Ooooowee, glad we are not around the Susan Bysiewicz breakfast table Sunday.  The Secretary of the State had what is equivalent in baseball terms, as the “Golden Sombrero,” – striking out four times in a game.  Bysiewicz took four major hits to her credibility to service in her quest to win the Democratic nomination for Attorney General.  In fact, Sunday’s edition of the Hartford Courant might even imperil her ability to serve our her term.

Strikeout 1 - Page One of Sunday’s Courant, Jon Lender reported that currentt Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Dick Blumenthal is investigating Bysiewicz for her alleged misuse of taxpayer financed software to capture email addresses for political purposes.  Bysiewicz’s office has sent thousands of unsolicited emails to people who sought services and information for her 2010 political campaign. Blumenthal’s office confirmed an investigation was underway based on a “whistle-blower” complaint by a state employee, a Republican staffer from the House Republicans, who got the email asking for a donation.

Bysiewicz said, and this is truly rich, that the email were public and she did ask the Secretary of State’s office, herself, for those email under a Freedom of Information request. Blumenthal must be wondering, “can’t this woman do anything right for 10 minutes.”

Blumenthal said there was no indication that anything is amiss, he is just checking it out. Time for another “Dear Richard” letter.

Strikeout 2 - Kevin Rennie “Now You Know” column “No Validation For Bysiewicz” capsulizes Bysiewicz’s Alice in Wonderland logic on her request of Blumenthal to validate her qualifications to seek his office. As everyone familiar with this pathetic tale of political ambition knows, a candidate  for state Attorney General needs 10 years of “active law practice” to take the oath of office.  This week, she asked Blumenthal whether the requirement was Constitutional and whether her management tenure as the keeper of state records gave her the requisite time.

“She exploited her position as secretary of the state to seek an opinion from Blumenthal for what was a question tied solely to her political ambition,”  wrote Rennie. “What “active practice” means, Blumenthal said, needs to be clarified by the General Assembly or courts, but it’s more than being registered as a lawyer. Bysiewicz ignored the substance of the opinion she requested, concluding that the matter had been decided and she needed no further clarification.”

Strikeout 3 – Colin McEnroe “To Wit” mocked Bysiewiczand Blumenthal is in his own unique style that no writer could emulate.

“Plagued by questions about her qualifications, Bysiewicz sought a legal opinion from Attorney General Richard Blumenthalwho, after several days of mulling things over, struck the ball with his foot for the purpose of making it travel a great distance. Blumenthal stayed neutral in the matter, assuming you agree that “I don’t care if Susan Bysiewicz lives or dies” is basically a neutral statement.”

 
Strikeout 4 – Englehart’s cartoon (seen above). Maybe he can start a tee shirt line.

Anyway,  can you imagine being one of those overworked state employee at Bysiewicz’s office showing up for that cheery Monday morning staff meeting?