Conceding defeat, Republican Tom Foley announced “We did as well as a Republican can do in Connecticut.” Nope. Tom Foolery lost because the egomaniacal rogue candidate thought he was smart and everyone else stupid including his campaign advisers. He forgets, John Rowland won three times as a Republican candidate for governor. He failed to mention Republican Jodi Rell clobbered her Democratic opponent for governor in 2006. Foley lost to the self-proclaimed porcupine incumbent Dan Malloy by the three-point percentage Foley had predicted for himself.
Tom Foley lost not because of demographics or negative campaigning or a blue state, he lost because of Tom Foley.
All measurable polling data showed a decent Republican candidate would have taken out incumbent Dan Malloy. Connecticut’s large voting bloc of unaffiliated voters swing gubernatorial races. Foley scared enough of them, particularly female voters, to fill in Malloy’s oval. Had State Senator John McKinney won the Republican primary over Foley, the chances of saying Governor McKinney would have been far greater than Governor Foley.
Foley believed he could endure an entire campaign saying I’m not Dan Malloy. And when he did trot out declarations he showed a disconnected devotion to detail to the realities of government life. He talked about fixing underperforming schools surrounded by blue-eyed, blond-haired suburban children. His education plan called for stripping funds from troubled school districts. When someone asked how you fix low student performance by taking money away he said, gee, no one ever asked me that question. Duh.
In the waning days of the race he threw out a Hail Mary tax policy. There was one minor problem with that: it had already been implemented by the state.
So Foley, take your yachts and jets and everything else back to Greenwich. And don’t forget your tin ear.
Foley??? You said, “lost because the egomaniacal rogue candidate thought he was smart and everyone else stupid including his campaign advisers.” Oh, I thought this was about David Walker.
Even duct tape can’t fix stupid. But it can muffle the sound.
Quit stealing my material!
I can’t help myself!
Foley was his own worst enemy. McKinney would have defeated Malloy.
I think the saddest part of Foley losing the election is David Walker will be leaving Connecticut. I do not think Foley had the slightest idea what he was doing or who his constituents were. Like Mitt Romney, living in a perfect world with gorgeous homes, planes, yachts etc., there is no concept of human suffering or just your average Joe. The Democrats who supported Foley who live in Bridgeport should be ashamed. I am not mentioning names but it is completely embarrassing. What could they have been thinking??? The good news, they have proven their inability to get votes or a vain attempt to suppress votes. Apparently, Bridgeport Connecticut was the one place in the country where there is admiration and loyalty to the Commander in Chief. I think also there is a silver lining to the country turning red this past midterm. Maybe something will get done and maybe we will all be better off for it. The Wisconsin race with Scott Walker could be ominous for the unions across the country as more people embrace the dismantling of the unions. I wish all the candidates, red and blue, the best of luck and hope we all move forward together. I do look forward to Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell going after the jugular.
Still a sanctimonious asshole spewing untruths and rumors with no facts.
Suppress votes? Nobody voted for Obama in this race. Liberalism at its best.
Maybe Bridgeport is the place where people like to listen to BS from politicians.
Don’t talk about Dave Walker that way! He is an American hero.
Andrew, try using the word sententious. You have used the word sanctimonious ad nauseam.
Steve, that word sententious fits you to a tee. I will use it from now on. Thanks.
Andrew, you are welcome.
Look at the underticket races–Jepsen’s AG race was closer than I thought it would be, Lembo (comptroller) and Merrill (SOTS) lost by margins similar to Foley’s, and Nappier (treasurer) beat Herbst by about 1,000 votes. All four of those races almost always go Dem by wide margins.
So the voters were frustrated with the status quo and would have gone for a Repub who wasn’t an even bigger asshole than Malloy.
My review of election totals for the State underticket is Jepsen and Nappier won as you report but so did Lembo and Merrill. Were you misunderstood when you said “lost by similar margins” in reference to them? Time will tell.
Again the Republicans put up candidates whose turn it was rather than the best candidate. Good luck Mr. Walker on selling your house. Anybody who could afford your house isn’t stupid enough to pay that price to move into Bridgeport. Maybe in two years you will be able to help the GOP nominate people who are not continually losers!
Another way to interpret what happened is to suggest of the ‘Two Connecticuts,’ Foley was preferred by one and Malloy by the other. Foley prevailed in the municipalities where residents pay taxes to support services. Malloy prevailed in municipalities where residents receive services funded by taxpayers.
Here comes the comment by Ron Mackey.
Tom White,
Please explain what services I am receiving that I would not receive if I lived in Fairfield?
And please explain what services Ron Mackey is receiving that he would not receive if he lived in Trumbull?
And if you cannot answer those questions then I guess since 2/3 of the population of the city of Bridgeport are minorities, you are simply making a racist statement. Because I know Ron and I voted for Malloy and so did the vast majority of the voters who showed up at Central High School on Tuesday were voting for Malloy.
Bob Walsh,
I am confident you understand my post. Who are you pandering to?
I believe a New England state that is arguably even more screwy, I mean liberal (ahem), than Connecticut just elected a Republican governor.
WARNING: This is not for Tom White or Maria Pereira.
Jim Callahan, that’s true but there is a big difference between Republicans like Tom Foley and David Walker than Mass. newly elected Republican Governor, Charlie Baker. Here is a little info from the Boston Globe about Mr. Baker.
www .bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/06/baker-distances-himself-national-republican-politics/tEgCbbOuqfLNyZbxQ9CCIP/story.html
“Charlie Baker vows to tackle state’s opiate problem”
By Jim O’Sullivan and Frank Phillips
SWAMPSCOTT — Governor-elect Charlie Baker plans to address the state’s opiate addiction crisis early in his term, saying in an interview Thursday that he wants to forge a coalition of labor leaders, elected Democrats, and health care officials to curtail the usage of prescription painkillers.
“I would like to do something on this certainly in the first six months,” Baker said, adding, “This is going to be a big issue for me, I’ll tell you that.”
“I would hope that one of the lessons that some of the Republicans nationally would take from this race is that it’s a good idea to chase 100 percent of the vote and to make the case in as many forums and as many places as they possibly can,” Baker said.
He said he “hadn’t even thought about” whether he would attend the national Republican convention or involve himself in the
2016 presidential campaign.
Most Bridgeporters are so busy still kissing Malloy’s ass they still can’t see the Foley coattails. No discussion on the early voting question? Perhaps Lennie is leaving that for later.
www .courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-state-house-and-senate-ct-1106-20141105-story.html