Wednesday, September 5th

From a NHGOP release:

According to The Politico’s Jonathan Martin, who is certainly a fine American, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson will announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President on Thursday, September 6th, just hours after the conclusion of the “First in the Fall” debate in New Hampshire.

Thompson, already judged by some to have lost the momentum of the early summer, seems primed to carve out his own niche in the Presidential campaign, talking about federalism, entitlement reform, and the fight against radical Islamic jihad.

Visit http://www.imwithfred.com/ for more information about the candidacy of Fred Thompson.

Also, Jonathan is a machine today - breaking the news that Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia will announce his future plans tomorrow at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Keep following along with us as these events unfold.

Never a faithful friend to Republicans, The Day (New London) of all newspapers, lauded the “resuscitation” of the Republican Party in New London yesterday. The article, well worth a good read, heaps praise on Republican Town Committee Chairman Mike Doyle - also an active member of the Republican State Central Committee - and the excitement generated by having a Republican team that seems poised to give the entrenched Democrats a run for their money this fall.

“Mr. Doyle said there is excitement in the political air.

On that count, he’s correct. Anything to interest voters in the upcoming municipal election is a positive. And as party chairman, it’s his job to entice candidates who will be elected.”

All across Connecticut, Republican successes are being noticed and appreciated by people fed up with the status quo and entrenched bureaucracy in this state. The GOP is on the march.

Today at 1pm, Small Business Advocate Rob Simmons will be chatting live at TheDay.com about small business issues in Connecticut. Click here to participate in the discussion with the former Congressman from Connecticut’s Second District.

Senator John McCain’s floundering Presidential campaign today released a new video, “Courageous” about the incredible life of John McCain. Well worth the time to watch. http://www.johnmccain.com/courageous/

On Wednesday, September 5th, we will be blogging live from the Whittemore Center at the University of New Hampshire for the “First in the Fall” Republican Presidential debate, hosted by the New Hampshire Republican Party and FOXNEWS. It will appear on your television live at 9pm on Wednesday evening. All of the candidates have confirmed their attendance at the debate.

This Live Blog is our first major such event since the very popular live blog from the 2007 Prescott Bush Awards Dinner in May. We look forward to providing Connecticut Republicans a ‘from the floor’ look at how the Presidential debate unfolds. The focus will be on the atmosphere and surroundings of the spectacle - sort of an “ant’s eye view” of the process. The debate promises to be interesting, as more people start to actually pay attention to the nomination process, as opposed to the previous decided and right lack of interest shown by most voters. From a NHGOP press release: “This debate comes just four months before the primary and at exactly the time when the universe of voters paying close attention to the campaign is expanding from mostly activists to include the broader electorate,” said Fergus Cullen, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

As you may know, the New Hampshire GOP has allotted us a small number of tickets for interested Connecticut Republicans. If you are interested, you should call CTGOP HQ immediately, 860-296-9900, to learn more about the opportunity.

. . . as long as your name is Mitt Romney, that is.

The Mitt Romney for President campaign announced today that they are hosting a “Your Ad Here” contest to generate the next TV ad for the Romney campaign. Interested Romney supporters can craft an advertisement for submission at the Romney website, and then the campaign will pick one winning advertisement to go up on the air as an official TV advertisement.

The content, so sayeth the website, must be as follows: “Your ad can feature Mitt’s biography, his family, his record as Governor, or his agenda for a stronger America. In fact, your ad can have practically any theme you choose as long you support the campaign creatively and responsibly. Your ad must be either 27 or 57 seconds in length to make room for those much-loved legal disclaimers, in case your entry wins.”

Paint on some makeup and fire up the camcorder, Romney supporters. For the next 27 to 57 seconds you could be a star!