(Empirical evidence from mikect that anti-marriage equality and anti-choice stances are huge political losers in Connecticut, no matter how many hundreds of thousands of dollars are involved. - promoted by tparty)
Last year, the Family Institute of Connecticut Action Committee, the
political arm of the anti-gay advocacy organization, endorsed 64
General Assembly candidates,
expressing its preferences in one-third of
all state legislative elections. However, its electoral
priorities were much more narrowly defined. It contributed to
only ten
state legislative candidates in the 2006 election cycle and most likely
targeted its volunteer and communications energies on these anointed
few. A review of these contributions and the FIC's
organizational
finances unveils the candidates who
were most ideologically loyal to the FIC's homophobic and anti-choice
agenda, as well as the organization's multi-faceted record
of failure and wasted
cash.
The
group lost seven of its ten targeted races. Two of three
winning candidates were long-term incumbents, giving FIC only one
new elected ally among its top picks - Sam Caliguiri. His win
had
much less to do with FIC than with the $214,000 he raised,
more
than any legislative candidate in the state (half came from GOP PACs,
lawyers and lobbyists).
Candidate
PAC
donations
Opponent
Outcome
Matthew
Daly
$4,192
Sen.
Edith Prague
Lost
by 39%
Edna
Garcia
$3,698
Ed
Gomes
Lost
- got 12% in 6-way
special election
Greg
Hannan
$2,000
Sen. Ed Meyer
Lost
by 29%
Sam
Caliguiri
$2,000
David
Zoni
Won
by 10% (open seat)
Dan
McCann
$1,900
Rep.
Mike Lawlor
Lost
by 26%
Eric
Thompson
$1,582
Sen.
Gary LeBeau
Lost
by 44%
Chris
Oliveira
$1,300
Sen.
Andrea Stillman
Lost
by 21%
Rep.
Al Adinolfi
$900
Phil
Brewer
Won
by 22% (incumbent)
Rick
Giordano
$300
Sen.
Andrew McDonald
Lost
by 25%
Rep.
Minnie Gonzales
$250
Frank
Dejesus
Won
by 44% (incumbent in primary)
Total
$18,122
($11,100 in cash)
70%
of candidates
lost by average of 31%
Totals include non-cash, in-kind contributions to Daly
($2,842), Garcia ($1,698), Thompson ($1,582), McCann ($300), Giordano
($300), and Oliveira ($300) in
the form of printing, lawn signs, mailings, or the FIC donor
list. Average % loss of losing candidates does not include
Garcia.
More details on the FIC
record and finances below.
The loons came out of the woodwork for the recent Judiciary Committee hearing on the marriage equality bill. Easily the most bizarre and colorful testimony came from Robert Muckle, Vice President of Connecticut Right to Life. In this video, I've added visual aids to help flesh out his unique arguments.
Muckle was only one of many eccentric, homophobic, and unintentionally comic speakers to grace the hearing. The video below highlights some of the more entertaining and disturbing representatives of the anti-gay fringe. The final speaker is particularly over the top. They demonstrate that one of the best ways to win the marriage equality debate is to let the opposition speak - in a loud, spontaneous, and unguarded fashion.
If you though right-wing, Taliban-like, homophobic, anti-woman hate groups were confined to wacky places like Kansas and Idaho, think again. They are right here in Connecticut and they are making a concerted effort to target Connecticut State Senate and Assembly districts in the upcoming election.
The so-called Family Institite of Connecticut is busy spewing inflammatory rhetoric like this...
If anti-family candidates for State Senator and State Representative win their races, our state legislature will likely pass laws next year imposing same-sex "marriage," forcing Christian hospitals to provide chemical abortions and coercing Christian schools into hiring "transgender" teachers
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