On Saturday, May 10, Republicans from all over Connecticut gathered in their respective Congressional Districts to nominate Republican candidates for U.S. Congress.  With Sen. John McCain at the top of the ticket and Congressional approval ratings at a strong 21%, fielding a full slate of candidates will hold Congressional Democrats accountable for their mistakes over the past 16 months.

We’ve already reported on the rousing nomination of First Congressional District candidate Joe Visconti.  His Convention was well received by many of the delegates in attendance, with most commenting about it being the “most energetic” Convention they had seen in years.  In Eastern Connecticut’s Second Congressional District, Captain Sean Sullivan was nominated to challenge one-term Congressman Joe Courtney.  In accepting the nomination by unanimous voice vote, Sullivan used a humorous story from his submarine days to make the case for his candidacy:

“I am reminded of a time in command of a submarine when we were conducting exercises in the southern Gulf of Thailand. The ship was sitting on the surface in shallow waters and a large tanker approached with constant bearing and decreasing range. If you are a mariner, you know constant bearing, decreasing range is no good. Ultimately, the range will be zero and a collision will ruin your day.

My supply officer was the contact coordinator. Navy Supply Officers are affectionately known as “Chop”. They put on a great meal, but most are not great mariners.

On this occasion, my Chop called to the bridge with a recommended course change to the east. It was a good course to avoid the tanker and all the other ships in the area. It was a textbook course change for collision avoidance. Only one problem. If we turned to the east, we’d run aground on Vietnam! I did not take that recommendation.”  - Sean Sullivan, May 10, 2008

In the Third Congressional District, Boaz ItsHaky, a Bethany acupuncturist, is the Republican nominee.  Bo has a diverse array of interests and a compelling personal story - growing up on a kibbutz in Israel, serving in the IDF, and then migrating to the United States.  A Member of the Republican State Central Committee from the 17th State Senate District, Bo will continue his great service to his Party and to his adopted nation.  Hopefully the voters of the 3rd Congressional District will “Go with Bo” on Election Day.

Connecticut’s Republican Congressman Christopher Shays was nominated once again in the Fourth CD at Darien Town Hall on Saturday evening.  In accepting the nomination, Congressman Shays commented about the 2006 results, saying: “The last election left me as a caucus of one,” U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays of Bridgeport said in his speech accepting the nomination. “Democrats didn’t really win the election of 2006. Republicans lost that election because we lost our way.”  Shays, the only Republican Congressman from New England, will fight hard to keep his seat from Democratic challenger Jim Himes.

And in the Fifth Congressional District, State Sen. David Cappiello was nominated to face one-term Congressman Chris Murphy.  The 5th had been the one anticipated contested Convention in the State as late as Wednesday of last week.  But the announcement that former State Rep. Tony Nania would not challenge Cappiello ended that storyline.  Cappiello commented that, “The people of Connecticut are tired of a do-nothing Congress that has failed to address their needs, and worse, has an unacceptable habit of saying one thing but doing another.”  Look for Cappiello to wage an aggressive bid for Congress against Rep. Murphy this fall.

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.

President George W. Bush visited Connecticut today on a two stop tour of the Nutmeg State - first to the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford and then a private fundraising event at the home of Dr. Henry Kissinger in Kent, Connecticut.

In recent days, the mainstream media (MSM) had previously dismissed the President’s visit to the Boys and Girls Club as a sham event, deriding the President’s commitment to fighting malaria and helping those in need.  These derisions are callous to the concerted effort put forth by President Bush to dramatically reduce malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. 

The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) sets an ambitious goal - reduce malaria deaths by 50% in 15 target African nations.  The cause for this Initiative is clear.  According to the Center for Disease Control, “In areas of Africa with high malaria transmission, an estimated 990,000 people died of malaria in 1995 – over 2700 deaths per day, or 2 deaths per minute” (CDC).  Since the beginning of the PMI, there have been discernable results in combatting malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.  According to the White House, “In Zanzibar, following the distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITN) and indoor residual spraying, the percentage of infants infected with malaria has dropped from about 20 percent to less than one percent“. 

The media can ridicule the President’s efforts on Africa as mere charade, but the President rightly cited Luke 12:48 as a proper reference point: “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”  The assembled crowd, estimated at 150 people, listened intently to the President’s comments on malaria.  Those in attendance noted the President’s obvious commitment to the issue and the passion with which he spoke about fighting malaria. 

From the Hartford Boys and Girls Club, the President headed back to Bradley for a helicopter ride out to the home of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Kent, Connecticut.  Kissinger hosted a private fundraising event for the joint committee of Connecticut Victory ‘08-Cappiello for Congress.  The event, attended by 450 people, raised over $700,000 for the two organizations.  The President was very relaxed and seemed to very much enjoy his time at Dr. Kissinger’s estate. 

His speech left many in the audience talking about just how compelling the President is in his element.  Gone were the malapropisms and halted phrasing that are common criticisms of the President’s oratory - replaced by impassioned, smooth rhetoric about America’s collective need to be guided by the better angels of our nature.  Bearing witness to the President’s speech today was to see the work of a master craftsman - an orator - who used the English language as a palette to express his views in a manner far different from the television caricature. 

Meanwhile, #43’s “englightened” critics wrote “No More Bush” in magic marker on their forearm.

You can view the photographs from the event by clicking here.

Cappiello for Congress today announced it has raised $255,000 in the first quarter of 2008. The campaign will report having raised $650,000 to date, with $420,000 cash on hand.

“By any measure, this fundraising quarter has been a complete success,” said Cappiello. “We’ve nearly doubled our fundraising performance from last quarter, and are in a solid financial position heading into spring. Our positive message of returning leadership and results to Washington has been resonating throughout the district, and it has translated into the financial support we’ll need to win in November.”

Of the $254,694 raised this quarter, $242,644, or 95% came from individuals. Over 83% of these contributions came from contributors in the State of Connecticut. To date, Cappiello has raised $652,355, and retains $420,316 on hand.

“I’m most proud of the fact that this quarter reflects the grassroots support we’ve been building throughout the campaign,” Cappiello said. “The fact that 95% of our contributions are from individuals who want a representative who will work for a better, safer, more affordable America shows that the momentum is on our side.”

Governor M. Jodi Rell has thrown her support behind State Senator David Cappiello’s bid to unseat freshman Congressman Chris Murphy in November.  Yesteday, Rell joined Cappiello at a fundraiser at Canterbury School in New Milford. 

The News-Times reports Rell remarked “He’s one of the hardest working and most dedicated persons I’ve ever met.  I’m proud to stand here with you and wish you all the best.”

Cappiello had a notable group of people attending he event to offer their support as well:

They included Mayor Pat Murphy, Danbury Probate Judge Dianne Yamin, Roxbury First Selectman Barbara Henry, and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton’s chief of staff Michael McLachlan, a Republican who announced his intentions last week to seek his party’s endorsement for Cappiello’s state Senate seat.

North Canaan’s Tony Nania, who is also seeking the Republican nomination, will be holding a fundraiser soon too.  But that won’t be in Connecticut.  It will be in New York with former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.

Though I often disagree with Congressman Chris Murphy’s views, and regularly identify flaws in his logic, I equally often suspect that were I to meet him in a bar or other convivial setting, I’d probably enjoy buying him a cold one and trading stories.  But then Mr. Murphy goes and gives the public some snivelling trifle like his Sunday Hartford Courant article and I am dismayed.

The good Congressman Murphy picked up his pen and wrote a shocking - I say shocking! - expose on the harsh realities of campaign fundraising and how it detracts from the political process.  He frames his premise this way:

On any given day, the foot traffic to and from the national Republican and Democratic campaign offices is constant, and the conditions under which we labor are pretty depressing. At the Democratic offices, I sit in a room with cubicles, surrounded by freshmen and veteran legislators, feeling more like a telemarketer than a member of Congress.

The ‘People’s Representative for the 5th Congressional District’ continues his piece by blaming fundraising for the lack of trust that many people have for their elected representatives and for the stinging partisanship that so often gridlocks Washington.  He points out the following:

Further, endless evening fundraising commitments mean that, when votes end, members rush to seek campaign contributions rather than grab a burger or beer with a colleague from across the aisle. This pressure to spend rare free moments fundraising means that there is less time to get to know your colleagues. As a result, partisan sniping comes much easier because you often don’t know the person you’re sniping at.

And what solution does the soul-bearing Mr. Murphy offer? Political Welfare:

There is a relatively simple cure: public financing of congressional campaigns. I have been an unrelenting advocate for public financing of elections for nearly a decade now, and that resolve has only been strengthened by my brief time here in the nation’s Capital.

Rep. Murphy’s solution is to have the federal government pay for political campaigns, rationalizing that it would be far “cleaner” to have taxpayer dollars go to supplying Chris Murphy’s re-election effort with pizza, lawn signs, and helium.  Realizing that taxpayers will, quite rightly, balk at footing the bill for the “Chris Murphy Pizza Hut & Party Store Stimulus Act”, Murphy attempts to deflate the attack by suggesting that hardworking Americans should “take a leap of faith” and swallow his nonsense.

Once again, Chris Murphy advocates a government solution to problems that are better solved by simple changes in the personal behaviors of Americans.  Problems with your health care?  Don’t stop smoking or lose weight - let the government pay for it!  Problems with your education?  Don’t demand more accountability from teachers and more discussion of values - let the government handle it!  Chris Murphy doesn’t have any free time to go to the bar with colleagues?  Get the government to write a check.

Chris Murphy is the elected representative of the people of the 5th Congressional District.  It is a two-year term and there is no one chaining Mr. Murphy to his cubicle.  There is no sworn sacred obligation for Chris Murphy to run for re-election and Chris Murphy is not the American Messiah.  If there is a problem in politics today, it’s that too many people have turned “elected official” into a lifelong career, and in so doing, delude themselves with visions of grandeur.  The Founding Fathers drew up the Constitution so that the best and brightest would feel compelled to serve for a period of time, and then go home - that’s why they made the term two years long. 

If Chris Murphy wants to stop raising money, there is no one stopping him except his own ego.  There are dozens of cases nationally of Representatives who don’t raise prolific sums of money - unlike Murphy’s $1.35 million take to-date - but still manage to get elected every two years without the help of the government.  Maybe Rep. Murphy should take the night off from fundraising and talk to one of them.

Source: Hartford Courant, February 3, 2008 “I Didn’t Get Elected to Be A Fundraiser” by U.S. Representative Christopher Murphy, Democrat from the 5th Congressional District,  http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/commentary/hc-commentarymurphy.artfeb03,0,3870632.story

State Senator David Cappiello’s Congressional campaign is sponsoring a Super Bowl survey to see who will win the 2008 Super Bowl.  Participants can take the survey by clicking here and casting their vote. 

Super Bowl XLII promises to be quite a showdown, as the New England Patriots will take on the New York Giants in Glendale, Arizona on February 3rd, 2008.