Simmons could send the message: Voters choose

Former Republican Congressman Rob Simmons is a crafty fellow. After all, he’s an ex-CIA man, and some Connecticut Republicans hope his counterintelligence prowess helps facilitate a successful covert run for the Senate.

When Simmons “suspended” his campaign after losing his party’s endorsement to wrestling mogul Linda McMahon instead of dropping out entirely, this allowed Simmons to remain on the ballot in next month’s primary, much to the chagrin of McMahon. “It’s hard to imagine why he’s left his name on the ballot,” McMahon said in an interview last month referencing what she sees as Simmons’ quixotic stealth campaign.

But what’s truly hard to imagine is why state Republicans have endorsed a sleazy, greed-head novice like Linda McMahon — a woman who has peddled violence and misogyny to several generations of kids — instead of a substantive, experienced candidate like Simmons. Simmons is a reasonable and respectable alternative for Republicans and Independents unimpressed with Dick Blumenthal as a candidate and unable to pull the lever for an unqualified embarrassment like McMahon. McMahon’s only asset in this campaign has been her vast personal fortune, accrued over decades of involvement with World Wrestling Entertainment, an organization that suffered disgraceful drug abuse and scandal under her leadership. Her campaign is fueled — beyond simple financial dominance — by trendy slogans and broad platitudes about the necessity for job creation and fiscal restraint, but she has a tendency to be short on specifics.

Admittedly, it’s doubtful any Republican can beat Blumenthal (it looks like he’ll destroy all comers by 15 to 20 points in November), but that doesn’t mean it should be a coronation. One of the most unrecognized deprivations in our imperfect democracy is electoral choice. McMahon is one of several Republican candidates this year who has smothered her opponents with money, and Simmons has a responsibility to stand up and give voters another option. He can’t compete with Linda’s $50 million, and Connecticut is a pricey campaign state because of the New York City media market. But Simmons obviously isn’t ready to quit, so why straddle the fence? He probably has a few hundred thousand dollars left in the bank, and that’s enough for a last-minute media effort. This is an unpredictable election cycle that has already produced some upsets, and Simmons shouldn’t sit back and run a covert campaign in the hopes that McMahon implodes and voters fall back on him as the safety net. McMahon has already gotten enough horrible press coverage (deservedly so), and there’s no reason to believe she’ll self-destruct. Simmons should run a loud, overt campaign and send the message that money doesn’t necessarily always talk in today’s politics.

One encouraging example was Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s 2009 re-election campaign in NYC. Sure, he ultimately won, but his Democratic opponent came far, far closer than anybody ever anticipated, despite being outspent 14-1 by Bloomberg’s $90 million.

Another wildcard in the race is Peter Schiff, the Tea Party/Libertarian weirdo who’s also vying for the nomination. Schiff got enough signatures to make the primary ballot, and the conventional wisdom is that Schiff’s presence makes Simmons’ task even more daunting. Polls have shown Simmons doing much better against McMahon without Schiff in the race, but so what? This has been an abysmal year for pollsters. Just look at recent elections in Arkansas and Pennsylvania where the polling wizards got it totally wrong. Not a single voter has weighed in yet, and they should have their say.

Republicans in Kentucky, Nevada and California have nominated clowns for their respective senate races. There’s no need for Connecticut to join that dubious list. Choices are important in elections, and Rob Simmons can’t win if he doesn’t play. It’s time for him to go all in.

He’s clearly not ready to quit.

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Paul G. Littlefield   |2010-07-21 08:45:11 Mr. Daniels your column is loaded with vitriol aimed not just at Linda McMahon, but towards everyone who does not tow the liberal-left line. You used several pejorative phrases, describing Linda, but also you end up calling conservative candidates in Kentucky, Nevada and California "clowns." The conclusion being, you see Simmons as being liberal minded and I agree with you, he is a Democrat-Lite. The short time he was in Congress, Simmons voted right along with the Democrat majority. But he couldn't get re-elected. You want him to be the Republican candidate because he would be a push over for a weakened Blumnethal. McMahon is the only candidate crossing the state, talking with voters about the real issues that worry them. Mr. Daniels, you are wrong. McMahon is not "short on specifics" anyone who attends one of her appearances is impressed with her depth of knowledge. Reply 1   0

K. Robert Lewis  - New London RTC   |2010-07-22 16:31:19 While I do not know Mr. Daniels well enough to totally agree with may write, I find this piece to be fine analysis. Rob Simmons is the most viable CTGOP candidate for US Senate, hands down. That he is contending with a bottomless pocketbook so to speak is also true. Rob promised no divisive primary campaign and he has honored that commitment. Mr. Littlefield has "little" grasp of the "field “of facts presented by legislative history. In his haste to debase the distinguished service of a Congressman, Paul shoots from the lip and hits his feet when fumbling over his fantasy tale. Rob Simmons was part of a Republican majority that crafted landmark tax reforms, freeing the entrepreneurial spirit of the American people and produced incredible growth in business, employment and tax receipts. .Littlefield may be excused for his lack of attention to the facts, given his support for an illusionist, it's no wonder he is befuddled. Reality is always just beyond one’s grasp, isn’t it? Fair analysis Mr. Daniels Reply 0   0

another Joe   |2010-07-26 00:12:32 "While I do not know Mr. Daniels well enough to totally agree with may write, I find this piece to be fine analysis. " I find it fine too, KRL of the NLRTC -- although I don't feel the need to "know Mr. Daniels well" (indeed, I don't know him at all) in order to Totally agree with him. (Then again I'm not a member of any RTC so perhaps I don't have to Hedge. :) Rob Simmons is no Liberal & no RINO & no Democrat Lite. Such claims are absurd. Rob's congressional-service record is Easily more conservative than those of CT Republican ex-congresspersons Nancy Johnson & Chris Shays -- and Vastly more conservative than the record of the still-registered-Democrat whom CT Democrats so love to hate, Sen. Joe Lieberman. The flawed-but-still-formidable Dick Blumenthal deserves a Worthy opponent in November. Rob Simmons is It. / These other 2 Characters in the August 10 GOP stage production, Ain't. Go Rob. Reply 0   0

PeterSchiffForSenate  - Peter Schiff For US Senate CT August 10th   |2010-07-31 22:44:50 I am a Republican volunteer with Peter Schiff for Senate, endorsed by Steve Forbes and Ron Paul. There is a Republican primary election on August 10th to see which Republican will go against Dick Bloomenthal in November for United States Senator from Connecticut. My candidate Peter Schiff is a conservative economist. Peter is a capitalist, intellectual and businessman who correctly predicted on TV that government policy would lead to the economic crash of 2008. There was a Republican primary debate on Thursday between Peter Schiff and Rob Simmons. Linda was invited to attend but has declined to debate even though Peter has said that she can bring along some of her advisors to help her answer the questions if needed. Peter was born in New Haven, CT and his family has been in CT for 3 generations. Peter owns an investment advice business that employs over 100 people. You can get more information about Peter by visiting his web-site schiffforsenate.com or his youtube channel SchiffReport where you can find videos of Peter on the campaign trail, at town hall meetings and during the previous debates. Peter typically speaks for about 4 to 5 minutes without notes and then takes questions from the audience. If you don't have access to the internet, ask for a free DVD video at 203-874-6880 Peter has been in the Republican Party since the early 1980s when he was a Ronald Reagan supporter. Linda on the other hand has recently given money to Rahm Emmanuel. See the Federal Election Commision for details. Linda also spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Boston to help with Democrat Voter Registration. With Republicans like Linda, who needs Democrats. Please vote for Peter Schiff on August 10th. Thanks Reply 0   0

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