Interrogation at Wally-World! Healy locks out the Peanut Gallery!

Where there is smoke, there is usually fire - not that I am trying to fan the flames, but ...

By all reports, there is an angry buzz in the air because of the restrictions around tomorrow's Connecticut Republican Candidate Meeting which will be held at the Villa Capri in Wallingford, Connecticut (directions here).  The guidelines (below) make it clear that the meeting is going to be open to State Central Members only, which means that this important session will be closed to the public, and guests - friends, media, and registered Republicans are not welcome.  The set-up raises ongoing questions about the lack of transparency within the CTGOP, and compounds the litany of concerns about how State Central Leadership conducts Party business.


REVENGE TIME: Healy and his
cronies are going to work-over
their enemies behind closed doors.

 I could see limiting the number of guests for capacity reasons, but I can't understand why State Central continues to lock out Republicans from observing what goes on beyond the club curtain.  And I would also gamble that a few select guests will be let in by Chairman Christopher Healy - who has a reputation for making up the rules as he goes along anyway.  (Note: Even The King cannot recognize all 72 members, so if anyone shows who doesn't belong - feel free to send the name along to me for posting.)

I guess if regular Connecticut Republicans want to know how things turn out, they should pitch a tent, and camp out in the parking lot of Villa Capri, or pray that Healy doesn't ban social networking tools from the meeting.  Hell, if Judge Blue can permit the use of Twitter in the Komisarjevsky courtroom, then I guess Old Man Healy would be a real dictator to disallow their use on Tuesday.

The interesting part of the process is whether or not a member can ask a specific question which could be considered of private nature, or whether the forum could be used to attack or humiliate an opponent.  And who gets to decide whether a question is fair and reasonable? Oh, I bet its none other than our lovable Chairman Healy who'll be tightening the ropes on the torture rack to try and humiliate those who worked so hard to end his pathetic reign. 

And while I'm on the topic of fairness - since the meeting is limited to the elected Republican elite, it appears that certain candidates won't have the advantage of say a - Doug Hageman or Art Scialabba who are card-carrying State Central members and entitled to sit through all their opponent's question time.  That doesn't seem fair, does it?

Well, one thing is for sure.  It's going to be interesting and pretty darn entertaining.  Pipe in the laugh track.

The following letter was sent out to all State Central members, which also included a copy of the By-laws:

All:

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE EMAIL - IMPORTANT INFORMATION IS ENCLOSED

The State Central Committee decided on Tuesday night to hold another meeting on Tuesday June 14th to interview our candidates for State party Chairman. I will be sending out a notice to them shortly.

Attached is a copy of the by-laws as amended at the last State Convention. In addition a copy of the meeting notice for June 14th.

Please note the cost of this dinner is only $30.

This meeting is for State Central Members only or their proxies. NO GUESTS!

The meeting will be held at:

The Villa Capri

906 North Colony Road

Wallingford, CT 06492

XXX-XXX-XXXX

Please RSVP -ASAP. The meal will be served family style.

This WILL NOT be a debate among the candidates. Each candidate will address the committee individually. They will have 5 minutes to introduce themselves and than have 15 mins for questions. If more time is needed for questions, the candidates will be asked to stay and meet members at the end of the meeting. Times may vary depending on the number of candidates.

In the interest of time and in consultation with a few members, I am putting a questionnaire together to send to the state party chairman candidates. I intend to email it to them on June 1st. I will ask that they bring 72 copies of their responses to the meeting on the 14th.

If you have a generic question you would like to ask each candidate, please forward it to me no later than May 31, 2011at 5pm. I will include your question.

A genetic question maybe: Is there anything in your past that could be brought to light by your election? Or what our your plans on dealing with the working families party?

Some members want to ask certain questions that pertain only to that candidate and not the other candidates.

In addition, having a questionnaire will allow each member to take home some information and study it and in addition this gives each member an opportunity to ask a question.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX or XXX-XXX-XXXX (edited by The King for privacy).

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation and again, PLEASE RSVP FOR THE DINNER.

Gary

For those who haven't seen the questionnaire, here are the 16 written questions posed to candidates for Chairman (answers were to be written, copied and distributed to all members):

Question #1: Is there anything in your past that may come to light following your election as State Party Chairman that will hinder your ability to lead the party?

Question #2: What will you do to increase Republican registration in Connecticut?

Question #3: How will you combat the influence of the Working Families Party in Connecticut?

Question #4: How can we better get our message out to the people in Connecticut?

Question #5: Is there anything you think could have been done to get better results in the 2010 campaign?Question #6: Many people want us to invest large dollars in the cities for GOTV efforts do you agree with this strategy?

Question #7: How do you plan to raise money for Connecticut Republicans?

Question #8: Will you reinstate the Week on Washington and if so in what time frame?

Question #9: Are you up to date on Connecticut’s new campaign finance laws?

Question #10: Can you give me a good reason to attend a state central meeting?

Question #11: Can you assure us that attending a meeting will be meaningful and a productive use of our time?

Question #12: How will you reach out to younger voters and persuade them that joining the Republican Party is the right choice for their economic future?

Question #13: What is the role of the Connecticut Republican State Central Committee in your viewpoint?

Question #14: What is the role of the State Party Chairman?

Question #15: Do you plan on being a Full-Time or Part-Time Chairman?

Question #16: What will your staff structure look like?

So, if anyone is up for it, you might want to put together a little tailgating party down at the Villa.  Sounds like a job for the Tea Party Express.

I AM

THE KING

The original blog post can be found at http://www.thekingsview.blogspot.com