Where's Joe?

This week, the President's hypocrisy was exposed yet again as we find out that the President authorized leaks of intelligence reports to the press to discredit war critics.

What does Joe Lieberman have to say about this? Your guess is as good as mine.

Analysts and operatives in both parties said Friday they were puzzled that Lieberman, whose perceived coziness with the Republican president is fueling a primary challenge by Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont, found nothing to say about Bush for 28 hours.

"Say anything. Even something mildly critical would have no doubt helped in his primary," said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist.

[...]

Where was Lieberman?

"He was conscious and not flying around the world?" asked Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for The Cook Political Report. "Well, then it was a missed opportunity for him."

Quite simple. Joe dropped the ball and in doing so, made it easier for his critics to paint him as loyal friend of the president.

Let's add up the last week for Lieberman...

1. Lieberman will not publicly say whether or not he'll run as an independent if he loses the primary to Ned Lamont

2. Has yet to attend a public meeting where he can be questioned by the public (private events where you invite DTC members and delegates don't count).

3. More than 24 hours since the latest Bush bombshell and Lieberman refuses to publicly comment on the President's hypocrisy (from a senator who has no problem calling a press conference or offering his opinion on-camera).

Let's not forget previous uneventful moments for Joe such as his lass than stellar performance at the Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner or his staff member getting schooled by a 17-year old.

Explain to us why you should be re-elected?

One Democratic supporter, who did not want to be quoted by name criticizing Lieberman, described himself Friday as flabbergasted by the senator's inability to capitalize on the Bush leak story.

"Why they are not ready to jump on this now, I don't know," the Lieberman ally said.

George Jepsen, a former Democratic state chairman, refused to criticize the campaign, but he conceded that the news was an opportunity to score political points.

"This is certainly an extraordinary opportunity to give a clean, hard shot at the president and Dick Cheney," Jepsen said. "It's one more perfect example of massive deception by this administration."

Richard Foley, a political consultant and former Republican state chairman, said GOP operatives wondered among themselves how Lieberman failed to quickly reach the same conclusion.

"Joe had an opening that he didn't take for whatever reason, good or bad. He made the call. There is no doubt in my mind," Foley said. "It had to be an item for discussion internally."

Lieberman staff gets clobbered in Windsor

Oh man, it has to be harsh getting taken to the woodshed by a 17 year-old kid.

The Windsor Democratic Town Committee grilled U.S. Senate challenger Ned Lamont during an informal interview Thursday night on civil liberties, immigration policy, and healthcare issues. But the committee will have to wait a few days to question Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the incumbent Democrat, on similar issues.

Ken Dagliere, Lieberman’s political director, attended Thursday's event, following Lamont and providing some answers to the committee's inquiries. But he deferred other questions to Lieberman himself, who is scheduled to be in Windsor on Sunday at 11:30 a.m., also at Town Hall.

[...]

Dagliere said he knows there’s a perception that Lieberman is “like a Republican.” But he said that Lieberman has “an outstanding progressive record despite that perception.”

After all, Dagliere said, Connecticut overwhelmingly supported Lieberman in 2000 as Al Gore’s running mate against Bush and Dick Cheney.

The campaign literature Dagliere distributed included several interest groups' ratings of Lieberman on their issues. The pamphlet said the AFL-CIO gave Lieberman an 84 percent rating; NARAL Pro-Choice America gave him 95 percent; and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights gave him 85 percent. The Alliance for Retired Americans gave Lieberman a 100 percent rating, according to the literature.

But 17-year-old Ian Crone looked at the glossy pamphlet and said this is great, “but where’s the section on foreign policy?”

Dagliere said he had only brought the single pamphlet, and that he would send Crone, who said he'll be 18 in November, information on Lieberman’s foreign policy.

A friend of Crone's allegedly responded to the CTNewsJunkie story and wondered how Dagliere will get Crone the information when he apparently didn't get the kid's address.

I'm Ian Crone's friend, I was there yesterday, and Dagliere's response is lacking in context. For one, he never made any effort of taking down Ian's address. He never even asked his name. Secondly, I would highly doubt he ever intended to - Ian asked a very pointed question, and Dagliere's feathers were clearly ruffled. His words were perfectly reasonable, but his tone was pure anger. He was visibly shook up, and took a very combative tone to my friend, who asked a very reasonable question.

If Dagliere can't handle a smart 17 year old, can he handle Ned Lamont?

Ouch. Someone ring the bell, school is in session.

Lamont energizes supporters in New Haven

click on image to enlargeThe Ned Lamont express made a stop in New Haven yesterday as a packed crowd of over 100 filled Naples Restaurant on Wall Street to hear a few words from their man.

The event, organized by Democracy for America, was a success as Lamont not only fired up the crowd with his speech, but was on top of his game answering a wide range of questions ranging from his views on Israel, to his views on health care, energy conservation and the Bush administration’s handling of the war on terror.

The on-line media was out in full force as myself, Spazeboy from LaResistance, and BrandfordBoy and other writers from My Left Nutmeg made the trek to New Haven and witnessed Ned to his thing.

Editor Paul Bass from the New Haven Independent was also on the scene and offered his impressions on Lamont’s performance.

At Naples, Lamont spoke passionately about the war -- but he spoke mostly about a wide range of other issues, from the environment to health care.


And he was loose.

He told the crowd his original call to arms at campaign appearances: "We are gonna rock the boat, because the boat needs rockin'!"

Now he has a new message: "We're gonna win. People want a primary. They want a change... Start rockin' the boat!"

To put it simple, Ned was on fire and gave the best presentation I’ve seen to date.

The most noticeable change in Ned was how he effectively explained his position on several issues and how his positions differ from Lieberman. This is a different Lamont from the person who came to New Haven at the start of his campaign. Ned shows that he's listened to the people as he traveled across the state and that experience is now paying off as he clearly articulated his dissatisfaction with Lieberman and explained in great detail how he would handle things differently if elected to the senate.

click on image to enlargeIt's clear that Lamont is not an one-issue candidate and after watching the video clips, I think you’ll agree that the audience received Ned's message loud and clear and Joe might have some reason for concern.

Unlike most of my videos, these series of video clips are pretty long in length. If you experience any playback problems, hit pause and allow your computer to download the file (a couple of minutes should do the trick). MAJOR hat tip goes to Spazeboy with helping me with the video coverage and photography. Check out his site for more Lamont videos and audio clips.

Video clip 1: Ned stump speech (part 1)

Video clip 2: Stump speech (part 2)

Video clip 3: Q&A session (1 of 3)

Video clip 4: Q&A session (2 of 3)

Video clip 5: Q&A wrap-up

Belated birthday

WOW! I can't believe it's been a year since I started blogging. Where has the time gone?

I almost forgot that April 4th marked the 1 year anniversary of ConnectictBLOG. What started out as a place for me to vent my anger has become...well a place for me to vent my anger. Seriously, I'd like to thank each and every one of you guys for making this blog a success. A deep thank you to the readers who have been here since day one and watched as this site grow from a one post a day site to what you see now.

When I started this crazy thing, there were just a small handful of blogs such as Ed's Daily Rant (one of my favorite blogs), Connecticut Local Politics, Almost Connecticut, CT Blue and I received maybe 25-30 hits a day (and I mean on a good day). Now, there is a new blog from Connecticut popping up every day including blogs by politicians and the traffic on this site has increased to 300-500 hits a day with the total number of visitors ranging between 45,000-48,000 (don't ask, there is a wacky formula in determining the total amount of visitors as some people don’t read my stuff by directly going to my site. Believe me, I was happy when I had 25 visitors and long as I knew I wasn't the only crazy liberal in Connecticut).

Again, thank you from the bottom of my liberal heart for all the support and encouragement. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for this site!

Bush PR event goes terribly wrong

Oh my!

This morning in Charlotte, a Bush PR event on the war on terror went off-script when a man named Harry Taylor took the microphone. Watch the video:

“‘I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration,’ Taylor said, standing in a balcony seat and looking down at Bush on stage. ‘And I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and grace to be ashamed of yourself.’”

God bless you Harry!

Leader of hate group trying to rig straw poll

Oh, this is rich!

Seems like MexDonaldsBoy is making it easy for me to make fun of him (AGAIN).

Genghis gives the details while I goof on the hate-monger.

Paul Streitz's Senate campaign is looking to win an upcoming straw poll in Middletown, partly with the help of people from out of state, according to an email message allegedly sent by his campaign.

he straw poll in Middletown will have the candidates speak, the newspapers will cover and the 11 o'clock news will have the story. Our opponent Alan Schlesinger is expected to be there.

The vote is among whoever shows up. So the more people we have concerned about immigration, the more likely we are to win.

"Immigration Control Candidate Wins Straw Poll Against Party Establishment"

If we have a victory, that is the kind of headline we could receive and it would be national news, on to all the internet sites. And send a chill up and down the spines (do they have any) of Senators and House members. If we lose, we have to make excuses.

I know that for some of you it is a good drive, but we expect some people from New Jersy and Massachusetts to be there. This is important.("Straw Poll")

Strange that he would be bringing people from New Jersey and Massachusetts to a Connecticut straw poll.

I'll take the ball from here because unlike Genghis, I'm not a really nice when it comes to expressing my opinion of this bafoon.

It's not strange that Strietz is asking people to come from out of state to vote for him in a Connecticut Straw poll just like it wan't strange that he did a "survey" on various McDonalds resturants and determined (by simply looking at people) that a majority of the people working there were Latinos (which to him means that immigrants are taking away jobs from white peop...oh, I mean Americans).

It's simple, Strietz is a nutcase and a crazy xenophobe. He has no credibility whatsoever so he is forced to find like-minded idiots from other states to travel to Connecticut and vote for him.

He's an embarrassment to this state, it's that simple. It's not worth being nice to this guy because he's simply a racist jerk.

UPDATE: Many of you ask me "why do you call Strietz MexDonaldsBoy?" Well, I'll let the xenophobe explain it in his own silly words.Have you seen enough and want to do something about it? Well, start by contacting John Kilian at johnpk@middletownstrawpoll.com or (860)918-1903 and tell him that Streitz should not be allowed to rig the poll by bringing in people from out of state to vote for him. It's dishonest and simply shameless.

Nothing is worse than a cheater.

(Hat tip goes out to Freedom Rider for the hookup).

Lamont invades New Haven

(Click on image to enlarge)
Full report will be posted tomorrow. I guess it will be another long night of me processing all of this video footage but believe me, it's worth it (btw: major hat tip to spazeboy for stepping up and helping me out).

Man-Whore shows love for Lieberman

I guess someone else is sticking up for Joe (no pun intended).

Jesus' General made the pic, AMERICABLOG gives the details, and although I refuse to provide a link to Jeff "the man-whore" Gannon's post praising Lieberman, here's what the ex-$200-an-hour-GOP-gay-prostitute/white house reporter had to say.

Truth be told, JFK would recognize the Democratic Party because his BROTHER is a member of its radicalized leadership as is the "other JFK", whose cheap imitation of a war hero would be repugnant to the commander of PT-109. He'd more than likely be sickened by its treatment of Sen. Joe Lieberman, one of the few in his party who takes the threat of Islamofacism seriously.

You know times are rough when the only people coming to your defense are right-winged male hookers.

Two words: Ned Lamont

Bridgeport welcomes President (thanks for the traffic)

Seems like the President will receive a big Bridgeport welcome today (especially from the commuters on I-95).

Union leaders, Democratic politicians and other activists on Tuesday blasted the president's policies and vowed to create a vocal presence today, starting with a 9 a.m. rally outside the Middle Street office of U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4.

[...]

A Democratic response to Bush and Shays' "out-of-touch policies for Connecticut and the nation" will be led by Diane Farrell, the former Westport first selectwoman who is challenging Shays, at about 11:30 in the first-floor lobby of the annex.

Mayor John M. Fabrizi, a Democrat who leads the state's largest city, said Tuesday that he would be polite to the president, but wonders why the White House chose a city where Bush's policies are failing.

"I will be extremely cordial and respectful," Fabrizi said. "When a president comes to your town, the town should be honored, and we certainly are. But I'll be very quick to say that Bush's policies don't work for the city of Bridgeport."

Fabrizi said that federal policies shortchange the state on the No Child Left Behind education mandate, funding for port security and a health-care policy that doesn't help most of Bridgeport's residents.

"If I have that opportunity, I'm going to tell him that," Fabrizi said, adding that he expects to greet demonstrators as well. "We welcome everybody to the city of Bridgeport."

Given the chance, Fabrizi said he would show Bush the commemorative plaque on McLevy Hall, across from the Playhouse on the Green, where another Republican — Abraham Lincoln — visited the city in 1860, while he was campaigning. "If I have an opportunity to point something out other than the president's policies not working for Bridgeport & the second thing I want to do is point out the plaque," Fabrizi said.

Senator Dodd hints at 2008 Presidential run; backs Lieberman

Senator Dodd seems to have his eye somewhat fixed on the 2008 Presidential race and predicts (again) that Joe Lieberman will beat Ned Lamont in the primary.

U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd says he is considering running for president in 2008.

"It's an itch," Dodd told The Associated Press during an interview in his Senate office on Monday. "Could grow. Could disappear. It's an itch. It's not a bad word to use."

The 2008 race for the Democratic nomination is expected to be a crowded one, with national figures such as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., seen as likely candidates.

"There's an itch," Dodd said. "It's a little itch at this point."

Dodd said he realizes that the field is rapidly starting to take shape. Other Democratic presidential hopefuls are already laying the foundation for possible White House bids, traveling to key primary states, lining up campaign staffers and courting top fundraisers.

"If you have any thoughts of doing it, you ought to make up your mind pretty quickly because the window closes," the senator said.

He did not offer any timetable on a decision.

[...]

Dodd, meanwhile, predicted that his colleague Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., will turn back his Democratic primary challenge from Ned Lamont, who is taking sharp aim at Lieberman's support of the Iraq war.

"He prevails in all of this," Dodd said of Lieberman. "But it will make the next 18 weeks uncomfortable ... He's gotta pay attention to it, and he is."

Dodd talks about 2008 and his support of Joe Lieberman but he still refuses to answer the question on whether or not he will back whoever wins the Lamont/Lieberman primary.

I guess he didn't get the message so keep calling him.

Washington Office: (202) 224-2823
Connecticut Office: (860) 258-6940

State Democrats hold hearings into Gov. Rell campaign violations

May will be an interesting month.

The Legislature will hold a series of hearings into Gov. M. Jodi Rell's recent campaign-finance violations, spurred on by a Bridgeport Democrat who said lawmakers must forge ahead with good-government initiatives.

Republicans and Rell's office dismissed the announcement as a politically motivated attempt by majority Democrats to keep the issue alive and attack a governor whose popularity hovers at around 80 percent.

Rep. Christopher L. Caruso, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the Government Administration & Elections Committee, was joined Monday by Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Guilford, committee vice chairman, in a news conference announcing that the first hearing will be May 10.

It will focus on how the State Elections Enforcement Commission handled its staff while investigating Rell's controversial December fund-raiser and the manner in which Jeffrey Garfield, the commission's executive director, communicated with Rell's campaign manager.

"We have the obligation to seek information," Caruso told reporters. "People who say it's a witch hunt are probably the same people who don't want reform in this building."

Thirteen of Rell's cabinet commissioners, plus three other deputies, were fined $500 each for taking invitations to Rell's campaign event and distributing them to subordinates.

Give Senator Dodd a phone call

Major hat tip to third party and LarryinNYC for catching this bit from Kevin Rennie's column in the Hartford Courant.

Lieberman has had to turn to Sen. Christopher J. Dodd to gin up the troops. Dodd even made a rare appearance at a recent Democratic State Central Committee meeting to help the state's junior senator.

It hasn't taken Lamont long to unnerve the Democratic establishment. Dodd, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and ultimate party loyalist, refuses to give an unqualified answer to whether he will support the Democratic nominee, no matter who it is.

This is clearly unacceptable and outrageous. First, Joe Lieberman will not say whether or not he plans to run as an independent and now Dodd refuses to say whether or not he'll support Lamont if Lieberman loses the primary.

Call senator Dodd and demand that he answers this simple question.

"If Ned Lamont is the selected by the Democratic voters of Connecticut as their nominee for the Senate this fall, will Senator Dodd support him?"

Washington Office: (202) 224-2823
Connecticut Office: (860) 258-6940

I'm not shedding a tear for him

No sympathy...none whatsoever.

Scotty's head on the chopping block?

Oh no, say it ain't so! Watching this guy get beat up by the press has been the best part of my day for years.

He will be missed.

According to both administration and GOP insiders, we’re hearing here at CNN that Press Secretary Scott McClellan and Treasury Secretary John Snow could be the next ones to be shown to the door.

Now, why McClellan? Several sources familiar with the thinking of new White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten say that immediately, right out of gate, he began on focusing on improving White House communications in order to regenerate the White House’s — the administration’s message, the performance — you know those poll numbers are really lagging right now. One White House insider says there’s been “a lot of dissatisfaction with the state of communications.”

Strike ends

From the Hartford Courant

Striking workers at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. ended their six-week walkout Sunday by ratifying a three-year contract that includes a new health care plan many had vowed never to accept.

After daylong balloting, union leaders emerged from the headquarters of Teamsters Local 1150 Sunday evening to announce that members had approved Sikorsky's latest contract offer by a margin of 72 votes: 1,488 in favor to 1,416 opposed.

The voting ended an increasingly bitter strike by about 3,600 members of Teamsters Local 1150 who work at the famed maker of military and commercial helicopters in Connecticut and Florida.

At the center of the contract dispute was a new company health care plan that would hike costs to workers by raising premiums, co-payments, co-insurance expenses and other expenses.

Except for a $3,000 ratification bonus, $1,000 more than originally included, the contract offer narrowly approved Sunday was virtually identical to one that Teamsters Local 1150 rejected six weeks earlier. It calls for annual salary increases of 3.5 percent.

Despite the outcome, union officials vowed to continue their fight for better health coverage in a variety of forums, including next week's annual shareholders meeting for Sikorsky's parent company, United Technologies Corp.

Elected politician blog roll

If you haven't noticed, I'm trying something new over in the links section. Nowadays, there are many politicians who have there own blogs in Connecticut and if you know an elected offical who has a blog, give us the link and I'll add it to the blog roll.

Lieberman does Bethel

Sources tell us that Joe Lieberman met with delegates and committee members from Danbury and the surrounding area (Bethel, New Fairfield, etc) today at the Stony Hill Inn in Bethel CT.

We'll give you the full report on what happened at the event later today.

UPDATE 4/3: Well, today came and went and I decided to write this story from a different point of view. I'm getting bored with the usual "reporting about the event" format so I"ll come back to this story later. You'll understand when you read what I have to say.