In December 2006/January 2007, with the stinging defeats of 2006 still painful, most notably the 83 vote squeaker in Connecticut’s 2nd District that sent Joe Courtney to Congress instead of Rob Simmons, Chris Healy and I spent a considerable amount of time assessing the damage and planning the reconstruction of the Connecticut Republican Party as a statewide political organization.  We then collaborated on a document that would eventually become our strategic plan when Healy became Chairman.  “Fight or Die!”was warmly received by those who reviewed it - indeed, much of the discussion about Healy becoming Chairman was ignited by its circulation.  I returned to Connecticut after five weeks of European backpacking to find that Healy had been elected State Party Chairman and I was hired to help him implement our vision.

Perhaps the keynote section of “Fight or Die!”were the pages that Healy had cleverly dubbed ‘The Electronic Tusk’.  It called for wholesale change in CTGOP’s online footprint - with a robust effort made to push information to Republican Town Committees and similiar organizations via the CTGOP website, a blog, and various other tools.  With more content than ever before at www.ctgop.org, The Everyday Republican having recently celebrated its first birthday (May 4), and numerous other tools coming online, ‘The Electronic Tusk’ has been one of the success stories of Healy’s tenure as State Party Chairman. 

We now use the Internet aggressively to distribute information and advocate for Republican candidates throughout Connecticut, with applications such as:

GOP CONNECT - A recent addition to the CTGOP sphere, GOP CONNECT is our interactive reference map with the contact information for every Republican Town Committee Chairman in the State.  In the near future, each Town’s McCain for President Coordinator will also be listed so that people interested in getting involved with Sen. McCain’s campaign can do so.

Photo Gallery by Flickr - Another new feature, we now post photos from our events and activities on our CTGOP Flickr website.  Already, we’ve posted 249 pictures from an array of events - President George W. Bush’s visit to Connecticut, Senate candidate David Blackwell’s announcement of candidacy, and the First Congressional District Convention.

POTUS 2008 Election Tracker - We added a nationwide, interactive map to track the February 5th, 2008, primary results.  Once the Democrats have settled their own nominating contest, we’ll track state-by-state election polling and electoral vote counts with the map.

CTGOP News Channel - Our YouTube Channel, CTGOP News Channel will be undergoing a refresh in coming days so that we can add new content and expand readership.

Online Petitions - We now use our online petitions application to generate support for CTGOP positions and issue advocacy efforts.  A recent petition on In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigration was signed by more than 1300 people in just three weeks.  We currently are using the petition to collect requests for McCain for President bumper stickers.

Drop.Io- A few of our recent posts have featured mp3 podcasts from Chairman Healy.  Drop.Io allows the Chairman to record these podcasts over a cell phone from virtually anywhere and then post the recording in an easy-to-use format in a matter of seconds.  As the campaign season ramps up, we’ll be using this more aggressively for a number of different activities.

After only one year, and so many exciting events to come (Bush Dinner 2008, Presidential campaign, Congressional and State elections), the online future for CTGOP is bright.  One development at the national level we’ll be following is the new initiative by Soren Dayton, Jon Henke, and Patrick Ruffini - The Next Right.  Bringing innovation and fresh perspective to the Republican Party will be the means via which we make the Party vibrant again, in Connecticut and in the nation.  As we wrote so many months ago now, Connecticut Republicans have a choice: to fight now or perish as a political party. 

We are in the fight now.

First Daughter Jenna Bush - rather now, Hager, got married yesterday evening in Crawford, Texas, at her familial ranch. The lucky groom is former White House aide Henry Hager.

You can check out the photos from the event, provided by the White House.

The newlyweds plan to move to Baltimore, Maryland, in the coming weeks.

Sen. Chris Dodd is on “Meet the Press” with Russert - the start was awkward. Sen Dodd: “Good morning, Tim. Happy Mother’s Day”.

Then a looooong moment of awkward pause before Tim launches into Q1.

Jenna Bush Wedding Update:

Bride wore white, #43 gave away the bride, there was singing and dancing, White House promises to release photos sometime today. Stay tuned.
“Blogging by Blackberry”

West Hartford Town Councilor Joseph Visconti received the Republican nomination for Congress this morning during a packed First Congressional District Convention in the West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium.  Delegates from all 26 towns in the First Congressional District were on hand to nominate Joe Visconti by unanimous voice vote.

The Convention opened with Temporary Chairman Art Mocabee calling the proceedings to order and welcoming many of the dignitaries, including Mayor Jeff Wright of Newington, Mayor Lou Spadaccini of Manchester, and Mayor Ryan Bingham of Torrington, who was unable to attend the Convention.  The Convention mood was upbeat - with many of the delegates enthused with Visconti’s infectious sense of humor and boundless energy.  You would never have guessed that this was the Convention for a Party that hadn’t held the First Congressional District seat since 1956, and hadn’t really fielded a credible candidate since Kevin O’Connor in 1998.

Visconti’s nomination was made by Ralph Capenera, who is running for the 9th State Senate seat (Cromwell, Newington, Middletown, Rocky Hill, and Wethersfield) against Sen. Paul Doyle.  In nominating Visconti, Capenera told the Convention about the “can do” spirit that Joe Visconti and his father, Joe Sr. brought to every construction project they had, including numerous renovation projects for Capenera and his family.  Capenera referenced the recent passing of Joe Sr., saying, “I know he is looking down on us now from Heaven.”  Theresa McGrath, candidate for State House against Rep. Beth Bye in the 19th District (portions of West Hartford, Avon, and Farmington), seconded Visconti’s nomination, calling him a “good friend” and “a fighter”.

In his acceptance speech, Joe Visconti sounded themes that all First District residents can identify with: the need for a new Representative in Washington, D.C. who is a career citizen, not a career politician.  He called for a fiscal policy that doesn’t waste federal tax dollars on pork barrel projects and massive growth to the size of government.  Visconti talked about the national need for a more sensible and humane immigration policy.  And he wants to end “corporate welfare”.  These principles drew the delegates to their feet in enthusiastic applause.

And so, for the first time in a decade, Congressman John Larson - whom Chairman Healy recently admonished with the famous line from Animal House, “”Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son,” - will now be challenged by a credible, energetic candidate who wants to have a real debate about the future of the United States.  After 50 years, it’s time for change in the 1st Congressional District.

Check out the photos from the Convention at the CTGOP Photo Gallery.  Also, visit Joe Visconti’s cool new website for more from him.

Arguably the most interesting storyline of the 2008 Congressional Conventions was in the 5th Congressional District face-off between former State Rep. Anthony Nania and State Sen. David Cappiello.  Sen. Cappiello announced his bid for Congress and had already raised a significant sum of money when rumors began circulating about a Nania challenge in August ‘07.  Speculation continued to run rampant as website domains were reserved and Republican Town Committees were visited during the winter months. 

In recent weeks, however, the effort seemed to wane as the fundraising tallies for the two gentlemen headed in opposite directions - with Cappiello’s coffers growing while Nania’s fell flat.  It still came as a surprise, however, when former State Rep. Nania informed Chairman Healy that he would not be mounting a Convention challenge to Cappiello yesterday.  His gracious exit from the race clears the way for Cappiello’s nomination tomorrow.

Republicans all across Connecticut will gather in their various Congressional Districts this Saturday, May 10th, to nominate candidates for Congress.  The First Congressional District Convention will be held at West Hartford Town Hall Auditorium, at 10am.  It is anticipated that West Hartford Councilor Joseph Visconti will be nominated.  Former Commander Sean Sullivan will stand for nomination in the 2nd Congressional District.  And in the Fourth District, Congressman Christopher Shays will be re-nominated for another term in Congress.

The folowing is a statement by Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy concerning the Fifth Congressional District and candidate Anthony Nania’s decision to end his canddiacy:

“Today, Anthony Nania formally informed the Connecticut Republican Party that he is withdrawing for the Fifth Congressional race. Mr. Nania has also told us he intends to support our nominee, State Sen. David Cappiello, during the campaign, and after his recuperation from major orthopedic surgery.”

“Republicans are now more united than ever in purpose and action to support and elect Sen. Cappiello as our next Congressman for the Fifth Congressional District.”

Republican Leaders Larry Cafero and John McKinney spoke to the press today about the end of the legislative session at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

Their conclusion? It was lousy.

Stay tuned, we’ll have a full update later.
“Blogging by Blackberry”