Malloy Can't Win in November

OK, it’s no secret that we are pro-Lamont here at CTBob. But above all, we are pro-Democrat. That means we want a Democrat leading the state for the next four years, Democrats in Congress, the Senate, statewide office and the state legislature. We also, in concept, fully support public financing for political campaigns. But, concept and reality are unfortunately, still very far apart in Connecticut. We’re working with the reality in the trenches right now.

Update from today's Q Poll: By 46 percent to 29 percent, Democrats say Lamont has the best chance of winning in November; that's nearly 2 to 1.

Here's why:

• Malloy can’t win because the simple fact is that he won’t be able to compete with Tom Foley’s spending this fall. Malloy will be limited to $3 million. Foley will spend that before Labor Day. You want to know the effect of spending on campaigns? Look at the Senate QPoll of August 4 that shows McMahon gaining against Blumenthal.

• Malloy can’t win because of issues Lamont is too much of a gentleman to touch. Tom Foley is not going to be as kind. Remember, Foley is one of George W. Bush’s major benefactors. That same Bush whose campaign smeared John McCain in 2000, telling people McCain’s adopted daughter from Bangladesh was his illegitimate biracial love child.

• Malloy can’t win because the “pay-to-play” scandal will only grow when a Republican opponent with an endless money supply gets hold of it. While Malloy claims no laws were broken, ethical lapses like this are catnip to a cutthroat opponent.

• Malloy can’t win because he’s flunked basic math. When Bob Englehart makes you the butt of the joke because you claim to be a job creator when, as CEO of the city, 13,000 jobs were lost. Not only that, but Stamford ranked 130th of the 169 towns in Connecticut, and of municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, Stamford ranked 38th out of 50 in job creation.

• Malloy can’t win because there is new whiff of scandal since he has filed suit regarding the Citizens Election Program. Here is the document filed [pdf] on Malloy for Governor’s behalf by Robinson & Cole, but oh, my, there are no legal fees listed on the campaign disclosure forms. Not only does it look like pro bono work, but the firm has donated a little over $13,500 to the campaign. Foley has a big-time election law firm working for him, and will certainly make hay with this in a fall campaign.

Not only will Malloy lose, but think for a minute about what that does to the rest of the Democrats running this fall. Jim Himes will be in a rough match in CD4th, and Chris Murphy won’t exactly have a clear shot in CD5th. McMahon is way up v. Blumenthal in the Q-poll, no doubt because she’s been on TV and he hasn’t – but that’s not going to be a cakewalk either.

Think carefully, fellow Democrats. Don’t be shortsighted and vote for Dan because you feel sorry for him because he’s been running for governor for 6 years and you feel like he’s paid his dues. Maybe that would work for an underticket position, but you want someone strong at the top of the ticket who can financially go toe-to-toe with the Republican opponent and lead Democrats to victory in the fall.