:

I don’t have any firsthand information yet, but I understand that unless the Journal Register Co. sells The Bristol Press and The New Britain Herald by Jan. 12, it will close both papers.
That means that the guy who thinks I’m a jerk who should be fired will essentially get his wish.

Sad news for Steve and his wife, who also works for the paper.

What I am wondering is whether this is just not an attractive property for a holding company to own, or is it (and the sister publication New Britain Herald) in fact unprofitable?

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Reports had it that Maryland Representative Chris Van Hollen intended to leave his position as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to challenge current Vice Chair John Larson for Democratic Caucus Chair on the strength of a very good showing in last week’s elections.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s (Md.) decision to remain chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and not challenge Rep. John Larson (Conn.) for the Democratic Caucus chairmanship is only one in a number of instances where House Democrats have resisted party infighting in the week before the internal reorganization. … And top sources said that Rep. Joe Crowley (N.Y.), also a deputy whip, has [decided not to pursue a position].

Crowley was rumored to be entertaining the possibility of challenging Larson for Caucus Chair or vie for Caucus Vice Chair as Larson moves up to Chair. Other than being from the New York delegation, Crowley is no match for Larson.

Colleagues in the Congress have jocularly referred to Larson as the next Speaker of the House in public settings, not to suggest that this is in any way imminent. In addition to Speaker Pelosi herself, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, and Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina occupy the number two and three spots on Pelosi’s leadership team.

Source: Jared Allen, The Hill.

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To nobody’s surprise, when Tom Monahan posed the question to State Senator John McKinney during their interview on Monahan’s Connecticut Newsmakers Sunday morning program, McKinney’s response was immediate and strong.

Fairfield’s McKinney is “Absolutely” considering running for CT04 in opposition to Greenwich’s Jim Himes, who was just elected last week. Ever since he entered politics, everyone has expected him to seek the seat formerly occupied by his father Stewart for nine terms.

McKinney is poised, articulate and substantive in his public appearances, and warm, engaging, and personable on the retail level. His elevation to Minority Leader in the Connecticut State Senate gave him the kind of high profile position that serves to introduce him to the towns outside his Senate District (Fairfield, Weston, Easton, and Newtown), and he enjoys the support and respect of the Party in CT04. The great grandson of one of the founders of Standard Oil, McKinney can claim a blood relation to the oil industry that is so influential in the GOP. He should enjoy sincere support from that wing of the Party, which likes to take care of its own.

On the downside, the ideological, cultural conservatives will have no real enthusiasm for him; but they aren’t an important factor in Fairfield County. Also, there were some hard feelings when he took Lou DeLuca’s position as Minority Leader. But DeLuca is from CT05, and Fairfield County Republicans on the whole feel no loyalty to him, if they can even remember who he was.

Expect an exploratory committee at a minimum for McKinney as early as this January. To be sure, the Republicans’ Congressional Campaign Committee has already targeted CT04 for the 2010 mid-term pickup effort.

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Couple of surprises and upsets to talk about.

2nd District – Part of Bethel, Danbury, & Brookfield; Redding.
Jason Bartlett withstood a nasty assault from Bethel’s first selectman making this a very narrow win for him. This is a difficult district for a Democrat in any cycle, obviously. This race turned out tighter than expected, an it will be interesting to watch this District and what goes on in the coming year’s municipal cycle in Bethel.

47th District – Canterbury, Norwich, Scotland, & Sprague.
Represenative Jack Malone, the Democrat, is unseated by Christopher Coutu. I don’t have anything to add to this as of now, it is a district in the eastern part of the state.

61st District – Parts of East Granby and Windsor; Suffield.
Republican Whip Ruth Fahrbach left this seat open, so Matthew Conway’s victory over Lauren Life is a pickup for the Democratic caucus.

62nd District – Parts of Barkhamsted, New Hartford, & E. Granby; Granby.
Representative Richard Ferrari appears to have pulled out a narrow victory over Democratic challenger Annie Hornish. Have to check the official totals when the SOTS publishes them.

65th District – Downtown Torrington.
Huge upset in Torrington, where Michelle Cook has unseated the doyenne of Torrington politics, State Representative Ann Ruwet. It is difficult to overstate what an accomplishment this is for Cook. Ruwet had enough juice in Torrington to get her utterly inexperienced son elected to Mayor a couple years ago. The family has been a bastion of Torrington Republican politics, and Cook really wasn’t supposed to win.
I had an opportunity to speak with Michelle a few days ago, and she had been going door to door throughout her District, and that clearly paid off. She’s dynamic and not afraid to speak her mind, and it will be interesting to watch where she goes from here.

100th District – Durham, Middlefield, and part of Middletown.
Challenger Matt Lesser picks up a seat for the Democrats at the expense of Ray Kalinowski.

103rd District – Parts of Cheshire, Wallingford, and Hamden.
Democrat Elizabeth Esty has the potential to be a policy leader in the Legislature when she gets there, after defeating long-time incumbent Al Adinolfi in a very close race. Esty pounded it out on the ground, and this is a big, big pick up for the Democrats. She is known in Cheshire for her strength on seniors’ issues, and won two terms on the Town Council by 7 to 3 margins in a town that votes for the person and the issues.

106th District – Newtown.
Democrat Chris Lyddy put together a young, highly motivated group of supporters and got solid help from a core group of experienced Democrats, and leveraged a dissident group in town to triumph over the established Republican, Legislative Council Chairman Wil Rodgers. This constitutes another pick up for the Democrats, as this seat was vacated by the retirement of long time Republican Julia Wasserman.

134th District – Parts of Fairfield & Trumbull.
Republican Tony Hwang unseats incumbent Tom Christiano in a seat that the Republicans had targeted. They leveled an effective criticism at Christiano for a lack of engagement in the job, and put up video on their website with Christiano in effect acknowledging it. Christiano’s erstwhile web page at the capital is notably bereft of any communications from him.

143rd District – Most of Wilton and a piece of Norwalk.
In perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the evening, Democrat Peggy Reeves’ unconventional approach to the standard door-to-door campaigning won her a squeaker for the seat vacated by Toni Boucher (who ran successfully for State Senate tonight) over Susan Bruschi in a district that was not considered a good bet for a Democrat. Reeves has lived in Wilton for 30 years and was the Democratic Registrar of Voters. It is just wonderful that such a nice person with real integrity can win on her good reputation and hard work.

I know I am missing some other races, and there are a number of races where results weren’t reported yet at the time of this writing. Let me know if you are aware of any of these in the comments below.

Senate races in another post.

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Here at Himes election night headquarters courtesy of CT Bob’s laptop. Right now there is mostly just press here. The kitchen is getting ready to dole out the campaign goodies, but the bar is open!

We’re at the Brewhouse in SoNo, if you’re in the area and would like to stop in. It is going to be an interesting night.

Over at OIB the projection from Lennie Grimaldi was for 65% turnout. Well below the 90% statewide that SOTS is forecasting. As Bridgeport goes, so goes Himes’ fortunes, so those are the returns to be watching most closely.

I voted in Newtown earlier today, the polls were busier this morning than they have ever been according to long-time poll workers, and the checkoff lists showed a high percentage of voters had been to the polls already by mid-afternoon.

Post the national returns from TV - or from the polling places locally if you have them - in the comments.

UPDATE:
Shays’ HQ is assembling at the Norwalk Inn, so if you are inclined that way, head on over!

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After tomorrow, we’re all going to have an opportunity to reflect on a number of things about this election. Most of the attention will be on the incoming President’s Administration, what the outcome of the national ballot means for the country culturally and politically, and the serious, serious problems we face both foreign and domestic.

Here in Connecticut, we’ll have our own set of considerations and issues. A new Speaker of the House, Chris Donovan of Meriden, will take the gavel in the culmination of a long-term project the progressive caucus has undertaken to control the House of Representatives. Current Appropriations Chair Denise Merrill will become majority leader. Merrill is well respected for her intellect and poise, and it will be very interesting to watch these two embark on their agenda.

The “Fighting 44” may see their number reduced by a couple, so they will remain firmly in the minority. How Minority Leader Larry Cafero of Norwalk and Merrill work together will be worth keeping an eye on. Republican State Chairman Chris Healy will be looking to make inroads in the Democratic majority in the House, in part because it is where he will develop his bench to take on the State Senate and Congressional seats in coming cycles. Although I’ve never met him, people on both sides of the aisle tell me that he is a very smart, passionate guy and someone who will be reckoned with. Issues of philosophy, policy, and partisanship aside, Connecticut’s political economy will be healthier if he proves to be an effective party leader. And the Republicans need it badly.

Meanwhile, the merits and shortcomings of the public financing of House races (Senate too, but right now I’m focusing on the House) will be examined and debated, lessons learned will be incorporated into the strategy and tactics for the next cycle. And it will be interesting to see when the earnest preparations for the ’10 campaign begin in the light of this experience.

There are a couple of races that have caught my attention in the last few days. In both cases a young, motivated challenger has stepped up and taken on a long-term incumbent. I’m posting a bit on both of these races. In addition to conveying information, these posts help to illustrate multiple aspects of how the sausage gets made in Connecticut.

Your State Representative is the best access you have to the large, complicated, and bureaucratic facility in Hartford where most of the State’s structure gets built. Each one represents about 25,000 people, so you are pretty important to them. And the job they do is pretty important to you.

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