This ad for Peter Schiff went up yesterday. As these things go it's a pretty good one but why did he wait until almost the last minute to put it out there?
In an interview with the Washington Post, Schiff explained how he was leaving his true career in the private sector to go into politics.
"I'm interrupting my career. It's not like I want my new career in politics," said Schiff. "But I'm willing to interrupt it the same way that somebody interrupted their career and joined World War II and went off to fight the Nazis. I don't think that I'm that heroic, and I don't think I'm risking as much as a soldier. But it's the same principle."
You have to wonder what these GOP neophytes will say and do in their would-be Senate campaigns. If this any indication just about whatever pops into their heads at the moment.
This weekend, editorial boards of Connecticut newspapers universally condemned the "increasingly confrontational" acts of "mindless thuggery" on the part of organized right-wing activists attempting to shut down open debate on health care across the state. Here are a few of their words:
Some right-leaning activists have decided that the best way to win the hearts and minds of voters is to shout down or otherwise intimidate members of Congress who are holding public meetings about health care during the summer recess.
These disruptive protesters may enjoy some success. But the strategy of organized chaos, larded with off-putting invective and disrespect for other audience members, won't be so in the long run....
Mainstream political leaders of either party ought to denounce and disavow such insulting drivel.
The events of the past week or so around the country aimed at fomenting opposition to the health care reform package before Congress cross all sorts of lines. Evidence shows they are one part legitimate protest alongside a larger helping of mindless thuggery....
We must, as a nation, recognize the difference between protest and hooliganism. Misinformation campaigns -- claiming, for instance, that Washington is out to euthanize old people -- inspire fear and panic. And those dedicated to maintaining the status quo capitalize to stifle debate.
What began as the "Tea Party" movement, demonstrations aimed at sending the message that Washington was spending too much and protecting special interests at the expense of working people, is in some cases now turning to mob mentality.
A network of Web sites, conservative radio and TV talk show hosts are conspiring to whip up that growing anger and manifest it at community meetings hosted by congressmen and senators who support health care reform and other initiatives of President Barack Obama. Instructions on how to disrupt and shout down speakers at these town hall gatherings are circulating on the Internet.
This newspaper is a strong supporter of free speech, of the right of citizens to gather and make known their grievances. But we see no justification for intentionally hindering the ability of elected leaders to interact with their constituents.
With Peter Schiff claiming to have raised over $800,000 for his still unannounced campaign for the Republican nomination for Senate, the other candidates he has now passed by in the money race - Rob Simmons and Tom Foley - must really be feeling the pressure to compete for right-wing activists condemned in the papers above, and who might be inclined to support an insurgent candidate like Schiff.
Rob Simmons, presciently, was already courting and embracing the teabaggers back in May in Woodbury, telling a group of right-wing Dump Dodd activists that their "movement" excited him and that he would join their fight against the "womb-to-tomb" "socialism" he saw in America today (quoted text below starts at apx. 1:25):
...And what I see today in this country is socialism! Womb-to-tomb government involvement in our lives. I didn't spend four years in Vietnam, 10 years in the CIA, and 4 years working for Barry Goldwater against the Soviet Union and the Communist threat in Asia just to see socialism arise here at home....
One of the most exciting things that's happened to me this year over and above seeing your [Dump Dodd] movement is going to the tea parties.... I went to 3, and it was exciting...
The tea parties and "the movement" are just symbols of that speaking up which makes me excited and makes me optimistic about the future.
Last week, Rob Simmons came out against the confirmation of now-Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor, caving to right wing pressure even as nine current Republican senators voted for her confirmation. Given the dynamic of this race, would Simmons even be able to state out loud that he believes President Obama was born in the United States?
With almost exactly a year until the Republican primary and huge warchests being built up by at least three candidates, it's going to be a long, hard, slog for the Republican nomination for Senate as they race hard to the hard right for their financial and activist support.
Peter Schiff is having a Ron Paul-style moneybomb day, with the goal of getting a lot of donations in a short period of time. So far he's around $170,000 today. By way of comparison, Rob Simmons had raised about $750k this year (and spent about 200,000) to 6/30/09. Since Schiff hasn't formally announced yet he's still testing the waters with an exploratory committee. Considering he can also self-finance the waters look pretty good.
Rob Simmons must be a bit concerned, too. He likely won't raise near as much as Schiff or Tom Foley in their quest to take the seat away from Senator Dodd.
Ron Paul sends his regards.
Dear Supporter,
Our good friend in Liberty, Peter Schiff, is planning a run for Senate in Connecticut against Chris Dodd. The grassroots across the country are organizing a money bomb for him today to raise money and send a powerful message to the political elites that freedom is popular and that Liberty can.
Our country needs Peter Schiff in Washington, and you can help today. Please go to www.Schiffathon.com right now and make a contribution. Together, we can help make history.
In Liberty,
Ron Paul
A great day for the Paultards all around. Ron's son Rand declared he was running for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky, as a Republican of course.
Sam Caligiuri fires the first shot in what is sure to be a months-long culture war for the right-wing base in the coming Republican Senate primary by stating he would vote against the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court (campaign press release via Facebook):
Southington - Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination as our nation's next Supreme Court Justice, with a full Senate vote scheduled for early August. Despite her laudable personal achievements and years of public service, I cannot support this nomination and I ask Senator Dodd to oppose it as well.
I have come to this conclusion as many Americans have, because a judicial nomination should be measured by the nominee's approach to the law and not a personal story, however appealing it may be. How are we are supposed to trust that Judge Sotomayor will not be an activist judge after having made clear statements to the contrary?...
It will be interesting to see how Tom Foley and Rob Simmons say they will vote on Sotomayor. I wonder if either of them would even feel comfortable saying out loud that Barack Obama is a natural-born United States citizen. The battle for the Republican nomination over the next year will be a run to the right, and no candidate can afford to completely write off the most hardcore primary voters in that party, no matter how factually- or sanity-challenged they happen to be.
For more on the GOP primary circus that will soon possibly be taking over the Nutmeg state, make sure to read Colin McEnroe's hilarious column from this past weekend, wherein he auditions for the position of ringmaster Chief Senior Nationwide Analyst:
I wanted to meet Caligiuri for my own purposes, because he is one of at least three people seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, in order to run against Chris Dodd in 2010. I have decided to become an expert on that election because I think it has the potential to attract national interest. If I become a knowledgeable pundit, I can probably go on CNN and touch Wolf Blitzer's beard, which is said to cure arthritis.
The first hints at 2Q fundraising numbers are dripping out for the three declared Republican candidates for Senate, and it looks like a four-way primary with no real favorite may be in the offing:
Longtime Republican fundraiser Tom Foley has burst onto the political scene by raising more than $530,000 in the first 26 days since announcing he is running for the U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Christopher Dodd....
Former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, 66, widely viewed by insiders and in the polls as the Republican frontrunner in the race, has been raising money for the entire quarter and said he had topped Foley's amount.
"We did a little better than that,'' Simmons told Capitol Watch....
State Sen. Sam Caligiuri, 42, who represents Waterbury and surrounding towns, said he worked in approximately the same timeframe as Foley because he was tied up with the hectic ending of the regular legislative session at the state Capitol in Hartford.
"We raised about $125,000 during the same period,'' Caligiuri said Tuesday.
So, to recap the financial state of the Republican primary race, without having the actual FEC reports to look at yet:
- Rob Simmons, the biggest name in the race and the establishment GOP choice, barely beat the field by raising "a little" better than Foley's $530k despite having three full months to engage in full-time fundraising.
- Tom Foley, Greenwich millionaire and Bush Pioneer, raised over $530k in only 26 days, largely, one expects, by shaking the Bush money tree. (And, while self-funding is also an option for him, he reportedly did not do so at all this past quarter.)
- Sam Caligiuri, the right-wing conservative option in the race who may come to the starting gate with the highest level of support among the all-important base, raised about $125k, despite being involved in a protracted legislative session.
- Peter Schiff, who still sounds very much like he intends to run in a Republican primary for Senate, might very well be able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars online in just a few days after officially announcing. And he likely has the resources to self-fund as well.
Meanwhile, Senator Dodd, accused by both lobbyists and Republicans of overextending himself not in his campaign but in his Senate committee work on Banking and Health Care, finds himself trying to keep up with the above declared Republicans who are all currently full-time fundraisers.
All in all, it sounds like a competitive four-way Republican primary might actually actually happen next year. (And if it does, Simmons, Foley, and Caligiuri will likely need to raise even more money than originally planned.)
Sam Caligiuri, in fact, seems to have already fired the first shot of the primary, and it's a very interesting one coming at the start of one of the first meaningful Republican primary races in the nation in the post-Bush era. Today, Republican State Senator Sam Caligiuri attempted to hit former Republican Ambassador Tom Foley by tying him to... former Republican President George W. Bush:
"We didn't start meaningful fundraising until after the session ended on June 3. That's a very good number [for Foley], but not a surprising number for a Greenwich millionaire who was a top fundraiser for George W. Bush. That's how he got to be Ambassador to Ireland.''
Investor and financial commentator Peter Schiff is doing polling in Connecticut to gauge support for a potential Republican Senate run. Schiff has signed on prominent Republican polling firm Wilson Research Strategies to survey the state, his brother and spokesman Andrew Schiff told CQ Politics....
"We do think there's certainly room for the fiscally conservative, libertarian wing of the party to attract a lot of attention in the Northeast," Andrew said, adding that Peter is prepared to develop a policy portfolio not just on finance and monetary policy, his speciality, but also on hot-button issue like health care and energy.
And what would that "policy portfolio" look like? How about a simple fix for health care that involves treating broken limbs like homeowners treat clogged drains? In an article posted today that is already making the rounds within the right-wing echo chamber, Schiff makes just that comparison:
...no one carries home maintenance insurance to pay for a clogged drain or broken garage door. If insurance paid for the plumber visit every time a toilet overflowed, we would now have a plumbing crisis, and Congress would be looking to reign in runaway plumbing bills with "national plumbing insurance."
Because preventing and treating life-threatening disease and ensuring more Americans remain, you know, alive, really is exactly as important as fixing a backed-up toilet.
Is a Republican Superprimary for Senate in the offing?
Addressing the Connecticut Libertarian Party's convention in Bridgeport this past weekend, Ron Paul acolyte Peter Schiff - who has been the subject of a draft movement by national Paul supporters and has recently made more and more noise himself about possibly challenging Chris Dodd as either a third-party candidate or in a Republican primary - seems to be clearly saying that if he were to run, it would not be as a third-party candidate, but in a Republican Primary:
"The Republican Party is a complete mess right now. They don't know what they believe in or what they stand for. And they're not going to get re-elected....
"What we need is to move the Republican Party to the Libertarian wing, to the Ron Paul wing, because that's the only way we can win, the only way we can get Libertarian principles into government is to bring them in through that party. Because I don't think we've got enough time to try to get the Libertarian party in office, we need to just get Libertarian-minded people in office. And I think the way to do that now is through the Republican Party because I think the Republican Party is very vulnerable right now. And I think the best way, instead of fighting them, just take them over, and infiltrate the party and then influence the direction that it moves...
"I just think it's too important to waste your resources or your effort to trying to elect Libertarians. You'd be better off trying to find Libertarian candidates trying to run for office in the Republican party and support them..."
In related news, Schiff was also a guest of fellow CT teabagging enthusiast Glenn Beck's last week, thereby maintaining a perfect record for the Fox News Channel, who have somehow managed to score interviews with all four possible challengers to Chris Dodd (Rob Simmons on Hannity, Sam Caligiuri on Hannity, and Fox News Democrat Merrick Alpert just hours after his campaign launch), graciously allowing each one of them to go on at length attacking the senior Senator.
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