President Barack Obama on Sunday rallied the Democratic base at a Central High School campaign stop for Governor Dan Malloy, pinched once again in a battle with his 2010 Republican opponent Tom Foley just two days from Tuesday’s vote that multiple polls call a dead heat possibly decided by urban turnout.
OIB friend Steve Auerbach who was in attendance shares observations:
Worth the wait for sure. Once they got the ball moving it went very quickly. Speeches were succinct. Bill Finch was proud, enthusiastic and totally fired up. Malloy was very effective, but that Barack Obama. His speaking skills are amazing. Very heartfelt and passionate speech. I am hopeful of an across-the-board Democratic party win. Other than a few hecklers, the crowd was pumped and ready to rock and roll. I forgot I was under the weather.
From CT Mirror:
President Obama dropped in on Connecticut’s race for governor Sunday, a day when the political winds shifted: Gov. Dannel P. Malloy got a bump in two polls, and independent Joe Visconti dropped out to endorse Republican Tom Foley.
Obama weathered heckling by immigration activists, holding up his hand for silence, allowing them to be heard–for a while. And he began to laugh at the noisy, joyous interruptions by those who came to see him and answer his call to turn out Tuesday for Malloy.
“Hold on a second. This is a rowdy crowd,” Obama said, leaning forward and laughing. “Hold on. Quiet down.”
Democrats hope the president’s visit will deliver a jolt of energy to a nasty, yet strangely listless campaign that’s pitted a struggling Democratic incumbent against a Republican whose major message has been that he is not Malloy. Polls over the weekend showed Malloy with a narrow lead.
“Are we fired up?” Obama yelled to a capacity crowd of 1,900 as he climbed onto a stage in the gymnasium of Bridgeport Central High School.
They screamed, cheered and waved signs.
Full story here.
From CT Post:
Allies to the end on issues such as gun control and the minimum wage, President Barack Obama helped Democratic Gov.Dannel P. Malloy make his last stand Sunday in Connecticut’s most populous city.
Given the rock star treatment by 1,900 people during a rally at Central High School in Bridgeport, where he entered to raucous applause and the U2 song “City of Blinding Lights,” Obama said the first term incumbent has been a loyal friend of his administration who can be counted on to stand up for the middle class.
CT Post coverage here.
Hartford Courant coverage:
Faithful Democratic supporters packed the Bridgeport Central High School gymnasium two days before Election Day to listen to President Barack Obama deliver a rousing campaign speech for a Democratic governor who has been among his strongest statehouse allies over the past four years.
Obama’s appearance in Bridgeport Sunday to stump for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy follows a campaign rally he held here four years ago, the Sunday before Malloy eked out a 6,400-vote margin victory over Republican Tom Foley, a businessman from Greenwich. Tuesday will be a rematch of that race, and polling again shows the candidates in a dead heat.
If the president’s 2010 visit contributed at all to Malloy’s victory, the trip was well worth it for Obama, who in the past four years has seen Connecticut become an incubator for the progressive policies he has unable to push through a gridlocked Congress in Washington, D.C. Whether in the area of gun control, a minimum wage increase, universal preschool or the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Malloy has been a champion for the liberal cause, accomplishing in Connecticut what the president has failed to advance federally.
Full story here.
Worth the wait for sure. Once they got the ball moving it went very quickly. Speeches were succinct. Bill Finch was proud, enthusiastic and totally fired up. Malloy was very effective, but that Barack Obama. His speaking skills are amazing. Very heartfelt and passionate speech. I am hopeful of an across-the-board Democratic party win. Other than a few hecklers, the crowd was pumped and ready to rock and roll. I forgot I was under the weather.
Just look at the people in this rally, you will NEVER see a diverse mix of people at any Republican rally anywhere as long as you live, NEVER.
Ron, blindly following the Democrats has gotten you exactly where? You as a group are being played as fools by the Democratic party. How have the Dems done in getting more Bridgeport residents on the police and fire department? How have the Dems done in lowering the dropout rate in schools? How have the Dems done in getting blacks off welfare and into viable jobs?
You see Ron, you are following the same patterns that have allowed blacks to be taken advantage of.
BTW you don’t think the blacks located behind the president were not put there for a reason?
Andrew Fardy, please tell me where in America has the Republican Party looked out for the interests of blacks? In fact the most famous black Republican in America voted twice for President Obama.
Obama? What did he do for blacks? Ron, you keep harping about the Republicans, please tell me what the blacks gained under the Dems.
Andy Fardy, I’d rather deal with the devil I know than the one I don’t know. Why is it the entire South is run by Republicans? The South turned Republican after President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act and Johnson said when he signed those bills into law, he was giving the South away to the Dixiecrats who became Republicans and their common interest was they didn’t want blacks to have any power. Nothing has changed.
Ron, things have changed especially in the south. There are more black elected officials in the south than there are here in the north.
Andy Fardy, in Congress there are 43 black members and 16 are from the South and that includes four from Texas and 27 black Congress members who are NOT from the South.
99% of those who attended are going to vote for Malloy anyway. These attendees didn’t need this $300,000 taxpayer cost visit. It won’t “rev” up those whose votes are needed for Malloy to win. They weren’t there.
This mid-term election is going to be a debacle for the Democratic Party. Deny it, but it won’t matter.
It’s starting to look that way, Bob. In 2010, Obama filled Webster bank arena with 10,000+. In 2014, he speaks at a high school gymnasium with 1,800. Obama’s polling at 36% approval in CT (http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2014/CTResults.pdf). The facts speak for themselves, the bloom is off the rose … as it usually goes with false idols.
The question is, will Obama drag DOWN Malloy’s poll numbers like he did when he went to Maryland to stump for Anthony Brown (who dropped 9 points)? If Obama only has a 36% approval rating in this state, it would be hard to imagine the President would actually help Malloy.
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Nothing like a rousing pep rally at taxpayer expense. Everyone who attended was an extra (especially those in the background) in a carefully orchestrated media event. Oh well, I hope everyone had a good time.
It’s good to know Republicans don’t do that at their rally but notice at a Republican rally how they will place a few blacks right in the middle so you don’t miss seeing them both, they won’t do a wide shot because there are no more blacks to be seen at the rally but that’s OK because that’s who they are.
Maybe Republicans should start handing out doctor’s coats to people (who really aren’t doctors) in the crowd like Obama and his handlers did to peddle the disaster known as Obamacare. Or maybe pack a few fake plants in the audience … that’s another trick Democrats, and more specifically Obama love to do. They do these things because they are vile propagandists who cannot win in the arena of ideas so they go small and divide with identity politics.
Oh, and if you think for one minute Democrats don’t strategically place minorities and women at rallies like pawns (Obama is especially fond of doing this) to advance their identity politics, you are wrong.
Thanks, Tom. A good time was had by all. Not only did they pay us, but every time an applause sign went up we got more. They had Jimmy Kimmel warm up the audience before Ellen Degeneres. We all were served buffet from Vazzy’s. They did everything to make sure we were happy. After Beyonce sang the Star Spangled banner with entral High School, Taylor swift came out with her nemesis Lange West to sing Shake it Up and Danny Boy. After Obama, so okay they gave out door prizes of TVs, iPods, DVD players and stuff. Obama ate a hot dog on stage, choking a few times while cracking jokes. Yeah, it was a day to remember. You would have enjoyed it. Mayor Finch and Malloy were just in heaven as the Celtic dancers led by singer Sarah Brightman sang hits from Finian’s Rainbow. I think the school signed a deal with MTV to release this as a Christmas special only if Malloy wins. We in the audience had to sign a waiver if we’re filmed. What a day!
Just kidding of course! A good time was had without the added extra.
A wise woman I knew once said, “The first thing you say is usually what you mean to say.” “just kidding,” eh Steve? The empty venues and smaller venues did not hide the lack of supporters.
Lack of supporters, Bob? You are a fool. Obama does not have a problem attracting a crowd. Foley meeting with 30 Republican businessmen in Darien is not going to get him elected. Thank G-d!
I’m the fool? You sound like Chris Matthews who gets a shiver up his leg every time Obama’s name is mentioned. I suggest you wake up and smell the coffee. Both recent venues were embarrassingly small. The only ones showing up were going to vote for Malloy anyway. And with Joe Visconti now out of the gubernatorial race, it looks bleak for Malloy.
Bob, Joe Visconti asked his supporters to vote for Malloy.
No, Ron. He met with Foley and fully endorsed him to his (Visconti’s) constituents. Your information is incorrect.
Interesting viewpoint:
www .youtube.com/watch?v=BUSRZo1BE5o
Ron M and Steve A should pay attention to this message.
Jennifer Buchanan, that view point is not new, in fact here is something by a famous black man back in 1964, the first one about Democrats and the other about Republicans. Andy, pay attention to this message.
Black Democrats are ‘chumps.’
www .youtube.com/watch?v=XkgA2rUAY-o
Redistricting.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=J7770_3Yyp4
Ron, read your own posting.
Andy Fardy, and???
Beware the eloquent speaker!
Yes, and beware of the vague, clueless, visionless, defensive speakers who have to go on Laura Ingram conservative radio to get votes. Sad, really.
A great GOTV by the Pres, and now Foley jumps ahead by three points after Visconti drops out, from the Kitty poll.
Bridgeport results will not be in for days, until after all State district numbers are in. Ayala can then work her magic. You heard it first on OIB!
McCarthy was in the mix!
i62.tinypic.com/2wfsrjb.jpg
In Bridgeport, we will know by noon if Malloy is going to win.
How do you figure?
They will know based on 2010 numbers at key precincts to see if their peeps are coming out.
Foley Camp will be reciting “Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain!”
Tuesday sunny and warm.