Hartford Courant: Two N.J. Casinos Sued Schlesinger Over Debts

Rell backing Lieberman as Republican? (0.00 / 0)

From Kevin Rennie on Political Wire via LamontBlog:

Advisors close to Republican governor Jodi Rell, who tried to get Schlesinger off the ticket last week, are scheming to give Lieberman a safe harbor on the GOP line in exchange for adding his drawing power to what they hope will be Rell’s. The potent combination would help three Republican congressmen, constitutional office candidates and some legislative hopefuls. State Central Committee would likely resist. Monday’s visit to Waterbury by former President Bill Clinton to rescue Lieberman’s primary campaign will be a bitter reminder at the wrong time that Lieberman is very much a Democrat. Lieberman pal John McCain, wildly popular among Connecticut GOP, might be able to smooth the path to a fusion ticket.

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by: mikect @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 12:22:42 PM UTC

Another possibility (0.00 / 0)

might be to get Schlesinger to withdraw and simply leave the slot empty.

Unless they thought Lieberman's fortunes were slipping enough to warrant a stronger Republican candidate.

It all probably boils down to where the Republican focus is. Throw everything behind the election of Rell? Try and protect Simmons (lost cause), Shays (lost cause) and Johnson (somewhat protectable but slipping)? Support the known quantity (Lieberman) or take a long shot and actually go for the Senate seat.

Lieberman's flailing all over the place makes any decision a long shot at this point. Lieberman is trending into the "damaged goods" category though so the state Republicans need to do something specific, like yesterday. The numbers for Lieberman, Rell, Simmons, Shays and Johnson are only going to go down from here on out...

My guess would be to focus on the winnable (Rell) and cut bait. Fast. Day by day, Lieberman is becoming less and less usefull to them. A flailing Lieberman is going to drag down Simmons and Shays and probably Johnson.

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by: notcho @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 14:27:19 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Repubs (0.00 / 0)

From my covert questioning of Republican friends, specifically telling them Lieberman is being considered for the Republican ticket in November, I have found that Republicans don't want Lieberman.  They respect his support of Bush, but they see him as a Democrat, and can't understand why he is being challenged.  To them, Lieberman is a model Democrat, and his breaks with his own party are temporary moments of clarity. They are happy that the party is experiencing turmoil, but they don't want Liebs on their ticket. 

I get that they will say they support him now just to show solidarity with him for the war, but when it comes time in November to vote they will not vote for him. 

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by: concorde @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 15:38:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

A lot of Republicans (0.00 / 0)

voted for Joe in 1988.  That's how he defeated Weicker.

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by: connecticut yankee @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 16:17:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

For gamblers (0.00 / 0)

...this is committing the cardinal sin: welching on a debt.

This is much more serious than the silliness with the wampum cards too. Expect Schlesinger to drop out.

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by: Scarce @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 13:11:02 PM UTC

Reality Check (0.00 / 0)

Why are we making fun of this guy? You know he can't win the seat, don't you want him to get as many votes as possible, to make the spread between Lamont and Lieberman big enough so that "election engineering" will be too hard accomplish. You want Ned to win, don't you?

"If those in charge of our society...can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves." ~~Howard Zinn

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by: lakezoarian @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 13:11:52 PM UTC

Missing the point (0.00 / 0)

He's toast.

Of course we want a Republican who'll run and garner as many votes as he/she can that will still allow Lamont to win.

But Schlesinger ain't that guy.

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by: Scarce @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 13:15:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Now I See (0.00 / 0)

Yes, I see your point. I stand corrected.

"If those in charge of our society...can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves." ~~Howard Zinn

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by: lakezoarian @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 16:06:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What about Diana Urban (0.00 / 0)

A week and a half ago she was the talk of the town.  Is she going to mount an independent bid?  Or will they be able to oust Schlesinger in favor of Urban.  I would rather see Urban than ol'Double Down.

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by: snorwich @ Fri Jul 21, 2006 at 19:55:56 PM UTC