{"id":6117,"date":"2022-08-02T09:01:20","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T09:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/op-ed-will-connecticut-republicans-choose-head-heart-or-lols\/"},"modified":"2022-08-02T09:01:20","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T09:01:20","slug":"op-ed-will-connecticut-republicans-choose-head-heart-or-lols","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=6117","title":{"rendered":"OP-ED | Will Connecticut Republicans Choose Head, Heart, or LOLs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Credit:<\/span> iQoncept \/ Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>
\n\"SusanSUSAN BIGELOW<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next week Republican voters go to the polls to choose their candidate to run against US Sen. Richard Blumenthal in the fall election. They are choosing between a good but probably doomed candidate, a consistent but absolutely doomed candidate, and total disaster.\u00a0What they choose in the primary next week will tell us a lot about whether that very endangered species, the moderate Connecticut Republican, can survive.<\/p>\n

On paper it\u2019s such an easy decision. A moderate, well-liked, reasonable candidate with a fantastic resume, former House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, is running against Peter Lumaj, a hard-right conservative, and Leora Levy, who is \u2026 a lot.<\/p>\n

Lumaj has always been far to the right of most Connecticut voters, and has gone as far to say that the January 6th hearings are a \u201cwitch hunt\u201d to prevent Trump from running again in 2024. He\u2019s also a perennial candidate who has a small but devoted core of supporters. To date, he has never won anything.<\/p>\n

Levy is running as a pro-gun, anti-abortion, thoroughly Trumpist Republican. She expertly wields Trumpian rhetoric, calling Klarides a creature of the Hartford \u201cswamp,\u201d and was actually nominated by the former president to serve as ambassador to Chile (though her nomination never came up for a vote in the Senate).<\/p>\n

But in the past she\u2019s been a pro-choice moderate Romney supporter who bashed Trump and, with her husband, donated money to Richard Blumenthal at one point. If you want to trace her twists and turns, Dan Haar at Hearst has done so<\/a> very well.<\/p>\n

The upshot is that she\u2019s a cynical opportunist who will say and do anything to get into office, including cheerfully abandoning positions and principles she may once have held to embrace frothing-at-the-mouth populist extremism. Sounds familiar, doesn\u2019t it? In short, Peter Lumaj may be a Trump supporter, but Leora Levy is channeling the noxious, decrepit spirit of the man himself.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an OANN-watching, election-denying, gun-toting, QAnon-believing, gay-hating, right-wing nationalist, you\u2019re absolutely going to love her. Are there enough of this kind of Republican in Connecticut to swing a low-turnout summer primary to Levy?<\/p>\n

Oh man. I have no idea. And I\u2019m not looking forward to finding out.<\/p>\n

The truth is that nobody knows who is going to show up next Tuesday to vote. Will it be button-down Fairfield County businessmen, religious pro-lifers, or the guys who open carry at the American Steakhouse \u201cjust in case\u201d?<\/p>\n

If this primary were happening 10 years ago I\u2019d be pretty confident Klarides would win. I still think that\u2019s the most likely outcome. There are enough Republicans left in Connecticut who would rather win an election than be ideologically pure \u2026 at least, I think there are. But gross, loud, gleefully bigoted, Trumpian nationalism has warped so many minds on the right that it\u2019s hard to know anymore.<\/p>\n

The best reason to vote for Levy is to stick up a big middle finger at everyone and everything right-wing extremists hate, including and especially other conservatives who don\u2019t follow their views. It\u2019s not hard to see that motivating the sort of people who have a collection of \u201cLet\u2019s Go Brandon\u201d bumper stickers to turn out. After all, why have a consistent conservative like Lumaj or an electable moderate like Klarides when you could basically troll the whole state?<\/p>\n

After 2016 I remember someone online somewhere saying that Trump voters put him in the White House because they thought it was funny. That\u2019s stuck with me. Nominating Levy would be hilarious, if you think throwing a grenade into a garden party is a laugh riot. So many liberal and RINO tears! Think of the memes!<\/p>\n

Oh, sure, they\u2019d lose, but they were going to lose anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What I don\u2019t get is why Klarides is in this race at all. She originally was running for governor, until a last-minute deal of some kind was struck before the GOP convention that cleared the field for Bob Stefanowski and threw her into the wood chipper of national politics. How did the brain trust at Connecticut GOP headquarters look at Stefanowski\u2019s disaster of a 2018 campaign, plus his four subsequent years of developing exactly zero policies, and think, ah, here\u2019s our guy?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Support authentic, locally owned and operated public service journalism!<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

If I thought them capable of playing chess, I\u2019d say this was a way to keep Klarides in the public eye while Stefanowski lumbers toward getting crushed by Lamont, making it that much easier for her to run for a presumably open seat in 2026. But it\u2019s equally possible that they\u2019re just bad at running a political party.<\/p>\n

So which way will Connecticut Republicans go? Will they vote for an admittedly small fighting chance against Blumenthal, or tie a rock to their legs and careen headfirst into Long Island Sound? Your guess is as good as mine.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMore about Election 2022<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Klarides<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThemis Klarides<\/p>\n

Klarides Aims Center, While Republican Opponents Tack Right<\/h3>\n

Themis Klarides embraced her moderate political leanings as a general election strength during a Tuesday night debate of Republican U.S. Senate hopefuls, which saw opponents Leora Levy and Peter Lumaj compete for the most conservative positions on abortion and gun control.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Hugh McQuaid<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 26, 2022, 10:25 pmJuly 27, 2022, 8:42 am<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"8<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, shown in January 2020.<\/p>\n

8 Debates Announced<\/h3>\n

In advance of the election in November, Connecticut Public and the League of Women Voters of Connecticut (LWVCT) have scheduled a series of eight debates featuring candidates from races for governor, U.S. Senate, secretary of the state, and the five congressional districts.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Dems<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tU.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5th (FILE\/CTNewsJunkie)<\/p>\n

Dems Outpace Republicans in Second Quarter Fundraising<\/h3>\n

Incumbent Democrats in all five of Connecticut\u2019s congressional districts far outstripped their Republican challengers in the election fundraising quarter that concluded at the end of June, according to federal campaign finance reports. Fundraising was most competitive in the state\u2019s 5th District, where two-term Democrat U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes brought in roughly $340,000 in contributions, more\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Hugh McQuaid<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 25, 2022, 3:40 pmJuly 26, 2022, 1:38 am<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"OP-ED<\/p>\n

OP-ED | The New Political Catchphrase: \u2018Parents\u2019 Rights\u2019<\/h3>\n

As we approach the Connecticut primaries on Aug. 9, the political rhetoric is heating up. In addition to the abundant TV ads, I\u2019ve noticed some increasingly popular language that has been thrown around by many Republican candidates discussing education: parents\u2019 rights, parental choice, or some variation thereof.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Barth\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Barth Keck<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 24, 2022, 11:06 amJuly 24, 2022, 11:27 am<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Calling<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAn absentee ballot envelope for West Hartford.<\/p>\n

Calling All Primary Voters, Absentee Ballots Are Now Available<\/h3>\n

Connecticut residents planning to cast votes in party primary elections next month can begin voting this week via absentee ballot, which are more widely available as a result of a new law that eased eligibility restrictions. Democrats and Republicans will head to the polls on Aug. 9 to choose their parties\u2019 nominees in contested local,\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby<\/span> Hugh McQuaid<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 20, 2022, 3:00 pmJuly 20, 2022, 1:57 pm<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Thomas:<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStephanie Thomas<\/p>\n

Thomas: Trust and Transparency Key to Secretary of the State<\/h3>\n

When she entered the race there were six other people running for the Democratic nomination for secretary of the state. Now it\u2019s down to two.\u00a0 \u201cIt was definitely a challenge because it was just when Omicron picked up in prevalence,\u201d Rep. Stephanie Thomas, D-Norwalk, said of the start to her campaign.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t get out\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Bysiewicz<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz<\/p>\n

Bysiewicz Takes Aim At Stefanowski In First Campaign Ad<\/h3>\n

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz released her first TV ad of the campaign season, touching on abortion rights, gun violence, and taking aim at Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski.\u00a0 The ad opens with a reminder to voters that \u201celections matter\u201d and that if they re-elect her and Gov. Ned Lamont, then they will protect a women\u2019s\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"What<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRepublican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski (CTNewsJunkie file)<\/p>\n

What Do Candidates\u2019 Tax Returns Reveal?<\/h3>\n

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski said Friday he will release his tax returns by the end of August. \u201cWe\u2019re going to actually produce the return, the first couple pages of the return,\u201d Stefanowski said Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s going to include all of my income, family income, everything.\u201d Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont released a summary of three\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"OP-ED<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBob Stefanowski and Ned Lamont.<\/p>\n

OP-ED | Is Businessman Stefanowski Doomed To Repeat History?<\/h3>\n

While much of the body politic is focused on the congressional midterms and whether President Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump will run for the White House again in 2024, true political junkies in Connecticut have turned their eyes to this year\u2019s gubernatorial election between incumbent Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican challenger, the career businessman\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stefanowski:<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRepublican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski held a press conference at
\na North Branford strip mall Thursday morning, July 14, 2022.<\/p>\n

Stefanowski: Lamont Needs To Act To Mitigate Inflation; Says He\u2019ll Make Connecticut More Competitive<\/h3>\n

NORTH BRANFORD, CT \u2013 Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski held a press conference at a North Branford strip mall Thursday morning accusing Gov. Ned Lamont of failing to act against surging inflation and listing actions he says Lamont should take immediately to mitigate the growing impact on state residents.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMore from Susan Bigelow<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"OP-ED<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA mostly full CTtransit bus in Hartford on Monday, July 25, 2022.<\/p>\n

OP-ED | Want to Strike a Blow Against Climate Change? Make the Buses Free Forever<\/h3>\n

Connecticut is in the middle of a serious, dangerous heat wave, as is most of the rest of the US. The cause, scientists say, is man-made climate change. But that should be obvious. How can anyone look at a world consumed by wildfires, drought, severe storms, and heat waves and continue to deny that climate\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"OP-ED<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScreengrab from Dita Bhargava\u2019s latest advertisement in the Democratic Primary for state Treasurer, titled \u201cStripped Away.\u201d<\/p>\n

OP-ED | Dita Bhargava Brings Roe into the Treasurer\u2019s Primary. Will it Work?<\/h3>\n

A defiant Dita Bhargava, bare-shouldered against a dark background, says she approves this message \u201cfor millions of women across America.\u201d A succession of similarly bare-shouldered women, each looking directly at the camera, flashes by. \u201cThis is who had freedom over their own bodies stripped away,\u201d Bhargava says. \u201cThis is who the Supreme Court left completely\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"ANALYSIS<\/p>\n

ANALYSIS | Abortion Politics Heat Up August Legislative Primaries<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s only one month until the August primary, a date I\u2019m sure you all have circled on your calendars. Yes, there really is nothing like a primary election in early August, when it\u2019s way too hot out and everyone is on vacation. These low-turnout contests have the potential to swing in surprising directions, so over\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"OP-ED<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotograph of the Cragin Memorial Library, Colchester, Connecticut.<\/p>\n

OP-ED | Stop Using Children to Advance Your Own Bigotry<\/h3>\n

Pride Month has come to an end, and Colchester First Selectman Andreas Bisbikos decided to celebrate by demanding that a book about RuPaul be pulled from the shelves of the children\u2019s section at the Cragin Memorial Library.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"OP-ED<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Pride flag-raising ceremony at Enfield Town Hall in Enfield, Connecticut on June 1, 2022.<\/p>\n

OP-ED | Pride Month in the Age of \u2018Don\u2019t Say Gay\u2019<\/h3>\n

Every June, I\u2019m reminded of why it\u2019s such a relief to live in a place like Connecticut. The rainbow Pride flag flies over the Capitol in Hartford, our public officials take part in Pride parades, and the law, in contrast to some other parts of the country, protects LGBTQ people instead of silencing or persecuting\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"ANALYSIS<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThis Hearst image of then-House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, speaking at a rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump in Bridgeport in April 2016 was included with an Oct. 10, 2016, story headlined \u201cState Republicans mum on Trump.\u201d Klarides was reported saying she would continue to \u201cre-evaluate\u201d Trump on a daily basis but declined to endorse him on Oct. 10, 2016.<\/p>\n

ANALYSIS | It\u2019ll Take More than Being Less Popular for Richard Blumenthal to Lose<\/h3>\n

Sen. Richard Blumenthal winning elections is as much a constant in Connecticut life as complaining about taxes, sitting in traffic, and arguing over pizza joints. He\u2019s been around forever, and he\u2019s always been popular. So what happens if that seemingly ironclad popularity erodes, as a recent Quinnipiac Poll suggests it has? Does that mean, as\u2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeep reading\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Credit: iQoncept \/ Shutterstock SUSAN BIGELOW Next week Republican voters go to the polls to choose their candidate to run against US Sen. Richard Blumenthal in the fall election. They are choosing between a good but probably doomed candidate, a consistent but absolutely doomed candidate, and total disaster.\u00a0What they choose in the primary next week will tell us a lot about whether that very endangered species, the moderate Connecticut Republican, can survive. On paper it\u2019s such an easy decision. A moderate, well-liked, reasonable candidate with a fantastic resume, former House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, is running against Peter Lumaj, a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ctnewsjunkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/connecticut-election-3d-iQoncept-shutterstock_1081440122-1500x857-1.jpg?resize=780,446&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ctnewsjunkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/connecticut-election-3d-iQoncept-shutterstock_1081440122-1500x857-1.jpg?resize=780,446&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}