CTGOP Referendum on Integrity Fails; Linda McMahon Resumes Convention Buy

Remember - This is the symbol the CTGOP Convention
(get 'em while they're hot! See Linda McMahon for details)

The King is disappointed to report that on Tuesday evening Connecticut Republican State Central rejected the Ethics Resolutions by a wide margin.  In fact, it turns out that only 10 people in the crowd were ethical enough to cast a yea vote in favor of them. Keep in mind that part of the disappointment is the fact that the purpose of the vote was to merely REFER the Resolutions without prejudice to the Rules Committee for consideration.  Most of you probably aren't aware that the Resolutions were modified since the first version was submitted back in December by two brave Republican State Central members - Mark Pappa of Rocky Hill, and Scott Veley of Berlin. 

You'll recall that the initial version of the Resolutions were humorously nicknamed the "Dean-Visconti Resolutions" by advocates and opponents alike because both individuals had a hand in their creation; the underlying purpose was to avert another controversial and corrupt Convention such as the one that took place in 2010 - by bringing transparency and ethics to the Convention process.  Even the press took notice of this effort last month.

You'll recall that during the December Meeting, the Resolutions were quickly discussed in the final minutes of the Committee Meeting, and a decision was made by Chairman Jerry Labriola, Jr. to form a Sub-Committee; he tasked members to study, review, seek input, and modify them for final revision, distribution, and vote by the entire Republican State Central body. Many people had expressed concern to the Chairman (and even to The King) that the Sub-Committee would serve as nothing more than a mechanism to sweep the Resolutions under the rug; never to be heard from again.  We want to be clear - while its true that Tuesday night - the fix was in - the successful and well-coordinated campaign against the Resolutions (visible on Tuesday evening) shouldn't be attributed to the members of the Sub-Committee who worked their hearts out to deliver an earnest product to the State Central body as a whole. Well, except one member - Art Manion, who only joined the Committee to serve as Linda McMahon's eyes and ears (and the sole dissenting spokesman). 

Chairman Labriola selected a very capable Sub-Committee Chairman in State Central Member Mike Vitali; Vitali did a fantastic job serving as Chairman, and contributed a great deal to the final product.  The Sub-Committee's members, Mark Pappa, Scott Veley, Laurie Williamson, Diane Generous, and Eva Maldonado are to be commended for taking the enterprise seriously and doing their best to bring ethics and transparency to the CTGOPs broken Convention process.  Mayor Mark Boughton who was originally appointed had bowed out for an undisclosed reason - however, it should be noted that he did cast a yea vote in favor of the Rules on Tuesday. The Committee discussed and vetted the Resolutions using all legal means at their disposal to make certain that the Resolutions were above board, and within the law. The Committee further removed two sections of the previous versions (original Resolutions found here). The Sub-Committee found that while it made sense in the spirit of good reason to direct various Republican Town Committees (RTCs) to...

"...ask appropriate questions of potential delegates concerning their paid involvement or business affiliation with any candidate’s campaign."

and

"avoid impropriety by by selecting delegates to the State Convention who are not on a campaign’s payroll or in a vendor or other business relationship with any candidate’s campaign."

... it seemed a stretch for State Central to take it upon itself to try and police or monitor either of these resolutions throughout 169 Connecticut RTCs, or to have any way of enforcing them since the selection criterion is different from RTC to RTC according to their own bylaws.  Thus, the Sub-Committee took the more prudent route of recommending the following to Rules to State Central for adoption by the Rules Committee:

Rule 1 - "Disclosure by Republican State Convention delegates of employee or paid contractual relationship prior to or during the Convention"

Any individual who is:

A) a delegate to the Convention under Connecticut Republican State Central Committee Rules Article III,

AND

B) who has been, or during the Convention is, either directly employed or hired on a contractual basis by a candidate’s “primary campaign committee,” as defined by the Federal Elections Commission, will be required to wear at all times throughout the Convention, together with his or her delegate credentials, one badge disclosing such relationship, immediately upon adoption of this rule by Convention delegates.

The badge will be the same size as delegate credentials; will be white with black lettering; and will read "Campaign staff" along with the name of the campaign committee from which delegate receives payments.

Rule 2 - "Disclosure by Republican State Convention candidates of employee or paid contractual relationship prior to or during the Convention"

Any candidate presenting himself or herself at the Convention for endorsement by its delegates shall be required to provide, immediately upon adoption of this rule by Convention delegates, to designated Connecticut GOP Convention staff a list of names of any individual who is

A) a delegate to the Convention under Connecticut Republican State Central Committee Rules Article III,

AND

B) who has been, or during the Convention is, either directly employed or hired on a contractual basis by a candidate’s “primary campaign committee,”as defined by the Federal Elections Commission. Such a list will be used only by delegates for internal review and not for photocopying, and will be available only through designated Connecticut GOP Convention staff at a location to be selected and publicized by Connecticut GOP staff.

To break it down in simple terms, the Rules above basically can be summarized as follows:

1) Be honest enough as AN ELECTED OFFICIAL under STATE OF CONNECTICUT LAW to disclose to your fellow delegates that you're a paid employee (pecuniary interest) or in a paid relationship with a candidate - by wearing identification indicating so. 

2) Campaigns should provide a list of paid delegates, contractors, and employees to State Central for identification purposes.

If you think that these two rules seem very basic and lack controversy by any stretch of the imagination - then you are correct!  These rules are quite reasonable to anyone who values open processes, and fair-play.  Even though the proposed rules are not remotely controversial, the majority of State Central members refused to approve any measure that would provide disclosure or transparency to either their fellow delegates, or to the the public whom they've allegedly been ELECTED to serve (delegates are in fact, elected officials by State Law). What is amazing is that they willingly blocked a measure that would require political candidates to provide a list of their employees, or internal relationships so that Convention Staff could track who is who on the Convention Floor.

You may ask - why does this matter?

As Sub-Committee Chairman Vitali pointed out Tuesday evening, one of the key reasons for implementing these Resolutions is for when the Vote-Switching Phase of the Convention takes place; delegates should have a right to know who is trying to influence them, and who they are representing on the Convention Floor.  Another reason (not mentioned by Vitali) is that those running the Convention will have a very hard time being able to determine if a campaign is following the Convention Rules which limit the number of campaign staff members who can lobby and work on the floor.  You'll recall in 2010, Linda McMahon had an army of forty or so people marching up and down the aisles peddling presents for vote switching. Moreover, Chris Healy's henchman, working in league with McMahon, threw Rob Simmons' workers off the floor, and in fact, clearly enforced rules against Simmons' staff member while allowing McMahon surrogates to run around freely.

(Note to Mr. Shays, Mr. Westby, Mr. Dumaj, and Mr. Hill - you'd better make sure the same thing doesn't happen to you at this Convention.  See Rob Simmons if you have questions.  In fact, better yet- seek out Heidi Simmons, she might be willing to give you an honest earful about what transpired that night if you need a complete version of that horrible night.  Rob might be less willing to be open now that he's in his new position - Chairman of the Yankee Institute).

And surely, if you haven't figured it out already - it's not going to be the voters who are represented at this stage of the game, but the delegate's own self-interest that will be front and center.  This is the point where promises are made, and gifts are delivered - none of which has any bearing on the qualification of the candidate, or the principles which they represent.  It is by far, one of the most disgraceful parts of our political process in Connecticut.   

And I should probably point out that under Connecticut Law it is perfectly legal to make promises, and influence delegates under the SEEC Code. However, it is not legal to outright pay cash for votes. Cash for votes is illegal at any level of the election process.

It's interesting to note that even when certain television commercials are run, the law requires multiple disclaimers, including that the person in the commercial is a paid actor - yet our own elected officials will not yield to such transparency.  It's also true that there are several laws apply to lobbyists, who are required to wear identification when wandering the Hall of Government, or lobby state politicians. 

Perhaps what Lisa Wilson-Foley and Linda McMahon are concerned about is the visual embarrassment of 80% of the Convention Delegates wearing one or more of their badges on the Convention Hall Floor.  You would think people would be LOUD and PROUD to show that they are, to some extent - A PAID EMPLOYEE or VENDOR of their favorite candidate.  Not only do these people lack class, they even lack the conviction of their principles; concealing their identities and pecuniary interests from their own neighbors, and fellow delegates.  No wonder why Republicans can't win - we even hide the truth from each other.  How weak and cowardly can we be?

The failure of the adoption of these rules will signal an unprecedented wave of vote purchasing via buying of delegates - which (btw) slowed while these Resolutions were being considered.  We can now expect the pay-offs to ramp up at a extraordinary pace since now nothing stands in the way.  What you will see going forward will be OUTRAGEOUS and embarrassing to the CTGOP, its members, and its Chairman.

HOW THE PAY TO PLAY PROCESS WORKS:

Ever wonder how the money laundering process works and why you can't see it?  Well here is a quick lesson in Connecticut Republican Politics 101:

Let's use Linda McMahon as an example.  That always works.  So Linda's campaign (never Linda directly, of course) provides a massive sum of money to her political consultant firms (a good example would be one that she's used during the past two cycles - like the one owned by Pat Sullivan which received $900,000+ in 2010), who then in turn, use public relations scams as a cover to pay delegates for their "services" which include  delivering "feedback", providing "information", or a half dozen other methods used in the trade - which secures the delegate's, or town committee chairman's endorsement and/or vote.  Since they cannot purchase a vote directly they use the cover of a business-like transaction (a ginned-up service) to justify payment.  None of this will show on a FEC report because the entity who shows on the Quarterly report as "paid" does not have to specify - or who show the specific expenditure listing the names of their so-called "sub-contractors" which may also be listed under fictitious trade names.

If that was a lot to swallow, I can understand.  Corruption on this scale is a complex process.

INFLUENCING RTCs THROUGH FINANCIAL DONATIONS:

Then let's not forget about all of the payments that people like Lisa Wilson-Foley and Linda McMahon have made to Republican Town Committees across Connecticut.  Or just go scan through this article for other sites for donations including http://seec.ct.gov/ .  I'll try to publish some of this information in a future post.  I guess the point people are asking is, why would Candidates begging for campaign contributions, go the route of handing out donations like candy to Town Committees?  Could it be to influence support?  Endorsements?  Delegate counts?  Hmmm?  You people are pretty bright out there.... What do you think?  Or is it just a case of Linda and Lisa being generous and nice?  Hahahahahaha.  Good luck with that theory!

INFLUENCING DELEGATE COUNTS, VOTES, AND RTC CHAIRMAN ENDORSEMENTS THROUGH BUSINESS:

Then there are other people like MaryAnne Turner, a State Central Member from Enfield, who's Company - Projects Unlimited coincidently received multiple payments for her business services from multiple political campaigns including those of John Kissel, Joe Markley and Lisa Wilson-Foley (see eCRIS at http://seec.ct.gov/), Further, Turner is Linda's biggest advocate in the region, and would be subject to wearing identification due to her pecuniary interest. Rumors to The King are that Turner also received business from Linda McMahon which is not apparent on the report.  

According to sources, not only did Turner take her cut for "business", she also took advantage of the situation by ripping off her customers by charging astronomical rates for campaign materials.   What a class act, Turner is.  And if you didn't know, she's been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Resolutions above because she's concerned that the public (or the media) at the Convention will shame her publicly.  From what we know, she's a jerk anyway. Just another bottom-feeder in the game to squeeze money out of the process anyway she can.  It's no wonder she was booted from her position as Second District Vice-Chair.

Then there is the whole matter around Linda McMahon "hiring" relatives of delegates to work on her campaign - both adults and kids. (The King will not be disclosing names because some of them are college aged kids who are just trying to make a few bucks) but its the principle of the thing that its being done as a favor to their parents, and to solicit favor.

You want to talk about a Referendum on Integrity? Wow!

So there you have it.  A crash course on the basics of Party corruption.  Don't like it?  Don't do it! 

And for those of you who cry "Where's the Evidence?"  Sure.  Do you expect RTC Chairs, State Central Members, Delegates, and Surrogates will wear receipts and bank deposit slips pinned to their shirts? Do your homework, talk to insiders, or perhaps just open your eyes.  Taking a cue from Rob Simmons, we aren't going to give the media everything we know.  But for those willing to do the work, there is ample information out there that will set you in right direction. 


A LITTLE MORE ON THE RESOLUTION VOTE:

As mentioned, the vote was indeed a blowout - the pay-to-players had the deck stacked.  It was reported to The King that Tom "Yosemite" Scott spent plenty of time putting undue pressure on people to not support the Resolutions.  His obnoxious behavior wasn't limited to just State Central members either, he whined to everyone who has or who has ever had a position in the Party.  I wouldn't be surprised if they paid people to vote against it (of course there is no evidence of that - yet!)

The scene in Stratford was as melodramatic as could be.  But as soon as the Rules were brought up, the mood changed, and the anti-Resolution antagonists began jumping out of their chairs to speak as if their pants were on fire.  Poor Chairman Labriola, who was stuck playing the role of Pontius Pilate for the evening, soberly watched, as Mike Vitali made his points.  But it was in one ear and out the other for the hostile crowd which already had its mind made up.  You could almost hear the chants of "Crucify him! Crucify him! " from the McMinions in the room.  Making sure all went according to plan, was McMahon lackey George Gallo, who monitored proceedings sending cues to his people in the audience.  Mark Pappa presented his positions and answered his critics earnestly - but his opponents tried to shout him down when he spoke, or muttered nasty comments within his earshot.  In short, the crowd was rude and crude.  Governor Malloy had it easy with the Teacher's Union in comparison to this.

The anxiety in the room was obvious due to the pressure placed on delegates to crush the Resolutions by those who already endorsed her or who have claimed their prizes. As it was, the Resolutions contributed to a lack of press conferences by McMahon, and reduced her endorsements to a trickle.  This whole episode was not something her campaign anticipated from grassroots activists.

It was a shameful display.  The only person who showed passion for the good guys was Jen Harvey who shouted "yea" loudly in support of the Rules.  As mentioned earlier, Mayor Mark Boughton also supported the Rules but did so in a reserved fashion sensing the hostility in the room.  Diane Generous was not in attendance but her proxy voted in favor of the Rules, Scott Veley had to attend a client-business meeting and could not attend(it's not known whether or not he sent a proxy).  If there were people in the room initially inclined to support the measures, they backed down and took the more popular position taken by the crowd.  The change champions and mavericks weren't willing to take a stand for transparency and ethics. 

Readers should know that one of the chief proponents of Pay-to-Play, Lisa Wilson-Foley, who's been doling out cash prizes in large numbers to fifth district RTCs didn't show up either.  Instead she sent her over-sized proxy, Maria Mozzicato to do her bidding - casting a nay vote against Integrity.  We wonder if Maria used her real name when she signed in to the meeting, as opposed to the number of aliases she uses on social media. She's learning a lot from Healy over there.  Just another person from Avon with an inferiority complex who wishes they were really from Simsbury, or West Hartford. Why not blog about that? Considering what a mess the Avon RTC is, I'd rather have Democrat Mary Glassman as my First Selectman any day.  Even Avon's form of municipal government is as crazy as it's GOP leadership. 

A side note worth mentioning here is that a person once associated with the Resolutions either intentionally or unintentionally aided the opposition by withdrawing support for them in a public forum.  In fact, the comments this person wrote were echoed several times during the discussion to counter-act the reformers' valid points.  The comments were highly misinformed, and poorly characterized both the Resolutions, and the situation at hand.  It's hard enough to face tremendous odds in challenging the status quo, and going against the grain to be an agent for positive change whilst going against a corrupt, angry crowd, without having your own ally pull the rug out from under you - just weeks before the vote.  Loyalty still means something to some of us.  Even a heads up would have been nice. But walking off the battlefield and leaving your friends to take a shelling using your ammunition is an unforgivable sin.  And firing a few rounds at the good guys while trying to appease the enemy is just salt in the wound.  And everyone else can speculate as you wish, I'm not providing you with a name. And I'll leave it at that.

In any case, there are a few interesting quotes to attribute to specific State Central Members which Republican Party Members deserve to see.  So we will impart them in this section for your entertainment.

Our least favorite person, MaryAnne Turner said, "Everyone deserves to make a living, the resolutions have no teeth and are just an attempt to embarrass the candidates who pay delegates."  Really? Note the word "embarrass" - as if being in the trade of buying and selling votes for favors and business transactions isn't embarrassment enough.  Good God!

Art Manion: "The list of paid delegates sent to the State Central Committee would hit the press within 5 minutes of the Convention starting and that will hurt our Party's reputation."  Right!  Like the knowledge that the CTGOP and its candidates buying and selling votes isn't ALREADY hurting our Party's reputation.  And what's worse is that Democrats are laughing their asses off because its all being done to favor a Candidate that couldn't win a spelling contest, let alone a general election!  And just how long do you think the list would be, Art?  Crikey!

Barbara Rhue (a.k.a. The Mad Hatter) screeched, "Whether a delegate is paid or just volunteering, what's the difference?"  What's the difference?  What's the difference whether some one's palm is getting greased or not?  .... Are you serious?  What an idiotic statement!  Barbara, go ask your constituents what they think about you taking a payment or a bribe to vote.  See if it matters to people living in Wethersfield.  Your hat might be cutting circulation off to your brain.

I could give you a dozen quotes, but these three are perfect examples of "the problem inherent in the current system."  It's beyond repair.  It really is.  You'd have to gut the place from top to bottom to repair it.  And I'm afraid not enough people even care about politics to want to show up to eradicate these so-called leaders from their entrenched positions.  Thank God, there is still an election to be had.  Once the Convention is over, and the checks have been cashed, you can simply reset the clock - because none of this really matters - except that the CTGOP will embarrass itself by putting a guaranteed losing candidate in the Headlines the day after the Convention is held. 

On the bright side, so far, neither Linda McMahon nor Lisa Wilson Foley have found a way to pay off voters directly.  Although, Linda's road show, waltzing into people's living rooms might be an early start.  Some of Linda's delegates will get a shirt at the State Convention that reads, "I wasn't paid to vote for Linda McMahon! All I got was this lousy t-shirt."  I hear the Shays team is planning on printing a counter-slogan on their shirts, "Liar! We know you got Paid" (and on the back in small print will be the list of hundreds of delegates, RTCs, Chairman, and vendors who all got a piece of the action.)  I double-dare you guys to print 'em up! 

WHAT'S THE END RESULT?

Whether people want to accept it or not, the State Convention is likely to be a big party for Linda McMahon.  Big video, and a Press Conference surrounded by her paid minions.  Face it, since it would take an Act of God (like a direct lightening strike) and a miracle for the outcome to change at this point, it's highly unlikely that the Shays team is going to have a legitimate shot to win the Convention.  Furthermore, if the same crooks who refuse to vote for ethics and transparency have a say in selecting delegates along with the ever-growing number of RTCs collecting "contributions" from LWF and Linda McMahon, its unlikely that delegates will be chosen that favor Shays to any extent.  The big concern here is the ORCHESTRATED EFFORT to try and publicly humiliate Shays by making it appear that the CTGOP closed the door on him by trying to deny him the 15% needed to automatically qualify to appear on the Primary ballot.

Maybe some of you see it now.  Remember Mike Vitali's talk about the Vote-Switching Phase?  If Linda and her army of cockroaches can crawl the convention floor unidentified, and unaccounted for, they can march up and down the aisles offering every treat they can think of to alter the outcome, and force Chris Shays to collect signatures.  It's not the act of collecting signatures that is the issue, its a Multi-Millionaire forcing a normal candidate to spend his time, money, and resources going through the lengthy process of trying to get on the ballot the hard way.  It's dirty politics at its best.  Hopefully, the Shays team is ready to launch a counter-offensive of some sort.

He can start by exposing the State Convention for what it will be - a staged Linda McMahon Campaign Rally planned well in advance of May 18th. Voters can't trust a candidate who bribes, steals, and cheats their way through the selection process.  Just imagine what kind of Senator she would make if she ever got to Washington (not that it would ever come to that).  Before Linda talks about cleaning up Washington, she can start with her own campaign - I'm not sure what's worse - her tactics, or the thugs she's hired to pull the strings.  Simply amazing, isn't it?

Also, Mr. Shays should be weary of Brian K. Hill who is spending a lot of his time, if not all of it - focusing his attacks solely on Mr. Shays.  Although, it should be noted, that finally after The King called him out, this Bush-McCain hater did put out a press release yesterday mildly criticizing Linda.  Funny seeing Brian K. Hill call Linda naive, but that's another story for another day.  I bet she laughed in the back of her limousine all the way to the nail salon after she read that one.

THE UNFORTUNATE VICTIM: JERRY LABRIOLA, JR

If there's one person who cheering behind the scenes and hoping it all goes miserably wrong for Jerry Labriola, Jr., its his arch-nemesis Chris Healy.  Healy would love to be able to say - "See it wasn't my fault."  Then he can start his comeback bid to challenge for CTGOP Chairman's position - a job he wishes he never gave up.  If Linda McMahon runs as the nominee, she'll cast a massive dark cloud over Connecticut's entire Republican Party slate (as she did in 2010), and bring the Party to its knees - in a year when even Mitt Romney will win the White House back from Democrats.

Those who've been against Labriola from the start (and continue to undermine his every move) will ultimately try and blame him for the loses that will likely occur in November - if the present trends continues.  Labriola will become the scapegoat for the pay-to-pay crowd's failures in 2012, which they will use to further embarrass him amongst their allies.

And also, I don't know too many Republicans who were thrilled to see Good Ole Tom Foley announce his desire to run for Governor again in 2014, between Linda McMahon and Tom Foley, Democrats are assured of nearly a decade of guaranteed rule of both the Governor's Office and U.S. Senate.  The CTGOP will be forced to move its Headquarters once again - this time perhaps working a deal to become part of the display at Dinosaur State Park.  Given our corrupt ideas, candidates, and lack of progress, perhaps this is where we truly belong.  Again, I feel sorry for Labriola and his staff if come November 6 - the Party fails, and his staff are out wallking the streets of Hartford thinking about what could have been.  Could they have done more to stop the corruption that led to defeat.

Lastly, we want to thank the brave souls who worked so hard to make a positive change, and tried to reform our Party.  Don't feel disheartened - the battle might have been lost, but the war will continue.  There is a lot more information in The King's vault that will shed daylight on the darkness.  Keep the Faith!  It may take another fifty years, but we'll eventually get our Party back!

I AM

THE KING

This original blog entry can be found at http://www.thekingsview.blogspot.com
Disclaimer: This entry and others will be modified/updated at a future date. All entries are for the sole purpose of entertainment. This article does not imply endorsement of the candidate mentioned above, nor has this article been solicited for publication by any political candidate, campaign, or PAC.