The Week in Review: State Rep Wadsworth, Mitt Romney, & Linda McMahon

"Sunday clears away the rust of the whole week" - (Joseph Addison (1672-1719), British essayist. Spectator (London, July 9, 1711)

First, I want to start by wishing Republican State Representative William "Bill" Wadsworth well.  For those who haven't been following the news, Representative Wadsworth was piloting his Robinson R22 helicopter when it crashed in Farmington on Saturday night.  

William Wadsworth (R)
Escaped unscathed

The King knows the crash location well (corner of Meadow Road and Meadow Lane), and its true that its a thickly wooded area, and that he was fortunate not to hit the power-lines located only yards away. Reports are that Rep. Wadsworth was shaken but was able to walk away from the incident without serious injury.  His passenger was not so lucky, and was taken to Hartford Hospital for treatment.  Whatever your politics or faith, please keep Rep Wadsworth and his lady passenger in your thoughts and prayers.

Rep. William Wadsworth comes from a long line of Wadsworth's who have contributed much to both Connecticut and United States history including poetry (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow), and military service.  Historians will note that Lt. Henry Wadsworth  died second in command aboard the original U.S.S. Intrepid in 1804. See this recent story which recaps some of those details.  Notwithstanding his family connections, Rep. Wadsworth has been the model Republican in our State Legislature.  Why this man isn't serving in the U.S. Congress, I'll never know - he's likely blow away the entire field regardless of Party affiliation.

Mitt Romney's Visit and the Rosen Fallout

We would be remiss if we didn't mention this past week's visit to Hartford by the next President of the United States - Mitt Romney.  And trust me - this guy has everything it takes to win the nomination, the general election, and much more.  Frankly, given that Rick Santorum has dropped out, plus the total number of primaries that Mitt's won that Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are still continuing their pointless campaigns toward nomination.  Of course, there isn't much that surprises me about Ron Paul except that he's still registered as a Republican.  Paul has as much in common with Democrats as he does Republicans which makes me wonder why he ever expected to win the GOP nomination in the first place.   

Paul's followers are even more disturbing than the candidate himself; try to explain one of them that Paul can't win and you get the same reaction you get when you try to convince a ten year old that there is no Easter Bunny ... but much worse - they turn crimson red, their eyes widen, and they begin foaming at the mouth like a rabid raccoon - go ahead and try it, I dare you!  It's hard for them to accept that no-one cares about their silly, old candidate.  Fact is, he's not going to influence our platform one way or the other. *Sigh*

There are two points worth discussing about Mitt's trip.  First, in total sum his visit to Connecticut was a boon for his overall appeal nationally - and perhaps not just because of what he did or said while here, but rather what Democrat Strategist and Lesbian activist Hilary Rosen said, flanked by comments by Connecticut Democrat Chairman Nancy DiNardo - who comes across as a kind of a misfit when discussing national politics anyway. You can get back to us on that one too, if you'd like.

You can't go wrong show-
casing great talent like
Ann Brickley

Mitt Romney's strategists decided to front successful woman in leadership and business as part of his New England tour. He showcased a few stellar Connecticut Republican leaders like Karen Brinker, owner of AlphaGraphics (where the event was held), Businesswoman Ann Brickley, and Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson. You can't quibble with the depth of such inspiring talent, or the brilliant strategy either; and the other side would be screaming discrimination if we didn't discuss the importance of women as part of our overall message to attract voters - it's just that they don't want us cutting in to their female voting demographic which was particularly strong for Obama in 2008 (56% to 46% in favor of Barack).  We, sort of get that.  

Hilary Rosen attack on future first lady Ann Romney was as foolish as it gets in another bad week for the President. We understand that it was a response to the embarrassing report earlier in the week which outlined the fact that Obama's White House pays women far less than it does men.  Hilary Rosen was sent out to smear Mitt Romney on the women's angle which clearly served as an exploding boomerang which clobbered them 10-fold upon its return.

First, so what if Ann Romney is a millionaire.  It seems that most women associated with Washington culture aren't exactly clipping coupons regardless of party affiliation.  Do you think Joe Biden's wife shops for her clothes at Target?  Second, attacking the wife of a Presidential Candidate is about as low as it gets.  If this is a sign of things to come, you can better expect this election to be the lowest, and dirtiest on record.  And does the White House really want Michelle Obama - who already isn't very popular with anyone outside of the beltway - to face the same kind of scrutiny?  Michelle Obama clearly can't stand the whole "First Lady thing" anyway, and she seems like she'll be the happiest person on Earth organizing the moving vans the Hell out of Washington come mid-November.

Thirdly, and most importantly - attacking stay at home moms seems to be a pretty arrogant position to take anyway.  The role of motherhood is second to none as far as any woman that I know is concerned, and the thinking extends to us dads.  Many woman sacrifice their careers to be home with their children to ensure they are raised properly and that is a noble and wonderful thing in an age where many of our leaders would rather see the Government raise our children to become full-time surfs of the State. 

Perhaps before he went the wayward strategy of trying to insult and diminish mothers, the White House might have looked at the flip side of the coin and realized that Barack Obama's policies have been the biggest contributing factor to sidelining a great number of new stay at home moms who didn't actually plan on volunteering for the "stay at home part" but wound up becoming a casualty at the hands of three years of his devastating economic policies that have sunk us well below acceptable employment statistics.  It seems that those who President Obama has claimed to have been so outspoken a champion for - women, blacks, minorities, even young college grads - have suffered the most under his policies. 

Mitt Romney's Visit and the Linda McMahon Fallout

Twitter fanatics tweeted with great anticipation the arrival of Mitt Romney prior to the kick off to the Hartford event.  One comment by a Connecticut Mirror reporter certainly got the most notice in the early hours before the event. 

CT Mirror's Mark Pazniokas tweeted: "Seat reserved in front row for Chris Shays at Romney event. Nothing for McMahon."  Hmmm?  Curious.

Almost immediately CTGOP Party insiders started to speculate about the why Linda McMahon was not going to be front and center with GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.  It was particularly noteworthy, given that 1) Linda McMahon has locked up significant establishment support (via buying delegates and RTCs as has been reported in the press), 2) Linda McMahon came out early in public support of Mitt Romney last year, and 3) the event was meant to showcase women leaders in both business and politics - and given Linda's rhetoric, you would have thought she would have been a shoe-in attendee.

According to insiders, there is trouble in McMahonville.  First, its pretty clear to anyone that Linda McMahon's non-appearance (and non-invitation) was a signal that even Team Romney doesn't buy-in to Linda's established claims of job creation, nor does Mr. Romney support the violent and disgraceful product produced by Linda McMahon.  The last thing Mitt Romney was going to have was the national media asking him if he endorses the kind of nonsense produced by Linda's WWE cesspool. As The King has shown the product produced by the McMahon's is not respectful toward women whatsoever.  This has become an endless quagmire for McMahon was was pretty evident in the demographic detail of her 2010 campaign. 

Second, the surge of Chris Shays' support seems to be causing some buckling within Team McMahon.  Several delegates now feel trapped because they bought in early to an otherwise doomed campaign.  When compared with the bright and energetic appearances of Congressman Chris Shays, and the fact that according to legitimate polling data, he is far more competitive against Democrats then McMahon will ever be - it seems that trying to hold together her ambiguous campaign is one helluva task.  Mitt Romney's refusal to include her in proceedings was just another foreshadowing of a foregone conclusion - which is that as far as Connecticut's Republican U.S. Senate Nomination is concerned - only Chris Shays stands out as the only reasonable choice.

Lastly, there was one interesting story you may have caught which detailed a prominent Connecticut Republican landing a damaging blow on Linda McMahon.  Although many of our State Reps were swooped up by Linda McMahon in the early goings, it seems that CTGOP leadership has carefully kept its powder dry and stayed out of the fray - at least until now.  According to the New Haven Register, Republican State Senator John McKinney said, "McMahon's misleading attacks against Congressman Shays needs to stop!"

Whoa!  Did a Connecticut Republican Leader actually just stand up to the McMahon ATM machine?  Just a crack in the armor or a much larger problem for McMahon?  Perhaps having learned their lesson from the whole Aniskovich debacle, our GOP Legislative Leadership may have noticed that selling out to an automatic loser doesn't make a bit of sense when they can support a possible winner in Chris Shays - who's far more suited, far more qualified, and far more capable of winning the U.S. Senate seat than Linda McMahon.

It will be interesting to see if Larry Cafero joins the chorus and sides with the Shays Campaign next.  If so, this would set up a Grand Alliance between Chris Shays, The Connecticut House and Senate Leadership, Andrew Roraback, Mitt Romney, and the Pierce Zappi Powerhouse AGAINST Linda McMahon, Joe Markley, Tom Foley, Mark Boughton, Paid Delegates, and Pat Sullivan's Establishment Firm.  You can see a pretty interesting tie-in battle to watch. The showdown between Pierce Zappi and Pat Sullivan - and wonder which of these firms will have bragging rights about which delivered which candidates to office when it its all said and done. 

And the results of these alliances and the fallout from them will likely have a lingering domino effect long into 2014...

Oh, this is going to be good!

So despite our loss on the Death Penalty battle, there is plenty to opine about as it's been a very busy week here in the Nutmeg State, and busier still for all of us who are enjoying the return of gorgeous weather, and have plenty of real work to do to get our yards ready for entertaining and such.  With next week expected to hit near 80 temps, I hope you'll find time to get out there and start to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine - and enjoy life beyond politics, a little!

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.

Memo to Ron Paul Supporters: IT'S OVER!

A number of my libertarian friends are hell-bent on supporting Ron Paul to the end. It's an obsession with them; much like the last Al-Queda member hunkering down in a cave, ready to fire the last shot of his rifle to defeat Democracy.

I can understand this act of political defiance. I can understand their anger with a weak Republican field, and their feeling of being disenfranchized; although I find their claims of a media blackout to be ludicrious considering the amount to attention and airtime that I've personally seen given to Dr. Paul. (in fact, every candidate's supporter say the same thing - particularly when they are losing. It's a way of giving your candidate a bye on his or her own accountability).

Back in the early 90s, I was far more activist than I am now. I was a proud supporter of Patrick J. Buchanan. I thought Pat was right for his time, and looking back, many of his predictions are coming true - certainly with regard to the deterioration of moral and cultural values, and the negative impacts of uncontrolled borders. And even his points on Free Trade seems to be shaping up to be correct. Since that time, we've faced a brutal attack by Arab Nations, hell-bent on our destruction. Pat didn't want an entanglement, but in the age of nuclear weapons and the fact that the people building them are a fanatical bunch, I've become far more "hawkish" on these points, and would rather take the war to them before its too late. Today, Pat and I probably part ways on a number of points including this one.

The reason I'm bringing Patrick Buchanan into this essay is to let the Ron Paul supporters understand that while some of Mr. Paul's postions have merit, its the total package including points on National Security that in of biggest concern. Isolationist positions in this day and age are impractical considering the ramifications of retreat, or worse - turning a blind eye. And I have to admit, the primary battle did help weaken George H. W. Bush, although most of the damage he did was self-inflicted - he raised taxes and was a terrible candidate, unable to connect with the average voter, or articulate simple, clear cut policy positions that made sense.

Ron Paul could be 80% of everything we ever wanted in a President, policy-wise. But he was doomed from the start by taking isolationist, impractical postions, and wanting to withdraw from Iraq and Afganistan, and anywhere else terrorist pose a threat. Even Democrats recognize that our long term strategy includes remaining knee deep in the Middle East. It's the duty of "our time" not self-imposed, but necessary given the level of threat. And quoting costs of our military operations (as Paul often does) doesn't matter a hill of beans, when the price to be paid for doing little or nothing is so costly. Do we care how much it cost to keep ourselves and our families safe? Hello?

It's hard to pick on Ron Paul for being old when John McCain is pretty darn old. Personally, I'm disappointed that the GOP cannot come up with a younger set of candidates to run for office who fall in line with conservative principles. (I also think this fascination with Obama is a lot about youth). But Ron Paul doesn't come across as electable - he is seen as frail and aged. He also comes across disorientated and confused. His appearance during the Fox debate was very unfortunate. At times, he didn't seem to really answer the questions and went off on a tangent.

The fact is, the way the primary system is devised, it takes months of preparation, and the buy-in of key contributers, coordinators, and endorsements, long before you run. People like Hillary Clinton and John McCain have been planning (if not scheming for years and years). Moreover, when you are an upstart candidate, hell-bent on upseting the apple cart of establishment candidates, you need to strike early. Ron Paul never made the case that he was a contender against the main stream.

Ron Paul supporters unfortunately can't seem to handle this fact. And that's really sad, if not immature. Instead they band together and express displeasure with the media, and anyone else they can find to blame. They claim media blackouts, voter fraud, bad weather, and anything they can think of. Well, the fact is that there has been plenty of Ron Paul, particularly in states that have already had primaries. At some point, you have to be realistic and recognize that for whatever reason, your candidate and your candidates message isn't resonating.

Ron Paul has long reached this point. He's done. His single digit results show that he's no longer a serious contender.

So now what? Instead of bowing out gracefully he's going to spend the rest of the primary period, siphoning off votes from double digit contenders to prove what? That he's "got a message for Washington?" If he wants to save his reputation and maintain any sense of self-respect, he aught to step down. The continuation of his campaign is in bad taste. And his campaign benefits moderate Republicans like John McCain.

Before South Carolina's primary, I told Ron Paul supporters that their votes for Ron Paul were indeed a vote for Ron Paul. With Super Tuesday only hours away, its fair to tell Ron Paul supporters that their votes on Tuesday are no longer votes for a feasible, or electable candidate. On Super Tuesday, any vote for Ron Paul is a vote for John McCain.

So go ahead, Ron Paul supporters. Get yourselves in a frenzy. Go ahead, and THINK you are making a difference, or sending a protest vote, or REALLY edging Ron Paul ahead to victory.

Then remember, John McCain thanks you for your vote.