The Rotten Plank

I’m sure this piece may raise a few eyebrows with some of my more traditional friends out there on Republican Island. Read in the proper context, I expect that many of you might take it to heart and get the message, while others will leave here, red-faced, angry, and in search of an even larger hammer in which to nail that square peg into the round hole.

For years I’ve avoided writing about the abortion issue because it’s without a doubt the single most divisive issue within our fragile Party. The mere mention of it almost always results in bad feelings, and internal squabbles which seem to escalate to the point where it begins to tear the very fabric of our core – as it has for at least the last two decades. I going to put aside my own personal opinion about the subject with the hopes of addressing the larger implications the issue has had on our State Republican Party. And moreover, the impact it’s had on our ability to appeal to moderate Republicans, and Independents whom we desperately need if we plan to ever have a chance of winning key Congressional racess. Later on, I’m going to point out what I see as a bit of hypocrisy within our own CTGOP ranks which is burning a gaping hole through this so-called Move to Unity that everyone seems to be going on about. I’m going to call a spade a spade, and I can understand that some of you won’t like that very much.

Jack Kemp (NY-R) understood the value of coalitions
for the purpose of winning elections

Years ago, one of my personal heroes - Jack Kemp (R-NY) used to talk about the “Big Tent” that the GOP needed to construct in order to attract a diverse group of supporters to help us win federal elections. Kemp was a self- proclaimed compassionate conservative, who advocated several non-traditional Republican solutions including enterprise zones, and going into cities to extend GOP appeal to what the country-Club crowd considered mere undesirables. Kemp was also a Pro-Life advocate. While I concede that he never compromised his position, I’ll also point out that as a former Quarterback and a visionary, he understood the value of knowing his audience, so instead of sparking disunity with angry polarizing all or nothing rhetoric – he sought ways to build consensus – never losing sight of main goal which was of course - winning elections. Like his mentor Ronald Reagan, and having spent so many years fighting from a minority position under a Democrat controlled Congress, Kemp understood the value of coalitions, and plurality. A concept considered foreign to many within our GOP ranks.

You’ll recall through media reports that a few weeks ago at the National Republican Convention, several of our GOP delegates voted against including the Pro-Life plank in the Republican Party Platform. This sparked a wild protest from many who are a part of the Amen-corner of our State Party ranks. Our Chairman, Jerry Labriola, Jr., a pro-lifer, took unyielding criticism for allowing delegates to vote their conscience, or better put – for not stacking the deck with pro-life delegates, or strong-arming or intimidating delegates into voting against their respective positions. Labriola was correct to not bow down to the minority holier-than-thou crowd (or manipulate the process as previous Chairmen might have done). Had that been the case, one could only imagine the mileage the press would have gotten out of that story.

 

The extreme right went ballastic when CTGOP Chairman Labriola
didn't twist arms and break heads to support the Pro-Life Plank of the Platform

Much of the outrage back home came from confused individuals who see moral issues as the primary agenda for the Republican Party, and could frankly careless about economics, or jobs, or anything else. Over the years, I’ve had a hard time relating to the extreme far-right of our Party because I find that no matter how hard you try, you can’t reason with a group of rabid raccoons who become unhinged with spiraling eyes, and foaming mouths when it comes to certain positions. For all the important issues that the Republican Party stands – free markets, capitalism, strong foreign policy, interventionism, low taxes, individual responsibility, less government, etc. - You have to really question the conviction of someone who turns to you and says, “If it wasn’t for the Pro-Life plank in our Platform – I wouldn’t be a Republican.” Really? If that’s how you feel, then it doesn’t seem like you’re a Republican anyway. Could one be so shallow a person that s/he’d be just as happy with ObamaCare, high taxes, and a run-away debt as long as Abortion is outlawed? Here’s The King’s challenge - ask this crowd that very question the next time they utter a narrow-minded threat to bolt the Party if they don’t get their way.

Now I recognize that after last week’s clear attempt by Democrats to exclude God from their party platform that it certainly appears that Republicans seem to have cornered the market on God. Even wishy-washy Episcopalians and hippy-loving Congregationalists can see that! Frankly, I was amazed at how blatant Democrats were in their opposition to including God to the point where their leadership struggled to override (and ignore) the consensus of their represented constituency present. Without question the whole scene was certainly a C-SPAN moment for the ages. Surely, this imagery is one that Democrats will work tooth and nail to erase in the minds of Southern Black Christians who helped Obama win in 2008, and who he desperately needs to win in November. Republicans would do well to air commercial after commercials of Democrat delegates coming out of their chairs screaming their heads off to kick God out of their Convention. Whatever your religious preference, it’s pretty apparent that if God isn’t welcome, Jesus probably isn’t either. That’s ok – over in our imperfect world we’ve got plenty of room for converts.

What it all boils down to is that I’m trying to convince a few zealots in my Party is that being Pro-Life isn’t a litmus test for being either a real Christian, or an Orthodox Jew or Muslim for that matter, or for being a Republican. Nor is it a litmus test for being a decent human being. And as for as this writer is concerned – it’s not a litmus test for being our Party’s nominee at any level either.

It’s not often that within a few hours of my attending any social gathering that antagonists will seek to bait me into a political discussion. When I walk through the door, I can see them from afar - liberals gathered in a corner, peering over at me, smirking and scheming up ways ambush me at the dessert table in order to push my buttons. Even 10 on 1, I can usually hold my own against the most obnoxious gang of bedeviled Marxists - on most issues – and after all else fails when they see their in a losing battle, they almost always pull out the abortion card. They never use it for the purpose of winning the debate at large – that never works – they use it to expand sympathy to their cause from those observing us – mostly women - who tend to be more liberal on social issues.

It’s a no brainer to most of us that the abortion issue is a disastrous issue for Republicans – particularly Connecticut Republicans. Even my mainstream Catholic friends won’t touch the subject with a ten foot pole when pressed into service – and that’s because most of them are Pro-Abortion or Pro-Choice (take your pick). Oh, of course some of them will come up to me afterward and pat me on the back, but they won’t stick their necks out publicly. And again as for the women in the crowd – well you can forget it!

Last week, and taking a page out of the liberal playbook, Connecticut Governor Dannell Malloy gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention which invoked the usual Democrat themes – class warfare; hate of the rich, environment extremism, and of course – abortion. Malloy cleverly used the mother-daughter-wife theme to frighten viewers into delivering Barack Obama a second term. Sadly, this fear mongering resonates well with neutrals and the apolitical. And it’s hard to counter Malloy’s argument when GOP representatives go out of their way to include it as a plank in the Party Platform – a rotten plank at that.

"Republicans kill the elderly and eat small children. I've seen it myself!"

Women aren’t going to budge from the age old argument that they don’t need to surrender their reproductive rights to some guy in a polo shirt. I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve been told by women that they’d be inclined to vote Republican if it weren’t for the Abortion issue. And including it as a plank in the GOP Party Platform does us no favors – trust me. I’ve been through it a number of times. Ladies can agree with me on 99% of our positions, but when it comes to this one matter – they can’t stomach looking the other way. Not even for an instant. Not even for a single vote.

By now I’m sure some of you in the Pro-Life movement are reading this piece and turning beat read. Well, I got news for you. I can’t lie about the perception this issue has on our Party, and I can’t be deceitful about its impact. And I’m to the point where every time I see a Republican Candidate banter on and on about how important this issue is, or make the claim that it’s the most important issue - I see the imagery of a reverse debt-calculator subtracting votes from the GOP , and into the Democrats’ vote column.

To be clear, what I’m not saying is that our pro-life Conservatives need to abandon their viewpoint on Abortion, or modify their position. But what I am saying is that as long as you’re going to make this issue the center-point of your argument for whether or not you will support a candidate, or attack one of OUR Republican candidates running for office, then you are going to continue to aid and abed the enemy camp right up and through every election. You guys chase away more votes in five minutes with this religious demagoguery than the rest of us can muster in a week’s worth of door to door canvasing. Remember this next time you hem and haw about this issue in public, or issue ultimatums and threats. Remember how many Republican and moderate votes you just hand-delivered to Democrats. Sadly, a percentage of that group would rather have a moderate Republican lose so that a Conservative can possibly win next time. Indeed, we are our own worst enemy.

Listen, according to statistics there are somewhere between 23 and 25 million unemployed Americans out there (perhaps more if you include those who’ve just given up looking or applying for jobs or benefits). None of them are standing in a bread line worried about whether or not Sally Sue down the road should be allowed to have an Abortion. Most of them are worried about trying to put food on their tables for their families and themselves. They are worried about making the rent payment or mortgage payment, and they aren’t trying to weigh the importance of a great spiritual war going on in the Heavens or around us. I know it’s hard to make pragmatists out of extremists and zealots. But for the sake of our Party, can you please keep the religious pontification to yourselves? The rest of us are trying to win an election. Later on, after we take care of the basics, we can try to turn this nation into the world land of clouds and harps.

I have one more tale that I need to impart to you. I swear - this is a true story.

Back on Election Day in November 2008, my friend and I came upon a mutual acquaintance who told us that she was not planning to vote in the election. We imagined her to be somewhat conservative based on the many discussions we had with her over the years. After scolding her for a good thirty minutes about the need to do her civic duty, we convinced her to let us drive her to city hall so she could register on the spot and vote – presumably for John McCain. At that point, she said she was undecided on exactly who she would support. On the car ride, and while waiting in the endless winding line in the hallway, my friend and I ran the gambit on the issues – foreign policy, taxation, on and on; we thought we had done our work, covering the many reasons that electing McCain was the best choice for her and for the country.

Five feet from the room, she turns to us and says, “Ok quick… tell me the MOST important reason I should vote for John McCain.” For a moment I was filled with glee. Oh this is so easy I said to myself! I thought I’d make the tax pitch and deliver the vote for my side! But before I could get out the words, my friend turned around toward her and went into this three minute tirade about how Obama and Democrats want to kill babies, and stock the Supreme Court with Abortionists, and that the Pro-Life position was the single most important matter in the world, and on and on. My heart sank. The blood drained from my face, and I looked down at the ground in disgust. Her eyes squinted, her jaw tightened, and her fists became clenched - she turned her back on us and approached the registration table. I whispered to my friend, “You idiot! Of all the things to say! She’s Pro-Choice!” All he could muster was, “Oh.” He tried to come back with a few other items but the damage had been done.

After 40 minutes of brilliant discussion (not that it would have mattered) – Poof! My friend’s zealotry had pushed her to support Barack Obama for President. I don’t know whether I was more annoyed for the rest of the night about the land-slide victory achieved by Obama, or because my friend had spoiled a sure thing.

Again, this is a true story. It still irks me to this day. There are times when you can be so right, but at the same time – be so wrong.

Taking Issue with the FIC



I expect this part of my entry could ruffle some feathers. Now to start, I have to say that I love my friends at the Family Institute of Connecticut. I admire the work they do as activists in support of many fine and noble conservative and mainstream causes on behalf of Connecticut families. I admire that their leader, Peter Wolfgang, who leads by example by walking the walk to the point where it causes his distractors and enemies to spit flame and yellow bile. I don’t have to be in lockstep with the FIC to appreciate its dedication to conservative action.



"Sorry, Manfred - no jobs today, but enjoy your cold porridge courtesy of the FIC." 

But I have to say that I’m slightly disappointed in the way the leadership at the FIC is currently handling the Andrew Roraback situation. During the primary, The King took Senator Roraback to the shed for many of his left-leaning positions. But that battle is now over, and Senator Andrew Roraback is our duly elected nominee in Congressional District 5. I have to say I was quite perplexed at the haste in which Peter Wolfgang came out to endorse Linda McMahon (via Twitter to the CTpolitics community) – who, for all intents and purposes harbors nearly the exact social positions as Andrew Roraback – on abortion, on gay rights, and on a number of social issues. My goal isn’t to demean either Andrew Roraback or Linda McMahon (God, knows that I’ve taken issue with Mrs. McMahon) but to point out the incredible hypocrisy the FIC has shown by endorsing one candidate, and holding out against another when their social positions are virtually the same.

Now I’m not saying the FIC is expected to be front group for the CTGOP, and defend all its positions and candidates. What I am saying is that the lack of consistency on the part of the FIC is more than notable – and moreover, it’s hurtful in the grand scheme of things for them to engineer open dissent against an elected nominee of the Party - which by the way – encompasses the majority of supporters and donors of which the FIC is a mutual benefactor. Obviously, it’s true that Andrew Roraback has a voting record to scrutinize where Linda McMahon has none – that’s not a dig on Linda, that’s simply the case in fact. But honestly said, you’d be hard pressed to show where Linda would have voted differently than Andrew Roraback on many of the same bills had she held a similar public office.

But for consistency purposes, it’s The King’s View that it would have been better for Peter Wolfgang and his comrades to have remained silent and not endorsed either based on both candidates’ social ideology, instead of endorsing one over the other publicly when no reasonable difference between them can be found. Splitting hairs to support this thinking won’t accomplish much except to further fracture the fragile coalition within our ranks. We are hoping (and praying) that the endorsement of one candidate instead of the other wasn’t driven by undue influence of any kind – for that would be unscrupulous, indeed.

The King hereby calls on the Family Institute of Connecticut and its leadership to reinstitute fairness in their endorsement practices, and make the Call to Unity the promise from which all right-learning (and imperfect) candidates can equally benefit from.

As the primaries are over, and given the alternative, playing the hold out game for a pointless power-play isn’t in the best interest of everyone involved. If conservatives want moderate support at ballot time, moderates will expect conservatives to follow suit. If this concept is too hard to comprehend, think of Jack Kemp, or better yet remember the Reagan Coalition which led Republicans to successive victories in the early 80s, and delivered a decade of properity across our Nation.

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.

Retro Recap of the August 14 Primary; What Next?

I realize that it’s been several weeks since the August 14 Primary. And my view at the time was that there wasn’t a sense of urgency to publish a post about the outcome – which was always predictable, offering few, if any surprises, whatsoever. I also believed that there wasn’t much of a reason to go bonkers; pounding the daylights out of our opponents given that the die was cast perhaps as early as June (maybe much earlier in some races). It’s not that I gave up, but with summer as short as it is, I believed that time was better spent enjoying the great weather and company of good friends rather than getting all wound up and frazzled about a fleet of run-away trains headed over the cliff. Looking at it from purely a mathematical perspective, the delta between the victors and the defeated proves my thinking right. There were no close outcomes; instead, lambs were put to the slaughter in every race.

Of course, I knew I would eventually publish something. I drafted an early version of this post, shelved it for over a week under the guise of a cooling off period, with the plan to come back later on to modify it - had my opinions changed. I figured why not let the smoke settle a bit before pouring gas on a blazing fire. I expect that as usual my views will clash with conventional wisdom and the thinking of CTGOP Party hacks, and that’s perfectly fine. I continue to write what people think and seem to be afraid to say, and more often than not - I predict the outcome long before it happens. For me it’s not about “being right”, as much as it’s about praying that one day the CTGOP will take the extraordinary step of altering its usual self-destructive course, and make the voters (a.k.a. taxpayers) winners again. From the looks of things, it’s not likely now or in the future. But anyway… buckle up, here we go….

With only one exception, primary night’s results were certainly not all that unexpected. Everything that you’ve ever known about politics came true – moderates win when conservatives split their votes, and television ads and print media trump digital-free grassroots campaigning - even when aided by big-time endorsements. In truth, the only bright spot for Connecticut’s badly fractured Republican Party, was watching Lisa Wilson-Foley’s campaign crash and burn after months of nasty campaigning and personal attacks by her surrogates on (former) friends, and foes. If there was any surprise, it might have been the fact that no one expected Speaker Chris Donovan to become embroiled in a massive scandal which all but resulted in Elizabeth Esty getting the Democrat nomination (Update: as of this writing bitter Donovan has decided to withdraw from the Working Families Party line). Esty’s win is a plus for Republicans because she harbors some extreme views, which enough to make even the most moderate Republican like Andrew Roraback look appealing to those in the middle, and hopefully to the right (a future post is in the works on that point!). Whether Roraback can survive the long negative shadow cast by Linda McMahon being atop of ticket is yet to be determined. But it certainly won’t help.

If you don’t want to read the rest of the detail below, I can save you some time. In November, there will be few surprises here in Connecticut. While I still believe National Republicans will muster enough voter dissatisfaction to remove an ineffective and arrogant Barack Obama, we will be likely beaten across the board here in the Nutmeg State. And to make matters worse, the results of the U.S. Senate Race primary have all but guaranteed that Mitt Romney will avoid Connecticut. Connecticut will become the ultimate flyover state thanks to Linda McMahon, a fact brought to you by our Connecticut Republican State Central Membership and many of our RTC officers – who played their parts well in McMahon’s scripted storyline - it’s unfortunate for all of us [Republicans] that the song and dance we are about to encounter will result in a sorrowful ending.

Shays v McMahon

Now I’m not going to get into a long diatribe about what went wrong with the Shays campaign; I could easily write six volumes. But I’ll point out a few things that clearly helped destroy his campaign from the start – before it ever really got going (that’s if it ever got going at all). I like and admire Chris Shays even though he’s far more liberal on several issues than I am, but I respect his service, and the manner in which he conducted himself during his tenure in Congress. I remain steadfast in the belief that he was our best and only chance of a Republican winning a U.S. Senate Seat for decades to come. Of course, none of that matters now, and as we know – nice guys tend to finish last, and the disorganized and inept campaigners – dead last. When it came to the Shays campaign strategy, you almost had the sense that he was doomed from the very start. What struck me most was that he had already been briefed about the McMahon strategy first hand by her last opponent Rob Simmons. Simmons had warned Shays repeatedly about what to expect, and what was required to beat his ambiguous foe. Shays seemed to ignore all counsel, and he ran his campaign as if it were a local contest for State Rep; he rarely ventured out of his home district, and when he did, he appeared uninterested and tired, as if he was forced to do so.

"All I wanted was my F*&^%ing Country Back, You Wrestling *&^?!" Got it??!!

I don’t know when Shays made his decision to run. But from all signs, the whole misadventure appears to have been a last minute deal. After being ahead of McMahon in the Quinnipiac public opinion poll in February, he walked into a hostile CT State Convention and took a drumming that was hard to swallow. The problem was that the majority of convention delegates and town committees had been bought off months in advance; the Convention was simply the final act of a well-orchestrated show by the McMahon team. Worse, McMahon’s surrogates worked hard to humiliate Shays by working the floor to turn the remaining delegates to their side for nearly an hour after the first vote was taken (a classless and unforgiveable act) in order to try and reach the three-fourths threshold, and force him to collect signatures to ballot. After that fateful night, everything turned south, and Shays never rebounded.

Shays enlisted the help of a fundraising outfit, PierceZappi to help him raise funds, and plainly speaking, they fell flat on their rears. Nice people, but clearly exceedingly poor results. Complaints have circulated that the mixing of candidate lists may have resulted in fewer dollars raised by Shays (and more by other candidates they were working for). This compounded Shays’ problem since he didn’t have the capital to produce mailers, campaign signs, and most importantly - run televisions commercials to promote his public recognition. Some estimates were that to every one sign of Shays, Linda McMahon had 200. On television, he was persona non grata. In the final analysis, Linda McMahon’s job was made much easier by the fact that she was running against a ghost. This was far more than her campaign could have ever hoped for. Not even fundraising visits by Republican Strategist Carl Rove, or a public snub of McMahon by Mitt Romney in Hartford helped booster Shays.

It’s clear that the Shays campaign didn’t know how to use the weapons they had at their disposal until the last few hours of the campaign when they put out a few robo-calls – of course, by then - it was too late. Losing by 27% is one thing, but gaining only 27% of the vote is a far more shameful a result than could ever be imagined. Conspiracy theorists have already begun to cast Campaign Manager Matt Wylie and his team as insiders paid by Linda to run his campaign into the ground citing that no-one person, or one team could be this incompetent. Indeed. Whatever the case may be, smart candidates won’t be reaching out to this crew if they do their homework. Effort is Admirable, Achievement is valuable. In this case, both components are missing.

By late July there wasn’t much else that could be done. Unfortunately, there are quite a few CTGOP leaders, like Larry Cafero and John McKinney who stuck their necks out and put their reputations on the line to help Chris Shays. It must have been horrific for these guys to watch events unfold. They must have been saying, “What the F-- is he doing?” - Because I know that’s what I was saying. From my perspective, I could see the writing on the wall in early June. And the Quinnipiac poll which he had earlier been touting as the be-all-end-all, flipped direction in her favor the second time around. It was as if an Australian Boomerang had come back around and clocked him square in the head. Live by the polls, die by the polls – Shays had painted himself into a corner of defeat.

Shays performances in the debates were ok; he got better as time went on, but of course time wasn’t on his side. My view is that the debates didn’t help either him or her, but they certainly helped Chris Murphy and the Democrats. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I was taunted about “your likely nominee” from my light-hearted friends on the left. Everyone watching them could see exactly how shallow a candidate Linda McMahon truly is – rehearsed, unknowledgeable, static, boring, and incompetent. None of that will change now that August 14th has passed. And they don’t make the kind of Cliff Notes which will enable her to cram or absorb twenty volumes worth of basic understanding of economics, public policy or Government functions. If you haven’t figured it out by now - her avoidance of newspaper editorial boards wasn’t due to scheduling conflicts, it was because for someone like Linda – who doesn’t know anything – they are simply an intellectual death trap. Well, guess what? – She won’t get to pull the same trick in the coming months. And since she’s pretty much declared war on the media, it’s bound to become very interesting soon enough.

Lastly, I was disappointed to see Chris Shays jump onto Linda’s bandwagon so quickly and put out a press release saying he’d vote for her and even work for her in the November Election. Not that I expected him to show sour grapes either. So I have to surmise that he got a pretty sweet deal from her - negotiated in advance - to cover his campaign debt, or he completely lost heart and soul. At one point in the campaign he said he wouldn’t support or vote for her because of some of the campaign tactics she had used against him. To many Chris Shays supporters, his quick act of contrition might have earned him a few temporary points with McMahon supporters, but to his own supporters who rooted him on, and worked their arses off for him – he left them all feeling rather empty. He could have at least looked respectable by waiting a few days before getting down on his hands and knees and bowing before her. Rushing out to make that announcement made him look weak, and unprincipled. It was a sad final moment on a long and pointless campaign.

Linda McMahon never stopped campaigning from the moment she was defeated by Richard Blumenthal. What she lacks in policy knowledge, personality, and charisma, she makes up for in being able to follow a carefully crafted script; part of her trade, of course. The problem is just that those scripts don’t work against a population that is already in large part suspect of you, and the industry in which you made your millions from. You can’t undo a lifetime of hypocrisy; it’s just not going to happen.

Right or wrong, Linda McMahon and her cronies deserve credit for formulating the solid strategy she needed to win the nomination: direct cash and indirect payments to Town Committees, and influential Individuals, including the buying of delegates, and bankrolling supporters help win the ground war. All of this helped her steamroll her lifeless opponent. The question is now what? The public can’t be bribed or bought, and are far more cynical of Republicans, especially fake ones at that. An eager media can’t wait to unleash their stored archive of unprinted documents, and stories about Mrs. McMahon, her bankruptcy, and her industry. What will be most interesting will be watching how much heat CTGOP Party officials will be willing to take by acting as human shields for Linda McMahon, which could lead to their own demise (particularly those who are in their own close races). Will John McKinney and Larry Cafero come running to her aid when the heat gets turned up in September? Will Busway Joe stick his neck out now that the primary is over? Or will they all waive from a distance, running in the opposite direction – getting as far away from her as possible? I suspect that those in safe districts will reap the mutual benefit of making public appearances with her, and those in swing districts will likely run for cover.

Looking ahead to next year, the larger question will be what will happen to Chairman Jerry Labriola, Jr, and the State Party after November’s dismal results. While those pages are yet to be written, it’s likely to be another internal bloodbath between the money-takers and the see, I told you so reformers. And from Labriola’s perspective, he’ll have to decide if it’s worth his time and energy to preside over the fallout when the majority of those leaders responsible for the conundrum will likely remain in power, and continue their backstabbing ways, undermining his every move. At this pooint, The CTGOP Chairman’s Position a double-edged sword that only a fool would grab twice!

One has to feel for Chairman Labriola, Jr. who won’t have to look very far to find the unappealing elephant in the room. Everyone in the State Party recognizes that on her best day, Linda McMahon will pull in the high 30s simply because her negatives are so extremely high. There is no way to turn around her public image, because there is no way to undo her past. When confronted with questions about her Pro Wrestling background, she can only utter that she’s proud of the Company she’s created, but when you get to the details about what that company promotes, she either pretends she didn’t hear the question, or changes the subject. Statistics about your opponent’s attendance record will only get you so far – particularly when you’re Linda McMahon. It’s an albatross around your neck to be able to claim some level of success, and then be unable to talk about it to curious public, or editorial board. Check and mate!

Fifth Congressional District

"Don't worry I'll fix ya a strong one to ease the pain!"

The attacks on real estate baron Mark Greenberg, orchestrated by ex-Chairman Chris Healy, will go down in the annals of CTGOP history as one of the most repugnant, and hateful campaigns of all time. Over two full weeks after Primary Day, people are still talking about the Wilson-Foley team’s effort to character-assassinate Greenberg in way considered unforgiveable by any reasonable standard (distributing libelous documents to thousands of homes in the Fifth Congressional District). Mark Greenberg didn't deserve that. And it's not "just politics"; it's personal and simply unacceptable.

Lisa Wilson-Foley has damaged the Republican brand to the Fifth Congressional District to the point where the winning candidate, Andrew Roraback, will need to work overtime to have a chance of defeating Democrat Elizabeth Esty in November. Karma has a way of circling back and clobbering those most deserving; a poor second to last place finish could be just the start if more turns up on her fraudulent business front. And as The King has learned, legal proceedings could be in the works if time doesn’t heal old wounds. We’ll have to see about that one – after the November election.  Better open up that checkbook, kid. In the meantime, we can enjoy the fact that Old Chris Healy has extended his record of defeat. Given the mathematics, The Curse of Chris Healy may now rival the Curse of the Bambino. Well at least you have to give Healy credit for at least one thing – he’s consistent.

What went wrong for Wilson-Foley? Everything. To be honest, those running her campaign (including her dimwitted husband) became preoccupied with side issues – like this blog, for example – and wasting valuable time and resources dedicated to attacking not only candidates, but going as far as to attack supporters of opposition candidates. What a pathetic group of failures at that pay rate. The simple fact is that Wilson-Foley’s dirty campaign schemes got her nowhere, and destroyed her chances of winning anything. Once she started down that road, she initiated a full scale war between all Republicans in the District – a war she lost badly. After failing badly, she announced that this would be the last campaign she would partake in – good, and take that media glutton Healy with you. He’s a menace. And as long as he continues to hang around, he’ll the best hope Democrats have of retaining Connecticut - for the next fifty years.

Lisa Wilson-Foley: The King accepts your white flag of surrender. Now Go! Just Go! Stop blaming Mike Clark, and Mark Greenburg. And take Fat Maria with you before she stuffs herself to death!

So whatever comes next ought to be somewhat interesting. The King sees an even matchup between Democrat Elizabeth Esty (Pipi Longstocking) v Andrew Roraback (Howdy Doody). It’s a battle made ripe for the heart and soul of the sleepy 5th District. I sort of liked the idea of Speaker Chris Donovan hanging around on the Working Families Party line and making life hellish for Elizabeth Longstocking. But as predicted any traitorous thinking of Donovan’s didn't last long – for Democrats almost always find a way to eventually work together while CT Republicans always find ways to hold grudges against each other for decades. Yep, that’s one of the negatives of having do or die principles – you stick by them regardless of whether they kill you or not.

It's Elizabeth "Pipi Longstocking" Esty vs Andrew "Howdy Doody" Roraback
in CT-5

Second Congressional District

To be honest, I have more concerns about the potential for an embarrassing campaign on behalf of Republican. Its The King’s View that the Paul Formica who dazzled and shined early on has seemingly fallen flat. Not long before the vote, there was YouTube video of a debate between Cap'n Paul and his maniacal opponent Daria Novak in which – to her credit – Novak obliterated Formica on every question for nearly an hour. The simple fact is that either you know the material or you don’t. Cable Access is reported to have continued to run the debate throughout CT-2 which may have a negative impact on Formica’s initial impressions on those who don’t know him. Simple case in point that that you have to appear to at least have capacity to formulate coherent answers to simple policy questions (Note to Formica: The correct answer on the threat question would have included North Korea and other nation states which possess either a nuclear arms program or nuclear arms – not just Iran). In all honesty, one would have expected a book-smart Novak - with her uncanny nack for being able to memorize and use the works of orthers - to have done quite well in a one-on-one contest, but one would have also expected a veteran politician like Formica to have waged an even fight in front of a televised audience.




Cap'n Paul Formica is going to have to step up his game in the next round!
(And make Porky Jenkins walk the plank!)

Word to The King is that there is a feeling of dread based on these results given that Formica will be forced to debate a clever and steady Joe Courtney. Of course, there is always time for Cap'n Paul to learn from his mistakes, so we’ll be hopeful that he’ll review his performance in depth and right the ship to get ready for the next series of debates. If there is any district in the state that needs a Republican fighting for them – it’s got to be the Congressional Second. On the way to the beach, you can see it’s beginning to look the way Rhode Island used to look ten years ago – in decay and with dozens of boarded up businesses along the route. Even Linda McMahon won’t go down there – probably afraid to get her limousine dirty or something.

Of final note, The King is dismayed to learn that Porky Jenkins is holding Formica's purse strings.  Further examination of that decision may be in order.  If there is anyone who might give the Democrats false claim that Republicans have a war on women merit, it could be this character.  I'll leave that one alone for now.  It just irks me to see our Party's worst creatures weasel their way into places where they don't belong.  What a shame!  This isn't a reflection on Paul Formica, its a reflection on his lack of judgement.

What’s next?

Everyone constantly asks “King, when push comes to shove, will you vote for Linda McMahon in November?” If I answered that question about two weeks ago, I might have said “No” which is why I wanted to wait a few weeks before firing off an article that I might regret later on. So my answer now is “I’m not sure. We will wait to see what happens.” It’s pretty clear to all concerned that I’m not particularly fond of Mrs. McMahon. But I’m not a fan of Chris Murphy either. Linda is an embarrassment to my Party, and I don’t like the fact that she turned my State Party into both a laughing stock, and the Party of Patronage and Payoffs.

That being said, it’s very hard to simply say don’t vote for her because she’s corrupt – both candidates are corrupt creeps in my book – not one different from the other on either side of the fence. If it came down to a swing vote that would mean ending ObamaCare, and I could be guaranteed McMahon wouldn’t go back on her word, I might be inclined to vote for her. The problem is that she doesn’t seem to hold convictions on anything, and she won’t tell us where she stands specifically on most issues. Her previous donations to Democrats, and her ambiguous stance on most issues casts a shadow of doubt that she would vote any differently than opposition Democrats on key issues; this point still bothers me. Remember that she went out of her way to say that she thought Richard Blumenthal would be a great guy to work with? Well, he’s on the other side, remember?

Then you have to wonder where there are other matters where a Party line vote “yeah” or “nay” could mean the difference between a good Republican Bill passing or a bad Democrat Bill failing, and you also have to wonder if Linda would barter for her own power-play as a hold-out centrist, or if she would actually tow the Republican line. Make no mistake – I had questions about Chris Shays in such cases as well, but he would have been Republican-strong on economic and foreign policy matters while letting social issues slide (and in that case he’s no different than Linda McMahon who is not less liberal than Shays on these matters).

Some have urged me to support a third party candidate, but that’s not my cup of tea. I don’t believe in protest votes; it’s just not in my nature to waste my vote supporting someone who I disagree with 50% of the time to get back at someone I disagree with only 30% of the time. Such thinking is a bit moronic if you ask me as it sort of defeats the purpose. I also don’t believe I need to be the one to “Teach the Party a Lesson”. I can appreciate that line of thinking by some of you, but I think the General Public will do just that in November when Linda isn’t elected. If CTGOP loses big with her atop of ticket, there will be plenty of people coming out of the woodwork screaming “I told you so.” And they will call for Chairman Labriola’s and everyone’s head from their RTC Chairman to the lowly phone banker – and it will likely result in little change because most of these people are like unmovable concrete fixtures – so utterly convinced of their own correctness that they couldn’t be persuaded to any other course of action even if given the opportunity to go back in time and change it. Sometimes I think we should change the CTGOP logo to a mule because it certainly fits our nature perfectly.

It’s funny watching the massive logo atop of the Republican National Convention which reads in large letters, “We Can Change It” and how such a simple slogan carries so much weight in the minds of our national movement to rid ourselves of Barack Obama. Yet if given the chance to establish a moto in Connecticut, our CTGOP slogan would read, “We Can’t Do That!”  because any new and bright idea is DOA if it doesn’t come from one of the self-anointed, rehashed Dinosaurs who roam from campaign to campaign, year after year, and deliver us nothing but defeat, and a bag full of excuses when it’s all said and done.

Whatever people want to do on Election Day, I won’t fault you. I know many of you are discouraged and frustrated. I totally get that. I really do. But I would ask you to at least show up and support those Republicans who have earned your support and trust – whether it's Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, or local candidates running for the Statehouse, or those running in special elections where-ever they may be. There are a lot of people with R’s next to their names who aren’t rolling in c-notes like Linda McMahon or Tom Foley, these folks are on their own dime pounding the pavement every day - trying to get elected in order to eradicate the liberal infestation in Hartford which is eating away at Connecticut’s economy under Dannel Malloy and his friends. Taking your anger out on these good people because our State Party apparatus is corrupt and broken isn’t the answer. Do what you must in the booth to settle the score you need to settle, but please don’t no-show and penalize the innocent who are honestly running for office to make a difference for all of us.

Thanks for your emails and continued visits, although less frequent - there is a lot more to come.

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.

Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right

Our CTGOP candidates need Party
support. They don't need to be yanked
around by our short-sighted leaders

Month after month, I've heard tale of how Republican infighting is causing permanent damage to our so-called Republican Brand.  Of course, these claims are pure nonsense perpetrated by those who don't want to see the millions they've invested in their own glorified plans go to waste.  This is particularly true of our candidates who've made numerous deals with party insiders, and others, and expect that their golden path to nomination won't be shortened by some upstart contender, or worse - by someone who hasn't paid the club dues like they have.

Today's email appeal by our Republican Chairman Jerry Labriola, Jr. is certainly warranted, and I applaud his efforts for reaching out to the party faithful 30 days before Primary Day to rally the base, and ask for financial support for a Statewide GOP victory in November (I'll add a link to his statement when the party webpage is eventually updated).

But I'm unhappy to report that beyond the fanfare for a REPUBLICAN victory in November, there is a practice being advocated which is far more damaging to our brand than spirited public debate.  I'm talking about the decision by some Republican leaders to encourage many Republican candidates to file paperwork to seek endorsements from outside our Party, or worse - run as Independents.

We are alleged to be Republicans for a reason. We are supposed to stand on a set of established principles that make us Republicans , and not anything else (free markets, strong foreign policy, lower taxes, less Government intrusion, traditional family values, etc) . There are reasons that we aren't members of the Libertarian Party, or the Independent Party, or the Constitution Party, or any other political group.  Like so many others, I'm proud of our lineage dating back to Abraham Lincoln (and perhaps earlier by some records), and still believe that we don't need to beg and barter for support from fringe groups who we wouldn't ordinarily be associated for any reason beyond comic relief. 

Republicans aren't Independents, they are Republicans.  Period.

I don't really care what Democrats do.  It's a fact that they are so weak in their own ideology that they have to go out and establish front groups like the Working Families Party and others to give the false impression that their Democrat Candidate is somehow being supported by a whole separate constituency.  The practice is deceitful, and in poor taste - and should be banned altogether - so God knows why instead of standing on our own laurels and selling our own principles as Republicans, why we would run out an emulate the shady practices of our enemies.

Remember when your mother made a teaching point by asking you .... "If little Johnny next door jumped off a bridge, would you?".  Well I guess when it comes to some of our leaders,  the answer is "yes". 

Below is an email which is being duplicated in form and is being distributed to many of our statewide Republican candidates.  In my view it shows that our leaders are once again going down the wrong path.  If you haven't noticed, we excel at poorly executing the schemes of our opponents - which is why they spend half their time mocking us all the way up through and beyond the election.  And - they clean our clocks pretty good!

Subject:	HURRY XXXX INDEPENDENT PARTY ENDORSEMENT!
Date:	Wed, 18 July
From:	M. Boughton <ctgopwin@
To:	XXXX

Dear XXXX ,

Congratulations on your recent nomination! As a Republican, I am proud that we have fielded such a strong team for the November elections.

I am writing to you today to notify you, if you haven’t done so already, of an important opportunity for your campaign. For many years I have been working with the Independent Party and have used their support as a cross endorsement.

If you are to be successful in November, being on the ballot in two locations can make the difference in whether you win or lose - as you are aware, many of the Democratic candidates for office have accepted cross endorsements from the Working Families Party.

I have taken the liberty of including the necessary petitions and the paperwork required to access the ballot for the Independent Party. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Time is of the essence so if you decide to pursue the nomination, you must act quickly.

As always, I am available to help you and your campaign in anyway. Good luck!

Sincerely,

Mark Boughton

Instructions:

• Print and fill carefully and completely ASAP the Certification of Nomination and FEDEX to:

Dr. Robert Fand
c/o 79 ½ North Street
Danbury, CT 06810

• Print and fill carefully and completely ASAP the Application for Nominating Petition and FEDEX to:

Pearl Williams

State Elections Division
30 Trinity Street
Hartford, CT 06106

After Ms. Williams receives your Application, she will then send you a petition for you to obtain signatures. There are a required number of signatures for each district and Ms. Williams will provide that number with the petition. You should make copies of the petition package when you receive it so your campaign can garner signatures quickly! Please follow the directions provided with the petition page carefully.

ALL FORMS MUST BE RECEIVED, DATE STAMPED by the Town Clerk by AUGUST 8, 4pm.

 

Certainly, I expected a lot more from Mayor Mark Boughton who aspires to be Governor of Connecticut one day.  But first, to make a fool of himself endorsing Linda McMahon, then Lisa Wilson-Foley (after the controversy), and now to get caught up in this "hogging the line" strategy is ridiculous.  Whatever happened to campaigning openly and honestly on the issues, and helping to re-brand the Connecticut Republican Party into a viable entity?  

Frankly, I'm embarrassed by the whole affair.  It can't be understated - with the prospect of Linda McMahon at the top of our ticket as a sort-of clown candidate, and Lisa Wilson-Foley riddled with scandals and impropriety, and another woman down in the Second District who is nearly certifiable - I'm surprised we amass over 30% in total at the polls. 

 

 

Let's stop acting like Democrats, and start acting like Republicans - honest, fair, principled, and hard-working.  We don't need trickery and smoke and mirrors to win elections - we just need to get out there and tell our story.  And given President Barack Obama's failures, we aught to have an easy job doing just that.

 

 

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.

Hackett Lays Waste to Well-Rehersed McMahon

In the absence of a full article today... everyone should read this column by The Norwich Bulletin's Ray Hackett which dismantles Linda McMahon and the kids playing the role of campaign staff.  None of what Hackett's written surprises me, and you'll notice that some of it has already been written in The King's View multiple times over the last six months.

Hackett gets it right when he puts Linda McMahon through the ringer - the accounting of her story - through junior surrogates, of course - is well-scripted, well-rehearsed, and fictional.  And whatever circus Linda thinks is set up at the Bulletin, it's likely nothing in comparison to the size of the controversial one she runs in Stamford.  And if I were Linda McMahon - I wouldn't be throwing around the word Blackmail so easily loosely.  That's a word that may come back to really bite her in the rear before this is all over.  Not everyone in the world has been forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement, y'know. 

Linda's obsession with playing the role of victim in her re-imaged difficult life is laughable; particularly considering the body count of dead and injured wrestlers in an industry that she claims to be "proud of" but won't discuss.  The number of people screwed over by Linda McMahon to build her less than honorable empire is well documented in books, magazines, and documentaries that are readily available to anyone who has an interest in reading about it.  But the sad truth is most people don't care -  because most people can't stand Linda McMahon.

Linda has made a complete mess of things.  And one thing is for certain, her ongoing war with the media has all but guaranteed that she will never be a U.S. Senator from Connecticut (or anywhere else). 

What Ray Hackett and the Press haven't published is the insider's view of what Linda McMahon is doing to the Republican Brand.  In truth, those who are on the take  - have cashed their checks, and taken their goodie bags home - and they're sweating bullets because their own political careers and credibility are going to take a major hit when this is all over.  And they know they can't back down or else Linda's henchman will expose their role in her scheme.  Many of these bozos have to live for today because the true reckoning for this disaster is yet to come.  The smart ones - all five of them who dared stand up to the devil and her thugs - realize that all this negativity and arrogance against the media is going to have a catastrophic effect on the Republican under ticket in November if McMahon is atop of the ticket. 

Oh, and Mr. Hackett - the CTGOP has a script too - well, sorta of.  And Linda McMahon doesn't follow that one either.  And that's because she fancies herself a bigger actor than everyone on the CTGOP stage.  Delegates, State Central Reps, and political officials and even our Chairman are mere extras on Linda's set, and they are about as important to her as the painted clouds and cardboard trees that comprise the phony reality that she's created for herself.  Ask Chairman Jerry Labriola how much he enjoys every morning, slowly cracking open his newspaper with one hand over one eye, and the other squinting - just praying that his brand hasn't created a brand new scandal for him to deal with.  Can you imagine being responsible for being the public face of this train wreck? 

Maybe the Media is liberal, and perhaps it's filled with bead and sandal wearing hippies with long white beards who are cynical of Corporations, the Wealthy, and Jesus who will vote Obama for a second term, but that's the game.  You suck it up, you go to the meeting, you answer their questions, and they rule you out.  What's the big deal?  No one is going to be impressed with someone who takes their ball and goes home because they don't like the rules.  What a crybaby.  And while we're here - no one likes to see their candidate cowering behind the children she has answering the phone, or running her office.  There's a reason she hired a tainted campaign manager like Corry Bliss - in that it will be easier to throw him under the bus as an incompetent buffoon when this is all over -  and she gears up to seek her next political office.

It's true, McMahon isn't a career politician - she would have had to win something to have earned that title.  But she's a five year candidate who's blown a mint with nothing to show for it.  Here's hoping that if Linda McMahon hasn't had her fill, that Republicans who are sick of seeing her drive the Party into the ground  - certainly have. 

If Connecticut's GOP wants to see a brighter day, it'll need to start by getting rid of Linda McMahon.  In the meantime, I guess CTGOP candidates can add The Norwich Bulletin to its growing list of media outlets that it can cross off its Christmas Card list.

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