No debate for Lee Whitnum

Don't agree (0.00 / 0)

Sorry.  Here I go again with a contrarious opinion.

Remember how we filled the Palace Theater in Bridgeport on very short notice in the middle of the goddamned summer for the mayoral primary debate last year? The Fairfield County Weekly and a handful of bloggers from MLN accomplished that, and did it well.

"Frankly, for a lot of suburban people, many people do go away in August"...I know where I heard this before; Lieberman used this same shitty excuse to justify his running in the general election, because he was SO concerned that the people who can afford vacations wouldn't be there to vote for him.

It's elitist and reeks of bullshit. They're essentially saying all the rich suburbanites are away at their summer cottages down the shore for the month.  We can't possibly expect them to sacrifice one of their nights in the service of democracy now, can we?

Listen, if they don't want to run a debate because they think Whitnum is a kook and a non-serious candidate, then they should just say so.  I'd respect that.

But it insults my intelligence to hear some obvious crap about the difficulty of getting all those wealthy people together for one lousy night in Bridgeport.  

Connecticut Bob

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by: Bob Adams @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 13:27:37 PM UTC

Regardless (0.00 / 0)

Jim Himes would never appear in public with this quack.

I suspect the League of Women Voters knows that and have distanced themselves as far as possible from the enterprise.

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by: Scarce @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 13:39:00 PM UTC

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Fine (0.00 / 0)

Then they should just say so.  

After so many years of Bush and Lieberman, I'm totally sick of hearing bullshit lies.  

Connecticut Bob

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by: Bob Adams @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 13:57:04 PM UTC

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Direct contact info (0.00 / 0)

Take it up with the woman in the white sweater (seen here with Claudia Powers).

Jara Burnett, President LWV of Connecticut 1890 Dixwell Avenue, #113 Hamden, CT 06514-3183 Phone: 203-288-7996 Fax: 203-288-7998 E-mail: lwvct@lwvct.org

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by: Scarce @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 14:19:42 PM UTC

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Also, I'm less outraged by this blowoff (0.00 / 0)

I just didn't have confidence that I could get the right people..

As in who in their right mind would commit to that anyway.

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by: Scarce @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 14:37:19 PM UTC

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After watching your teerrrrific video yesterday, (0.00 / 0)

I thought somebody had come to the door - it was that bell chime thing.

You didn't get me on the duck quacks, though. HA!

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by: Sue @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 14:41:21 PM UTC

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Thanks Sue (0.00 / 0)

Glad you liked it!  Half the fun of making the video was going through all my sound effects and figuring out which were the silliest.  

Connecticut Bob

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by: Bob Adams @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 15:04:58 PM UTC

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Why? (0.00 / 0)

Why wouldn't Jim Himes appear in public to debate his opponent?  

Like it or not,  whether she's crazy or not, whether she has a prayer or not, Lee Whitnum IS a Democratic candidate for Congress from the 4th CD and thus IS Himes' opponent.

A debate would benefit Himes in that it would give him some practice in advance of the real show with Shays.  It would let the world see Whitnum in all her loony glory rather than let local rags like the Greenwich Time paint her as credible.*  If Himes won't debate her, she gets to keep hammering the fact that he won't -- and in some circles that gives her credibility and makes him look bad.  

If the Plague of Women Vipers won't host the debate, perhaps a local news outlet like the Greenwich Time will step up to the plate.  

*The only reason I'm slightly against a Himes/Whitnum debate is that I cringe at the thought of how she'll humiliate herself; I do think it's cruel to make fun of the mentally ill.

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by: chele @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 17:33:25 PM UTC

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A debate would diminish Himes (0.00 / 0)

..and not debating her has no repercussions at all. None.

It's the same rationale why fringe candidates rarely get to share the stage with top tier candidates.

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by: Scarce @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 18:24:14 PM UTC

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How exactly (0.00 / 0)

would a debate "diminish" Himes?

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by: chele @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 19:29:22 PM UTC

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Appearing on the same stage would do it (0.00 / 0)

...and Whitnum's penchant for colorful metaphor.

Again, if there's no upside and a serious downside to sharing the stage then why bother?

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by: Scarce @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 19:48:28 PM UTC

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Himes has said that he'd do it. (0.00 / 0)

It seems clear that Jim Himes is willing to take her on, whether or not she's on her meds.  The LWV has offered an egregiously poor excuse for not hosting the debate.  This is an organization that is dynamic, scrupulously fair, and committed to the political process.  Especially since this debate would have included a woman candidate, their refusal to get involved is wrong and a sad day for the League.

My mother worked for and with the LWV for many years.  I don't think she would have approved of this "summer vacation" dodge.  It's particularly weak.

I think it would have been good practice for Jim, even against a goofball.  Indeed, it would have been excellent preparation for a Shays debate, now that I think of it!

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by: thomashooker @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 20:14:33 PM UTC

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The vacation thing is funny (0.00 / 0)

Perhaps rumors of a recession are grossly exaggerated here in the 4th CD.

–7.25 / –7.28 | http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/tw...

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by: mattw @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 20:50:54 PM UTC

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Disagree (0.00 / 0)

You still fail to say how you think he'd be diminished.... only that he would be.  What on earth do you think Himes has to fear from her?

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by: chele @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 00:15:07 AM UTC

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It's not that hard (0.00 / 0)

Judged solely from her rantings here and elsewhere, and the bizarre non-campaign campaign which seemingly runs on fumes, Whitnum is not a real candidate for anything. She ought to be running for the silly party.

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by: Scarce @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 01:57:16 AM UTC

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If you think Himes can't handle it (0.00 / 0)

then you have a lesser opinion of him than I do.

Fact is, she's a candidate, nutcase or not.  Candidates debate each other.  

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by: chele @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 02:41:25 AM UTC

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You keep saying (0.00 / 0)

..what I didn't. Stop that.

Himes is not obligated to provide a platform for said nutcase or attend a debate if someone else organizes one. That is his perogative. I don't think it's a good idea for reasons already outlined umpteen times.

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by: Scarce @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 03:46:27 AM UTC

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Right, and Rosa DeLauro should get (0.00 / 0)

on stage with Ralph Ferrucci and Boaz ItsHaky!

Whitnum isn't even marginally viable. If the 4th had a choice only between her and my dog, it'd be a friggin' landslide in favor of Bo Diddley.

Ms. Whitnum has earned the right to cost taxpayers half a million plus to fund a foregone conclusion, but she hasn't earned the right to be taken seriously as a candidate.

Frankly it'd be like me participating in the Olympics, as a tennis player from Greenland. (Or something like that...)

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by: TrueBlueCT @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 06:14:16 AM UTC

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classic! Where did you find this? (0.00 / 0)

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by: thomashooker @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 15:35:54 PM UTC

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Had lunch with my mother today (0.00 / 0)

and her League of Women Voters affiliation goes back 50 years. She never remembers the League doing anything like this. Highly unusual. But then again, so is Lee.  

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by: Sue @ Wed Jul 09, 2008 at 21:10:20 PM UTC

Just so there are no surprises (0.00 / 0)

If I was Lee I would follow Jim on his 17 town tour.  So I hope Jim is prepared to handle her gracefully when she shows up.

Also the League is not the official arbitrator of these things --any one can offer to sponsor a debate.   A newspaper or radio station could also do it as well.

I think it would be good for Jim to debate now to be ready later.

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by: ctpublius @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 01:16:26 AM UTC

It'd be a bunch of name-calling... (0.00 / 0)

and not a serious debate.

That's b/c if Lee Whitnum was serious, she wouldn't be running for Congress.

Sorry to be harsh. But her out-and-out unelectability is an established fact.

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by: TrueBlueCT @ Thu Jul 10, 2008 at 06:15:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]