Democrat  Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has adopted a “red letter strategy” in his quest for the U.S. Senate. It is a variant on the “Rose Garden” approach favored by incumbent Presidents who don’t wish to soil themselves with the rudiments of actual campaigning or meeting the public on their terms.

In its corrupted application here, Blumenthal’s missive are supposed to be important and require attention by his subjects – the voters. And after they have been proclaimed, Blumenthal can retire to his oak-panelled inner sanctum at 55 Elm Street to ponder his next nostrum.

That is what Blumenthal did last week when he sent the Toyota Corporation a stern letter urging them to fix the accelerators on some of their models, particularly the Camry. Blumenthal reportedly owns another Toyota-model, an Al Gore signature Prius, so its easy to see why he upset about the tragedies that have fallen many motorist who were unable to control their vehicles.

However, the Blumenthal letter, like many of his correspondence, has no legal import. It has no legal meaning or bearing. The letter is worth little more than a 44 cent stamp. If Blumenthal had joined with Commissioner of Consumer Protection Jerry Farrell on a  “civil investigative demand,” that might create some information of useful purpose.

Blumenthal tried the same stunt during the AIG controversy when the company announced it would be rewarding its executives with bonuses after it received billions in subsidies under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). AIG officials did not respond and after negotiations, an AIG human resources official did present himself to a legislative committee. Blumenthal later admitted during his infamous appearance on the Glenn Beck Show that AIG had no broken any laws or fiduciary tenants.

But this is classic Dick Blumenthal. Hold a press conference, express outrage and indignation, proclaim that the office of Attorney General will never rest until the wrong has been righted, move on to the next outrage and dismiss any pesky follow-up questions from the media.

Blumenthal’s team tried to give the bum’s rush to George Gombossy in this very manner, the respected former investigative reporter from the Hartford Courant, who currently writes a blog on government called http://ctwatchdog.com.

In a recent post, Gombossy sheds some insight into the Blumenthal public relations machine and how it shields Blumenthal from unpleasant questions. Gombossy had requested numerous interviews on two lawsuits and their outcomes – Computers Plus Center Inc. owned by Gina Malapanis – and the second involving the accuracy of Connecticut Light & Power’s electric meters. The Compute Plus case has cost the state $18 million following a counter-suit brought by Malapanis, who accused Blumenthal of false accusations which destroyed her company.

Blumenthal was obstinate and eventually succumbed to a tightly controlled interview over loud speaker with Gombossy.  The article showed that once you put a little light on Dick Blumenthal, he begins to melt away.

But in the meantime, maybe Blumenthal should have that Prius put up on a lift. You never know.

(Photo: Courtesy of Christine Stuart, CT News Junkie)