Taking a break

I apologize to everyone who comes across this or reads this blog on a somewhat regular basis. I haven't posted for over a month now, and I don't know when I'll start back up. Probably as we get closer to election day, but who knows. Right now I'm concentrating on finding a job, moving out of my parents' house, and keeping my life in order.

Check out some of the great Connecticut political blogs and other political blogs over on your right - they are much more responsible than I am and actually do update their blogs.

You can also follow me at My Road Less Traveled, my personal blog - the only one I've been keeping up with.

See you all soon!

Primary Wrap-Up

I just got back from Hartford, and let me tell you, it was one interesting evening. I'm putting together the video that I shot, but let me make some quick observations before I head to bed.

- Lieberman's announcement got mixed support at the Malloy event - half the people cheered for him, but there were a fair number of boos mixed in as well.

- Lamont on the other hand got a much chillier reception. I would say that about half the room ignored his speech. One man in particular swore at the screen and stormed off (don't worry, I got it on tape).

- I stopped by the Goodwin Hotel on the way out of Hartford and found a number of Lieberman supporters in the hotel bar just after last call. For all the excitement you saw on the television, the atmosphere was much more subdued in the bar. People were talking in small groups, no one seemed to be smiling, and one poor volunteer was desperately trying to get everyone to finish some pizzas she had bought before she left. To sum it up - they did not seem at all enthusiastic about an independent Lieberman bid.

- Dan's speech was very impassioned and he had a lot of support in the room. I am watching the re-broadcast of the night on Channel 8, and what you see on TV doesn't compare to the energy and atmosphere in the room.

- I spoke with Dan's wife Cathy for a few moments after Dan finished speaking and she was visibly upset. She started to cry and then was whisked out of the room by a family friend as the media closed in. Dan was also ushered out of the room by campaign staff while throwing out quick answers to questions from the media; you could see some emotion on his face. His three sons disappeared from the room as soon as he was done speaking.

- Mary Glassman seemed to be a little conflicted when I talked with her; she was being congratulated left and right but at the same time was trying to keep it lowkey for Dan. It must have been a hard position for her to be in.

All in all it was a very interesting night. It was hard for me to try to be there as a blogger while I also have such a personal commitment to Dan's campaign; there were times I wanted to videotape the action and times where I just wanted to enjoy the night. I truly believe that Dan was the best candidate and the only one who would have been able to beat Jodi Rell.

Well it's off to bed for me, the video will be up tomorrow.

Malloy, Glassman still ahead

From WFSB:

17% Precints Reporting:

Malloy - 52% (25,954)
DeStefano - 48% (24,109)

Glassman - 60% (24,713)
Slifka - 40% (16,596)

Early Reports

WFSB is reporting on the television that with 4% of the voted reported Lamont leads Lieberman 60% to 40%, Malloy leads DeStefano 52% to 48%, and Mary Glassman leads Scott Slifka 60% to 40%.

This is only 4%, but lets hope it holds.

Polls are closed!

Polls are closed. Results soon - I'm heading out to Hartford in a bit.

Photos from the Hartford Courant:

Primary Day: Update 2

I just got back from Eno Memorial Hall in downtown Simsbury and talked to some DTC members I know. They told me that it has been fairly slow all day, which is what I'm hearing through the grapevine from other polling places in Simsbury as well. NPR is also reporting a lower than expected turnout. We'll see at the end of the day, but so far it looks like Susan Bysiewicz should keep her day job as Secretary of State and give up any attempts at telling fortunes.

Less than an hour to go folks!

Primary Day: Update 1

Ok folks, I just got home from work and voting and here is what I have to report so far:

- There didn't seem to be that large a turnout, despite predictions of record number of voters. I did vote at about 4:45 though, and I'm sure more people will come out as they get off work. I'm going to head down to Eno Memorial Hall here in Simsbury around 6 and check things out.

- Apparently the Lieberman website has been down since yesterday. The Lieber-folks claim fraud, although that seems unlikely. Check out what Gabe has to say about this over at CT Local Politics.

- The SOTS has set up a live election returns website which you can access here. The polls close at 8, so I'll probably start obsessively checking the site around 8:01.

- I'm heading out to the Hartford Hilton around 9pm for the Dan Malloy Election Night Party, videocamera in hand. Hopefully there will be wi-fi available, if not I'll update via cell phone.

Happy Primary Day!

Vote Tomorrow

Stormy Weather

So I just got power back about an hour ago after losing it around 4 this afternoon. We had severe thunderstorms here in Simsbury that knocked out power and downed trees across town. I have some video that I shot earlier today, I'll post it once I get it all together.

Deja Vu (and not the good kind)

Remember way back in 2004 when people suspected of being Bush protestors were thrown out of events, arrested, and herded into "free speech zones"?

Well apparently the Lieberman campaign liked those tactics, and has decided to employ them at their events. CT blogger Spazeboy was recognized by a Lieberman staffer as a Lamont supporter as he tried to enter the Palace Theater in Waterbury on Monday to hear President Clinton speak. The pompous staffer ripped the ticket out of Spazeboy's hands, and then a police officer told him that if he didn't leave that he would be "going downtown".

You can check out the video here. Also, feel free to call the Lieberman campaign at 860.244.2006 and let them know that those aren't the sort of tactics true Democrats use.

Every day I become more and more convinced that it's time for Joe to go.

Lamont pulls ahead of Lieberman in latest poll

Wow. This is all over the blogosphere today folks, and seeing as I'm getting ready to head down to Newtown for a family reunion (my uncle is back from Iraq for a couple days) I'm just going to let the experts parse this one:

- CT Blogger has a great rundown of the numbers and what they mean for Ned, Joe, and the rest of us.

- Connecticut Local Politics also has analysis, as well as a look at the numbers for the gubernatorial race.

- Check out the actual results of the Quinnipiac poll and come to your own conclusions.

So much for Joementum.

Lieberman v. Lamont - My Take

If you live in Connecticut and pay attention to politics....scratch that, if you live in Connecticut and pay attention to ANYTHING, you have been bombarded with coverage of the race between Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont to win the Democratic nomination for US Senate in a primary election on August 8th. There has been a lot of rhetoric thrown around on both sides. Joe Lieberman is George Bush's favorite democrat. Ned Lamont is a buying his election with his millions. On and on and on.

It has taken me a long time to make up my mind on who I plan on voting for. While Lieberman has not always voted the way I would like to see him vote, he has been a very good Democrat during his years in the Senate. He has voted his conscience rather than toeing the party line, which I like. I may not agree with his votes, especially concerning the war on Iraq, but I can respect his positions.

Ned Lamont, on the other hand, has no experience in the Senate and seems to be basing his campaign solely on his opposition to the war. Now I know he has more to offer than that, but it still seems to be the main fire fueling his candidacy. I don't know much about Ned, but I have two decades worth of voting records on which to base my opinion of Joe.

This was my line of thinking for most of the last couple months. I was also realistic - Joe Lieberman is unstoppable. He will win in November. He has money, support, and experience. He appeals across party lines. So putting together my respect of his general record and the power of his candidacy, I had pretty much decided to vote for Joe in the primary.

Then came the insurance. Joe's insurance actually. He formed his own third party in the off chance that he lost the primary and had to run on a third ticket. That infuriated me to no end. Here was someone who I thought was above politics turning out to be just another politician. The signs that have been popping up all over the state read "Joe Lieberman - A Democrat". They should read "Joe Lieberman - A Democrat (Unless He Loses The Primary, Then He's Whatever He Needs To Be To Win The Election)".

So with that simple action Joe lost my primary vote. I still believe he has a good chance of winning in November (one way or another) but I still plan on voting for Lamont on August 8th. My support goes to someone who is not just another politician.

Some Happenings

Sorry I've been MIA lately - running a campaign takes a lot of work and unfortunately I've had to concentrate less time on blogging. However, now that we've opened our headquarters and I have a much more regular schedule I can sneak in a post or two each day. Here are a couple stories that I've been following in recent days:

• The Senate race just got a little more interesting, and this time it has nothing to do with Joe Lieberman or Ned Lamont. Alan Schlesinger, the Republican nominee for the seat, has vowed to stay in the race after being pressured by State GOP Chairman George Gallo and Gov. Rell to drop out. Why, you ask? Well it seems that Schlesinger used to gamble at Foxwoods under an assumed name. Her says it was to protect his privacy, but a former state trooper claims that he used the alias because he was a card counter and was theoretically banned from the casino. Oh yeah, and he's also $50,000 in the hole and supposedly a blackjack addict.
  
• Getting back to the Ned/Joe affair, it seems that our illustrious Senator is willing to do anything to keep his seat, including creating his own party if he loses the primary. No kidding. I'll have my feelings on this in a later post, needless to say I have a lot to write about.

Actually, I guess the Senate race is all I really have to talk about right now. Its kind of nice to have all this national attention on Connecticut, and for there to actually be some sort of competition in politics these days is refreshing. The only problem is that the Lieberman/Lamont/and now Schlesinger debacle is sucking the wind out of the rest of the campaigns. There is hardly any coverage of Malloy or DeStefano these days, and as for local races, well you can forget about that (trust me, I would know). We'll see how things go after the primary.

al-Zarqawi Killed

U.S. airstrike kills al-Zarqawi

Finally, they get something right.

This now qualifies as a pissing contest

I have elevated the Perez/Rell spat from "Self-Righteous Whining" status to "Pissing Contest" status after reading this in this morning's Hartford Courant:

Saying he wanted to end the public sniping and to focus on solving violence in the city, Mayor Eddie A. Perez picked up his cellphone at 8:12 a.m. Thursday and dialed the office of Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

Two hours later, Perez walked through the front doors of city hall and into the day's humid air. An aide asked if he wanted to take off his jacket. Casually slinging the coat over his shoulder, with television cameras and reporters in tow, Perez started to walk to Rell's office at the Capitol.

"I'm going over to visit my neighbor at the Capitol," he said. "Hopefully she can see me sometime today."

I'm reminded of that episode of The West Wing where Josh and President Bartlett walk from the White House to the Capitol Building to confront the Republicans over the budget showdown. It was pure politics and showboating then and it still is today. Perez should have checked to make sure that the Governor was actually IN HER OFFICE before pulling a stunt like that, although my gut tells me he knew she wasn't in and wanted to capitalize on the visual of him waiting for her to return, show that she doesn't have time for the citizens of Hartford, etc. A great political play if you can pull it off; unfortunately everyone saw right through this.

I reiterate my previous statements - they both need to get over themselves and figure this thing out. If Hartford is going to be "New England's Rising Star" we're going to need less crime, and bitching about who has done what isn't going to solve the problem.

Ps. Check out the Hartford Courant this weekend for my Letter to the Editor!