By Charles Desrochers
Here’s a phrase you’re not likely to hear during the campaign season: this week’s fundraising event is in Hartford.
Every major player for the Democratic Party has come to Connecticut, with the exception of Hillary Clinton – who is presumably in India yelling directly at Pakistan – in support of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. What I would like to know is why they haven’t taken the drive up i-91 to Hartford.
Both of the Obama fundraisers were in Stamford while Bill Clinton made it the farthest north by having his rally in New Haven. All of this separation between the rallies and our state’s capitol make the race feel like it’s off in the distance instead of on our doorsteps.
The money could be the reason, but it’s not like Blumenthal can actually compete with the amount of money McMahon is willing to spend. Despite the big name support he’s only managed to drum up $2.1 million. McMahon’s probably spent more than that on pamphlets and flyers. Could the money he is raising from Stamford really be enough to supplant the Hartford area? Maybe not with its immediate population, but at least for the fact that Hartford is nearly in the center of Connecticut and an easy drive from anywhere in the state.
It’s funny that the Democrats, the party that is supposed to be a champion for social equity, are pandering to the highbrow crowd along the Merritt Parkway. Our money and how we spend it is an extension of our speech and opinions. By not looking for money north of New Haven it sends the wrong message. By seeking many small donations Blumenthal and Dan Malloy could be sending a much stronger one.
It may be a better strategy to get thousands of little handouts from the lower-to-middle-class. The Obama campaign was run largely with tiny donations made online and via text messaging and they broke every record for fundraising imaginable.
Voter turnout in August was a pitiful 25 and 30 percent for the Democrats and Republicans. If we saw Ned Lamont or Malloy on Arch Street in New Britain instead of staying close to their south-western roots, we could have all been more apt to vote that day.
The perception is that the mid-term election has much less gravity and because of this voter turnout is going to be nowhere near what it was for a presidential election, but is it crazy to think that having a rally on the green of Bushnell Park would look infinitely better than some $1,000 plate dinner in Stamford?
This entire election season feels distant, not just the Senate race… like it’s happening in another state. It reeks of elitism. As Hartford’s blue-collar mayor is waiting for a higher court to hear his appeal the state has to watch two billionaire republicans, a man whose family owns the Empire State Building and the former mayor of Stamford haphazardly vie for our votes.
Normally I would say voting for a third-party would be equal to eating the ballot. This year and in this election, seriously consider voting for a “fringe” candidate. They won’t win, but it will tell the two parties that they ran a bad campaign.