If you haven’t seen this, you should…
Keep in mind, this is not Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck calling Dodd a liar – this CNN calling Chris Dodd a liar. The man was already in hot water, and now he’s not only in trouble for giving his AIG friends loopholes – he put in the loopholes and then went on TV to deny his actions. Listen, I don’t care whether the administration wanted it or whether he thought it was an innocent little thing at the time – he messed up big time and he is rightly going to pay the price for it. The question is what that price will be.
Dodd’s Connecticut seat should be solid blue, but normal rules tend to fly out the window when the incumbent sinks the economy and then lies about it on national TV. Former Congressman Rob Simmons already has one poll showing him ahead in their upcoming contest, and while it’s going to be close, this is definitely becoming one of our top pickup opportunities in 2010.
Personally, I think Chris Dodd is becoming a national embarrassment rather than a Democratic one – so watching him make a mockery of our government is not necessarily an occasion for GOP celebration. That said, somewhere in Connecticut, Rob Simmons is probably laughing his head off and popping open a bottle of champagne – and I’m guessing that he’ll get a lot more opportunities to do so between now and the election.
Congratulations, Senator Simmons.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Think Jodi Rell may be interested in the Seat….she’s a much safer bet for the seat in my opinion.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Connecticut’s a very blue state and Dodd has plenty of time to recover. Too bad this didn’t happen a month before the midterm elections.
I agree that Rell could beat Dodd pretty easily, I hope she runs.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Can Dodd be primaried out or has that ship sailed? I don’t know CT’s election schedule.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Way too premature to day that (though it would certainly be nice). This state has been trending away for two decades. A couple of screwups (even big screwups) aren’t alone going to send these CT liberals running to the GOP.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
SHouldn’t it be a bigger story that Obama signed this thing? He either signed it without reading it, which is unbelievably unforgivable, or he signed it AFTER reading it, which is just as unbelievably unforgivable..
Don’t we all realize that this amendment was right there in the bill for his approval???? That should be the biggest story, right? We need to learn to use these things to our advantage when they are handed to us!!
March 18th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
#5
You’re on to something there… either way this doesnt bode well for the Dems… either Pres Obama knew about it and his admin. (esp. Geithner) insisted that Dodd put in that provision into the stimulus bill that Obama campaignded for around the country n said we had to pass it lest the economy collapse OR the Congressional Dems (esp. Dodd in CT) gets hurt for not reading the bill that passed this amendment. Dems are blaming each other for this fiasco, so the blood is on their hands.
March 18th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Is Rell term-limited in 2010? She should run for this seat as Dodd has never been weaker. She’s much stronger than Simmons I would think unless you believe Connecticut voters would vote against her because they want her to remain as governor (Quinnipiac has her favorables at 75% if you believe the poll, Rasmussen had her much lower last Fall).
March 18th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Adam (4)
Yes, I realize that is ridiculously presumptuous…I was toying with putting a asterisk and a footnote on that comment, but I figured it would be more fun to make a bombastic statement and see how people reacted
As for Rell, hadn’t heard that but it might work. Actually, my preferred candidate is Larry Kudlow, who’s also thinking about it, but his poll numbers aren’t what they should be and a major primary on our side would be a bad idea. With Simmons officially in, I would hope most other candidates stay out (with the possible exception of Rell). Much as I would love to see Kudlow take the seat, I don’t we do ourselves any good by having our candidates waste resources on eachother rather than Dodd.
I’m also wondering about Dodd getting primaried, and that could definitely happen, but I haven’t heard any speculation as to who might have the chutzpah to try. Only guy I can really picture running at Dodd from the left is Ned Lamont, but Dodd isn’t exactly a moderate like Lieberman.
March 18th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Dodd has a lot of goodwill with the left given that he was out front on the civil liberties demagoguing against Bush…but even Dodd said Obama was crazy to announce that he would sit down with foreign leaders without preconditions at the presidential level.
It’s scary to believe the guy we elected is even further to the left on foreign policy than Chris Dodd…
March 18th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Whoever has the job of making campaign adds roasting Dodd has to be licking their lips already.
March 18th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Let’s hope Peter Schiff runs for Dodd’s Senate seat.
March 18th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
If things continue as they are, Dodd will likely retire. The party will give him incentives to do so — Ambassador to Ireland, perhaps.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Hubris, Adam. It’s far too early to have a guaranteed Senator Simmons. I would still give Dodd a major advantage.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
BobH,
Dodd has always struck me as ridiculously stubborn and not particularly receptive to advice or pressure (witness his quixotic presidential bid). He will leave the political stage in one of two ways in my opinion…neither involving his leaving under his own power. Either he will be thrown out by the voters or he will eventually die in office. If he ever does retire, it will not be due to pressure (in fact, party pressure might make him more inclined to stay in). Maybe my psychoanalysis is all wrong, but that’s always been my read on the guy.
Demarcus,
I agree that it’s too early – but I definitely think Dodd is entering a downward spiral that could be politically fatal. At the moment, I would disagree with you and give a slight advantage to Simmons. If Dodd wins another term, it will be due to his staying largely out of the news for two years – and maybe voters will forgive him if the economy bounces back. That said, Dodd does not strike me as the type of guy who has enough self-control to avoid the spotlight. We’ll be hearing his name constantly as long as he keeps the Banking Committee chair, and a lot of the coverage is going to be negative.
Can I guarantee a Simmons win? Heck no. But I feel pretty comfortable saying that I expect Senator Dodd to continue shooting himself in the foot. And if I were Rob Simmons right now, I would be a very, very happy man.
Lastly – while I find Peter Schiff intriguing (and would be very interested in seeing if the GOP caucus could stomach a Paulite senator), I don’t think he’s the guy for this race. Too radical and not enough fire in the belly.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:37 am
They are going to play this in campaign ads next year and this will destroy Dodd.