In the wake of yesterday's election, I've gotten email from Ned Lamont stating that he's forming an exploratory committee to run for Governor of Connecticut.
I'm torn.
Lamont was my first political crush, the first candidate I ever worked for (just a little bit) or went to a rally for. But I got my heart broken when Lieberman won the general election. I'm still frothing about it three years later; don't get me started.
I didn't work for the Obama campaign; surrounded as I am by safe Obama states there wasn't much to do locally, and I was never able to be quite as enthusiastic about Obama as others, despite the historic nature of his campaign and win.
So...to work for Lamont again? Part of me says "yes!" But Governor isn't the same as Senator; an executive isn't the same as one of a hundred legislators. Different, more local concerns; different skills needed. Does Lamont have them? Probably; he's been an executive. Would he address my major concerns (property tax relief, city-suburb financial burden-sharing, universal health care, better mass transit)? Probably. He'd certainly be no worse than a generic Connecticut Republican.
But part of me is still heartbroken and doesn't want to stick my neck out again.
And if I do, there are other candidates for my time and energy. While Dodd has gotten amazingly bad press for what strikes me, in the grand scheme of things, as a rather minimal financial favor (a sweet mortgage interest rate from Countrywise), I can't forget that his platform in his failed presidential run last year was to restore the Constitution. He was the only candidate to make that a priority, and though he hasn't lived up to all his promises (what politician does?), I honestly think he's a thoughtful legislator who's on the whole done more good than harm. And letting a Republican take a Senate seat strikes me as just as dangerous -- maybe more so -- than letting one take the Governor's seat, which, after all, they already hold. We need Senate votes. So should I work for Dodd?
Or should I sit out next year and save every iota of energy I have for 2012, when I will work once more to take out Joe Lieberman?
I can't help but remember that when I worked the polls for Lamont on election night in 2006, exercising every bit of retail sales skill I could summon up in a very tough town, one of the local pols told me I ought to run for office myself, that I'd make a very good candidate. I don't think I can do that, with my life and background, and in any case I don't know that being a good candidate is quite the same as being a good officeholder; sales are not substance. But they clearly thought I had campaign skills, which I could just as easily put to use on someone else's behalf.
Or maybe, given my incredibly hectic lifestyle, the idea of working on a campaign is completely insane.
But I'll think about it.
Is this something backdated that's just being posted now (along with a couple of other posts), or is my RSS feed being really wonky?
Posted by: Carol Witt | December 29, 2009 at 01:18 PM
This was posted back then, if I remember correctly. I'm still wondering what Susan wound up doing about it.
Posted by: Serge | December 29, 2009 at 05:10 PM