Tom Foley: Slinking Away from Debates?

Is Tom Foley slinking away
like a Coward?

Most politicians realize that coming in first place at the onset of a race in a single, arbitrary Quinnipiac Poll over your inter-party rivals doesn't necessarily make you a front runner in anything. This is particularly the case when the alleged-leading candidate is Tom Foley; a man who has been anything but active on the Connecticut political scene since facing defeat at the hands of Dannel Malloy in 2010.

Aside from a few social appearances here and there, Tom Foley hasn't done much of anything to support his Party over the last four years.  He hasn't served as a de facto opposition leader -voicing dissent against poor policy decisions thrusted upon the public by Governor Malloy, or even bothered to show up at the Legislative Office Building to offer his leadership, or uttered a word of support for his Republican colleagues locked in battle (if you can call it that) against Democrats on social and economic issues. Of course, he did once serve as Joe Markley's lackey, and made the claim that both parties are unethical - a comment not very well received by Republican legislators who shook their heads and privately told him to "go away". Heck, who knew that only months later, the FBI would be strolling into town trying to nail Republicans to the wall over a 2008 election scandal. Well, Tom Foley's timing has always been a bit off. (insider's joke - sorry!)

Yet, despite his self-imposed exile from politics, we now hear - far and wide - how Billionaire Tom Foley is the anointed one - all but guaranteed his unearned place as the Republican gubernatorial nominee for all to bow down to and serve - especially certain handsomely paid delegates.  This is typical arrogance of elitist man who sits in his mansion drinking Macallan 64 and dining on five-course meals while his minions shakedown RTCs for delegate votes; Foley has so little in common with the average guy - a disconnect so widely felt that even some of his biggest supporters feel a sense of frustration with his snobbish contempt for "the little people".  A contempt clearly reflected in the same aforementioned Q-Poll which shows him barely neck-and-neck with one of the most unpopular Governors in the history of Connecticut

Now this isn't a discussion on the corrupt and twisted Connecticut Republican Convention process (we will get into that on another day), but rather to call attention to the disgraceful reluctance of an alleged Republican front-runner who outright refuses to exchange ideas and debate with his fellow competitors in a televised venue scheduled by The Hartford Courant-Fox 61 on April 11th (rebroadcast on April 13).  There can be no more sign of disrespect of our American tradition then for Tom Foley to slink away, and thumb his nose at a process that has been in existence since the early 1800s.  (Besides, if you recall the 2010 Foley v Malloy debates, you know darn well that Foley could use the practice - because he wasn't ready then, and he's not ready now).

Hold on there! You didn't say this was going to be Televised!

On their own merits, we thank John McKinney, Mark Boughton, Mark Lauretti, Joe Visconti and even CTGOP Party looney-toon - Martha Dean for their willingness to take tough questions and engage in live public discourse.  Foley's approach makes him look weak and cowardly to the general public, and the media (we remember how well that worked out for Linda McMahon).  And it shows Republican delegates that he lacks confidence by refusing to engage fellow Republicans in front of a Republican friendly-audience.

If Tom Foley isn't willing to debate members of his own Party to win support, then how will he win support from Republicans in the Primary? Or possibly later from Democrats and Independents in the General Election? The prevailing thought is that if he goes off and hides under the bar until after the State Convention that his rivals won't bring him down a notch by forcing him to defend his questionable, and ambiguous positions on Minimum Wage Increase, Pension Reform, Municipal Taxes, Public Unions, and even Second Amendment Rights. But one would think both he and the public have more to lose by him playing it safe. Much like ObamaCare where Congressmen said they had to pass the Bill before knowing what's in it, Connecticut Republicans are being expected to nominate Tom Foley without knowing where he stands. This has been a reoccurring theme by some of our CTGOP nominees over the last few election cycles (and it hasn't boded well for us).

Four years have passed since Tom Foley ran for Governor and lost. Unfortunately, Tom Foley's sole focus has been on how to locate the 6,000 votes from 2010 election which he presumes, if found, will catapult him to victory in 2014. But by trying to rerun the 2010 election, and repackaging himself as the same stale candidate, he wrongly assumes that the landscape hasn't changed, and that he doesn't have to re-earn the support of his own Party, and those who voted for him during he last gubernatorial cycle - a strategy that may prove deadly to his gubernatorial ambitions.

Just because RTC Chairmen and his campaign staff (with the help of Chairman Jerry Labriola, Jr.) may jury-rig and deliver Tom Foley the State GOP Convention, doesn't guarantee that Foley will have the same showing that he had during the 2010 primary.  Given the strong field of candidates who are more than willing to engage the public on issues of the day, and earn the public vote, Foley may find himself trailing behind shortly after he receives the usual temporary State Convention boost.

Connecticut Republicans want to elect a candidate who is unafraid to stand on principle. Not a politician like Tom Foley who would rather lead from the rear and play "the strategy game." He may not know it, and he may not believe it - but Tom Foley is losing respect of Republicans all over the State who are already lukewarm about his nomination to begin with.

Maybe Tom Foley might change his mind. Perhaps he'll show the courage of his convictions and take the stage with his colleagues on April 11th, and just maybe he might earn the respect of the Party faithful and the delegates (many he has already bought) by outlining his vision for Connecticut's future.  But if he's not, then it signals that Connecticut Republicans are ready to nominate a new gubernatorial candidate; someone unafraid to serve as the standard bearer on behalf of voters who have for so long been under-represented. 

I AM 

THE KING

Martha Dean: A Fool's Errand

Even Conservatives Fear the Conspiracy Candidate

Long time readers of The King's View would imagine The King would be excited about the prospect of Martha Dean entering the Connecticut Gubernatorial Race, but if you understood the agenda of one of the CTGOP's loudest, opportunistic, bomb-throwers then you may have second thoughts too.  Dean's run is bad for both the Connecticut Republican Party, and for herself, and her family.

The issue is not one of qualification per se (although God knows we have way too many ambulance chasers holding public office these days mucking up our personal lives through an overreaching political system) but one of conviction and more importantly - of purpose.  Martha Dean's goal is to engage in a stratagem of self-promotion to improve her prestige with the gun lobby, enlarge her client base, and to damage the political aspirations of her Republican political enemies - most who happen to be less extreme than herself, and have a legitimate chance of actually winning the Governorship.  

The facts are clear. Dean has privately told several Republican insiders that she has no intention of campaigning beyond the State Convention (her intention also captured in the CT Mirror piece here) which tells anyone with half a brain that she's already quit before she's started. Since Dean is well aware that the CTGOP Convention process is rigged in favor of the establishment candidate, and she has a snowball's chance in hell of winning then why - pray-tell would she even bother jumping in at this late hour?

"Martha Dean's goal is to engage in a stratagem of self-promotion to improve her prestige with the gun lobby, enlarge her client base, and to damage the political aspirations of her Republican political enemies - most who happen to be less extreme than herself, and have a legitimate chance of actually winning the Governorship. " - THE KING

The reason has much to do with her well-paid role as legal representative of several gun rights groups which may possibly include the Connecticut Citizens Defense League (CCDL), National Rifle Association (NRA) and others - which for disclosure - The King also supports. And given our State Government's antagonistic behavior toward those believing in our Constitutional right to bear arms - then what's a better platform for Dean to expand her client-base than using the CTGOP gubernatorial stage to offer her billable services? It's The King's View that it's a bit disingenuous for her to take up one second of podium time at any Republican Town Committee when she's already announced that she doesn't plan to go the distance!  I would think twice before donating a penny to Martha Dean because she has no intention of being a serious candidate for Governor.

If Tom Foley, Chairman Jerry Labriola, John McKinney, and even Mark Boughton are paying attention (Joe Visconti is already actively engaged in Second Amendment advocacy), then not one of them should be happy to see Martha Dean turn the CT GOP Governor's Nomination process into a single-issue, Second Amendment media shot-storm! You think the media is celebrating now - just wait until the debates take place, and all the remaining candidates take collateral damage defending themselves against Dean's maniacal crusade!

The big problem for Chairman Jerry Labriola, Jr is that Dean's unhinged rhetoric will bring nothing but public scrutiny and humiliation upon the CTGOP. How does the head of Connecticut's Republican Party feel about a seeing one of his candidates for Governor make claims that the Sandy Hook Massacre might have been little more than a Government Conspiracy to erode Second Amendment Rights?  Dean aired her half-cocked conspiracy on both John Rowland's show and on Face the State with Dennis House.  The idiocy is unprecedented! The King can personally introduce Ms. Dean to a close friend of his who lost relatives on that horrific day.  To politicize this matter this way is personally hurtful to all of those who honor both the Second Amendment, and the victims and families of the Sandy Hook nightmare.

Martha Dean fancies herself to be cut from the same cloth as the late, great British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. But the difference between the two is stark; for unlike Martha Dean, the principled Lady Thatcher - never ran from a fight.  For example, back in 2010, Dean secretly met with a handful of Connecticut Republicans to discuss the clear and blatant corruption within Connecticut Republican Party Convention process.  At the urging of others, she penned a set of revised Convention Rules, but when it came time to present them - like a coward, she ran away from the issue, asked that her name be taken off as the author of the recommended rules, and refused in any way, shape, or form to stand with her allies and fight for CTGOP ethics reform.  Martha Dean is well known for saber rattling, but once the artillery starts firing, she's the first person to run away from a fight, and abandon her friends on the battlefield.

Another concern Republicans have about Martha Dean is that her convictions aren't genuine.  Much like this gubernatorial run, she watches quietly from the sidelines, carefully calculating the moves of allies and enemies, and only after determining the coast to be clear - enters the field of battle. Her never-ending, Johnny-Come-Lately waltzing in on the scene is what has frustrates her own friends in GOP-land; many screaming that she's often done nothing tangible (and non-paid) on her own to contribute to the cause, but she'll be the first person to demand an opportunity to address a revved crowd. As everyone knows -  there's never been a microphone that Martha Dean didn't like.  Evidence of Dean's lack of political activism even lead to her being voted down from formal membership on the Avon Republican Town Committee. One RTC Member told The King, "Martha refuses help anyone but herself. She won't lift a finger locally. She doesn't want to get her hands dirty, and thinks campaigning on the local level is for the little people.  Besides, none of what we do [in Avon] fills her coffers."  If it's not for profit, it's not for Martha Dean.

To add insult to injury - in 2010, Dean publicly criticized then-candidate Jeff Wright of Newington  for taking Citizens Election Funding for his State Treasurer campaign calling it UNCONSTITUTIONAL. She also criticized others. Now, only a few years later, Dean is taking what she once referred to as Taxpayer Welfare to run her own temporary spoiler bid for Governor. This shows Dean's lack of consistency, and exposes the hypocrisy of her feigned principle. When challenged about this by Jeff Wright, Dean said, "You can't win without it." Hasn't she earned enough off of the the gun lobby to finance five campaigns?

Wright is Right.  The whole Connecticut political establishment finds
it interesting.  You have to wonder how much longer, Good Ol' Tom will be smiling
once Martha Dean gets rolling!

Another question everyone is asking is since Dean's run isn't going beyond the State Convention, will she return every unused penny back to donors?  Or will she turn the money over to a charity which will then in turn hire her to represent their interests thereby creating a back door money-making scheme?

Lastly, unlike other blogs on the web, we avoid getting into candidates personal lives. But I have to say that given what has been published by media sources during her last campaign, and with what she's initiated as of late, I'm gravely concerned that the current personal controversy being widely-discussed in political circles will have a long term negative impact on both her and her family. Sympathetic Martyrdom is not achieved through self-inflicted wounds. Her conscious decision to nail herself upon the cross for all to see (for a profit) - as she twists and turns in the wind - is hardly worth the pain and anguish she and her family will suffer at the hands of a hostile press. With Dan Malloy on the ropes for his incompetency, Dean has become the Democrats' "great white hope" for survival in 2014.  Let's face it - she's a lightening Rod for GOP negativity which radiates from her out to the entire brand. Dean's claim that her announcement to run is "perfect timing" shows a real lack of judgement considering that the whole gambit is at stake.

Now I'm sure there are Republicans who love Martha Dean. She has some followers who are so out of their minds that they wouldn't care if she tried to pull a coup d'etat with a borrowed pistol (note to all: our pretended second amendment poster child doesn't even own a gun, let alone a pistol permit). And I'm sure her handful of brownshirts mean well when they blast her name everywhere.  But they aught to know that legitimate candidates don't announce a run for big time public office only weeks before the Nominating Convention takes place.  Martha Dean may have well gone to acting school, but she should have gone to scripting school - because there is no way in hell for her to have a happy ending.  A Fool's Errand?  It's already begun.

If Martha Dean loves her state, loves her country, loves her party, and loves her family, then she will not embark on a mission that will undoubtedly yield disastrous results for everyone involved, especially Republicans.

I AM

THE KING

The King's War: Why Principle Matters

The only thing that will change the Connecticut Republican Party
is to wage a full scale political assault on the traitorous ideologues in control

Did you ever wonder why The King's View publishes what it does?  Did you ever wonder why The King puts more pressure on Republicans than Democrats?  Or sound alarm bells when Republicans sell out their constituency to appear popular or to avoid media criticism?

For years, critics have dismissed this space as the ramblings of a Democrat insider disguised as a Republican.  Of course, that line of bull comes from a few members of the GOP State Party establishment who're quite comfortable with their position in the world - and who don't really care whether we win or lose. From their perspective, they only care that we put on good show so those few Republicans left in corners here and there can go back to their districts and tell everyone how we gave it "the good ole college try" and then ask for more donations so they can keep up appearances, and support an all-but-guaranteed second place finish.

If you haven't noticed, most of the people who have stolen the reigns of the Connecticut Republican Party are not Republicans in the traditional sense; I argue that this is by design and not by accident. The consistent bill of goods being sold by our CTGOP profiteers is that we need to liberalize our politics because Connecticut Republicans are somehow - more moderate, more sophisticated, or more intellectually gifted than those in the remaining 49 other states. Of course, this pure nonsense, but that doesn't stop them from saying it. See, there is nothing magical here, nor are there mind-altering spores floating in the air (except at The Hartford Courant) which when inhaled somehow make Nutmeggers any more educated, complex, or superior then - say people in Texas, or North Carolina, or even in neighboring Massachusetts - where a U.S. Senate seat can actually be won by a Republican (if even only temporarily).  And when it comes to election results - we lose!  And why do Connecticut Republicans lose?  Is it because our people are genetically different as our leaders suggest? No! It's because we peddle a watered-down, gutless version of real Republicanism!

Now, I know this upsets many long time holders of power in the CTGOP - particularly those who won't even bother to get off their infinite asses to volunteer their precious time to help candidates go door to door, fold campaign lit, or even make voter calls, but instead will fight to maintain their personal election consulting profit margin - a stream which, incidentally, flows regardless of whether we win or lose.  And I'm sure that this also infuriates many of those, who - let's face it - wouldn't even be Republican at all if it weren't for a desire to trap a few more tax dollars from escaping their greedy pockets.

Fact is, Connecticut Republicans have abandoned their principles and surrendered in the name of compromise so often - that they've forgotten what it means to even be Republican.  What's worse is that we've become so conditioned to losing, that those running or elected are ready to go in and negotiate away whatever remaining crumbs Democrats have left on the table in order to avoid a public fight (or one that lasts more than a day or so).  It's more important to be viewed as popular, or to avoid being characterized as extreme by the Press (which hates and will always hate Republicans no matter what we say or do).  Our fake Republicans want to be seen seen as kind, warm, caring, and collaborative and part of the in-crowd regardless of the negative impact passed legislation has on Connecticut's economy or it's people.  Oh well, we can't win 'em all.  I'd be happy winning some, or even one or two at this point.

Not only does the Connecticut Republican Party lack a statewide strategy, it has no consistent message. Heck, even our Chairman doesn't want to stick his neck out and challenge the opposition - unless he really has to.  Take for example this week's visit by President Obama.  It's true, Jerry Labriola, Jr. did send out a press release - but the harsh reality of it is that - much like our Chairman himself - the message he conveyed was rather meaningless. President Obama came to Connecticut - not to listen to the concerns of our people, or to help address some of Connecticut's specific needs, but to pick up a few big donation checks, and use blue collar New Britain as a place to sell his minimum wage scheme. Do you think Labriola's press release even mentioned the words minimum wage or rebuffed the President by outlining how disastrous minimum wage increases are for businesses?  Hell No! Of course not!  Why? Because our leading party candidate - Billionaire Tom Foley thinks the minimum wage is wonderful - regardless of how many jobs are lost.  Foley undercut the rest of the GOP Field by declaring raising the minimum wage "an act of fairness".  So Foley is liberal on social issues, and now - on economic issues too?  And this is our Republican front runner?

So there you have it.  Not only do we have a watered-down press release, but a watered-down Chairman, and a watered-down Republican gubernatorial candidate too.  Why on Earth would anyone give a penny to an outfit that operates like this?

And we need not get too deeply into how Republican Mayor Erin Stewart made a sideshow of herself this week - cheerleading a President (who has killed our economy, and came to peddle more Government mandates on business),  tweeting shout-outs and selfies (tee-he, giggle, giggle), and ghetto language, and being curt with Dennis House - as if any of that mattered anyway.  For Godsakes, she doesn't get it - the President didn't even take a minute to shake her hand and greet her after she went out of her way to fall at his feet, and piss-off the GOP base by making a public spectacle of herself.  It will be a good day when this childish, one-term pretender is pushed out of office and relegated to a lead-encased, basement appointment where she can't do any further harm to our so-called brand.  Good grief!

Much of this is precisely why we haven't won a majority in the Legislature for nearly half a century.  Our CTGOP charlatan leaders spend all their money at the bar, and their time trying to convince the base that they are doing all of us a big favor running down the middle of the road.  But it's had the reverse effect of what's intended. Case in point, Senator John McKinney has been bouncing from RTC to RTC telling Republicans that his support of the Gun Confiscation Bill was a good deal because it could have been much worse.  The problem with this is kind of thinking is that Legislative Democrats, Gov. Dan Malloy, and Michael Lawlor (despite their theatrics of disappointment that the bill didn't go far enough) got exactly what they wanted; and are emboldened to start down the road to enact more laws eroding basic rights, and liberties.  Now, we have two problems - we have a gun law we don't want on the books, supported by a Republican who has rendered himself nearly unelectable by his own base (or the public based on the recent Q-Poll results) because of his cowardly stance.

The fact remains that the strategy "Something is better than Nothing." has never worked out.  And on the Second Amendment issue - it's killed us.

Think that's bad?  How about Dan Debicella down in CT-5?  Despite what everyone has heard about how detrimental ObamaCare has been on patients, providers, and enrollees - this clown Debicella, alleged to be a Republican candidate, has vowed to keep it in place, and went out his way in a televised interview to condemn anyone who criticized it.  A Republican who vows to support ObamaCare? Debicella must have been one of those morons working on Linda McMahon's campaign who spent his evenings putting pro-Obama door hangers on city dwellings. Debicella: pro-ObamaCare, pro-gay, and anti-gun.  Why in God's name is this guy even running on our ticket?

The sad thing is that despite this, Connecticut's Conservative Republicans almost always inevitably campaign for, and vote for liberal or moderate Republicans.  In contrast, liberal Republicans won't lift a finger to support Conservative Republicans who win primaries in their districts.  Case in point, Conservative activist Joe Visconti helped Christopher Shays in his Senate run despite stark differences between the two on gay rights, abortion, and gun laws. Very few moderate or liberal Republicans can make the same claim - always leaving traditional Republicans to "go it alone."  How many so-called moderate Republicans came down to the LOB to voice outrage over the Transgender Bathroom Bill?  Not many. Not one.  

Some people will claim that it's important to be the Party which is comprised of lots of different ideas, and perspectives. But what happens when you have so many ideas and perspectives running in complete contradiction with each other - so much so - that the public cannot make heads or tails about what you stand for?  The answer is simple - and the evidence is clear - the public shuns the overall brand for something that appears more consistent, easily understood, or perhaps even more organized, and sometimes that comes in the form of a third party - which is becoming an ever-present danger for the CTGOP given so many close races.

And what of Tom Foley?  Is he going to take the Linda McMahon route, mumble incoherent babble,  bob and weave, and keep his views close to his vest and leave it all as one great big surprise for us to uncover on his first day of work?  Or is he, or for that matter - Mark Boughton, Mark Lauretti, and John McKinney going to stand tall on principle and take the lead of the only genuine Republican in the race - Joe Visconti - and stop apologizing for the RNC platform and tell voters why voting Republican is the BEST option for Connecticut?

Take a look around you.  Ask yourself how many U.S. House and U.S. Senate seats Connecticut Republicans own.  Then ask yourself how we stack up in the Legislative Office Building, or in the Governor's Mansion.  Happy?  They say insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  McMahon, Foley, Debicella, Labriola, Roraback?  Liberal Republicans void of principle giving the public little option but to reject Connecticut Republican for what it is - wishy-washy dribble.

The record for the Connecticut Republican Party is poor.  And it's poor because we don't stand for anything, and voters know it.  Until such time when Connecticut Republican Leaders can stop trying to find a backdoor to victory which doesn't exist, and clean up its own act - then The King's View will keep on going.  This is a war for the heart and soul of the CTGOP.  This is The King's War and it's a war worth fighting.

So go ahead, Labriola - keep abandoning the battlefield for a keyboard in a smoky bar.  Go ahead elitists - go on and push RINOs in favor of incremental tax increases, anti-business legislation, maintaining the income tax, gun confiscation. And keep promoting pro-gay and perverse candidates who erode our social values.  Keep nominating candidates who embrace ObamaCare, or want to increase the minimum wage, or seem to have no coherent position on anything at all.   Keep nominating billionaires void of experience or ideas who have plenty of money to burn and who run commercials to destroy the political careers of real Republicans who might make a real difference on behalf of Connecticut. And lastly, keep praising our opposition, welcoming them with open arms, and treating them as if their ideology is equal to our own, all while they seek to destroy everything generations of Americans have worked, and died for.  You see, we don't need too look far to realize that the bigger enemy is within.

Go ahead... for THE KING and his ARMY OF THE PRINCIPLED are waiting to repel you!

I AM

THE KING

Will New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart Chose a Presidential Photo-Op over Principle?

Erin Stewart: Republican Free-thinker
or modern-day Democratic Prop?

It is reasonable that local politicians should follow expected protocol and extend personal pleasantries when important political dignitaries visit their community. And it is The King's view that this should be certainly be the case when President Barack Hussein Obama visits Central Connecticut State University in New Britain on Wednesday, March 5th.

But make no mistake, President Obama's visit to The Hardware City isn't merely some accidental pit stop on the way to his next golf outing; Mr. Obama is intentionally using a newly reacquired Republican stronghold as the back-drop to promote his half-baked economic ploy to raise the minimum wage.

Mayor Erin Stewart should be cautioned to carefully weigh the role she will play when the President's Circus comes to town.  At a time when Connecticut Republican Party loyalists are furious over the perception that CTGOP leaders (and in particular their would-be gubernatorial candidates) are hesitant and weak on both economic and social issues, it will be critical for Ms. Stewart, a leading Republican, to avoid getting caught up in the theatrics of the moment, and remind Mr. Obama and Mr. Malloy that Connecticut's economy has suffered tremendously as a result of liberal Democrat policies enacted by both of their regime's administrations.

Instead of traveling around Connecticut to promote a short-sighted scheme to raise the wages of high school students employed by their neighborhood grocer, the White House and Governor's Office should be working to create real career opportunities for residents of the Nutmeg State. If Obama and Malloy surrogates persist to sell the line that they are trying to help the alleged 13% of seniors, and 55% of women stuck in minimum wage jobs, then perhaps you could ask them to lay out their specific plans to do so, and urge them to reduce the regulatory and tax burdens on small and large businesses, thereby creating better opportunities for the entirety of Connecticut's struggling workforce. She can also remind him of the CBO report which states that raising the minimum wage will result in the loss over a half million jobs in the USA.

On Wednesday, while the President dazzles his staged union audience, Mayor Stewart has an unique opportunity to either stand in the background, clapping, and cheering like most good little collaborative Connecticut Republicans usually do, or to greet the President like a brave, new opposition leader and point out the misgivings of his band-aid politics. This means refusing to play a part in his public relations charade.

This will be the test for an upstart CTGOP leader who could take this opportunity to teach our present State Party Chairman, noncommittal Republican politicians, and others what it's like to have real courage, and stand up for Republican principles which so many in our Party, have for too long abandoned.  Anyone who tells you to put politics aside to aid the President in his photo-ops endeavor should remember that "silence is acceptance" and it's up to a few brave souls to respectfully protest counter-productive policies.

I AM

THE KING