Chris Dodd Is On The Ropes, But Won't Be Knocked Out By Just Anybody

The Hour is reporting that Greenwich businessman Steven J. Simmons thinks he can challenge Chris Dodd for the Connecticut senate seat in 2010. I know nothing about the guy, and neither does anyone else, I suppose. From the article:

"The latest Quinnipiac poll indicated that any Republican put up against (Dodd) would win," Republican Town Committee Chairman Art Scialabba told The Hour.

Unfortunately, that is just not true. Dodd beat Caligiuri 41-39 in the last Q poll, and at least he is a state senator. Steven Simmons best bet might be hoping people vote for him thinkin they are voting for Rob Simmons. Clearly there are some people who are underestimating what it is going to take to win this seat for the good guys. Just having an (R) after your name is not going to get you very far. This is Connecticut, after all, and Dodd has been "representing" us for some three decades. As bad as things are for Dodd right now and as incompetent as he continues to prove himself to be, there is a long time left before the election. Connecticut voters are not just going to hand the seat to whoever wins the Republican nomination.

In a statewide election, name recognition is huge; most of the announced (Foley, Caligiuri, Alpert) and potential challengers (Schiff, S. Simmons, Orchulli) have a lot of work to do on that front. Rob Simmons is better known than those already mentioned, and should Dodd step down, AG Blumenthal would be the best known candidate in the race as soon as he could rip himself away from his latest press conference.

Republicans need to work on narrowing the field of challengers, not adding new ones every few weeks. (Of course, I am not suggesting they should not be allowed to run, I am merely observing that it is not in the best interest of the party for these folks to hang around too long) Hopefully, Republicans (and conservatives in general) can keep the focus on getting rid of Chris Dodd; after all, anyone already mentioned, and many people not mentioned, would be an improvement over what we have.

But the reality is that not any (R) will beat Dodd. It will have to be someone who voters know, who they trust more than Dodd, and who is moderate enough to attract the votes of thinking Dems (they do exist) who aren't blind enough to pull the party lever (remember those?), even if Dodd hangs around to the bitter end. It is shaping up to be an interesting seventeen months.

Foley Announces He Too Will Challenge Dodd

Former Ambassador to Ireland Thomas Foley announced today that he too will challenge Chris Dodd for the Connecticut Senate seat, making three announced Republicans already lined up for a 2010 primary. Politico, the Hartford Courant and Capitol Watch have more information.

Foley has a website that can be found here.

Q-Poll Coverage Round-up

If you are interested in reading more about this morning's Q-poll, you can get your fill from the following list:

• The Day
• The Hartford Courant
  
• TPM
• Politico
• MSNBC
• Wall Street Journal
• The Everyday Republican
• The New Republic
• FiveThirtyEight
• SwingStateProject
  
• Washington Examiner
  
• Roll Call (subscription required)
• Daily Kos
  

Room For One More? Schiff Leaning Toward Challenging For CT-Sen

According to this report at The Plum Line, Peter Schiff is more likely than not to jump into the race for senate in Connecticut.

Peter Schiff, a Connecticut-based brokerage firm owner who has been widely hailed for predicting the U.S. financial meltdown, says he's "leaning towards" challenging Chris Dodd's reelection next year, a move that could make the contest a nationally watched media event.

"It's better than 50-50," Schiff told me a few moments ago, saying he'd decide in the next "two to three weeks."

This is the first time I have heard Schiff himself talk like that about a run. Most of the noise so far has been from the group at Schiff2010, who have been working hard to convince their guy to run. They have done some significant fundraising, though money would not likely be the biggest problem Schiff would face. According to their site, they have over 5500 donors, and presumably more than a handful of them are from Connecticut.

I am still not convinced a politician in the mold of Ron Paul can be successful in Connecticut, even when running against a seriously wounded Chris Dodd, but it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong. And I think it would be fun to watch Schiff dismember Dodd in a debate on all-things economic.

More Miscalculations From Chris Dodd

Via National Review Online, Chris Dodd made the following statements, revealing what he thinks of you and me, his constituents:

"When I go home," Dodd says, crossing Constitution Avenue in the fading light, "people don't ask me about the warrants, or the accountability standards, or how much transparency there is, or what am I doing about systemic risk. I mean, some do, obviously, like community bankers and businesspeople who are knowledgeable. The average person looks at me and says, 'What are you doing? You're writing a check [for bailouts]? And 700 people at Merrill Lynch on average got $5.1 million? What are you people thinking?' You know? You cannot explain this to them."

Got that? Chris Dodd does not think you are intelligent enough to understand all of the complicated things he is doing in Washington for us. If you question whether throwing hundreds of billions dollars of borrowed money at a problem he created is the best way to deal with our current predicament, it is only because you are a simpleton, and you should just leave that kind of heavy lifting to the professionals.

His constituents aren't buying what he is selling. The Register-Citizen has a report indicating that Dodd's message may not be resonating as he hopes (HT Politico):

Just how much trouble is Sen. Chris Dodd in as he runs for re-election next year? You’ve seen the surprising opinion polls showing record unfavorability, and other poll finding that any Republican — even those virtually unknown across the state - would beat him easily if the election were held today. Well, at the well-attended annual meeting of the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, outgoing President Joe Greco’s comments about various dignitaries, including Gov. M. Jodi Rell, being unable to make it was followed by a crack about Dodd being available but the group asking him to stay away. It was met by laughter and a very loud round of applause from the several hundred, typically reserved, local businesspeople, in the room.

Then there's the Irish cottage thing Dodd was just beginning to think had faded away. Not so. Judicial Watch has filed a formal complaint with the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics. You can read the entire complaint, complete with exhibits, here. And instead of addressing the complaint on it's merits, Dodd said the following through a spokesman (as reported by the Hartford Courant):

"It's appalling that any 'respectable' news organization would give currency to the rantings of this laughable band of kooks," spokesman Bryan DeAngelis said in a brief statement. "Their allegations are a joke, beneath dignifying.

No denial, no explanation, no recent appraisal showing there is no issue here, just an attack on the newspaper that reports that a complaint was filed. Despite his plummeting poll numbers he has still refused to acknowledge, even to himself, apparently, that Connecticut voters think he is full of crap. Chris Healey at The Everyday Republican has a post on the complaint, as well.

And it's not just Republicans. Even though the President has sworn his allegiance to the Dodd re-election campaign, there is at least one Dem who doesn't think Dodd deserves Obama's support. Roger Pearson, who is considering a primary run against Dodd, wrote this letter to the President asking him to reconsider.

Here's to hoping Dodd stays in the race long enough to lose to whoever the Republicans ultimately choose to challenge him.

The Downside For Dodd In Outraising His Opponents By $1 Million

Campaign fundraising numbers for the first quarter of 2009 were release a few days ago, and Chris Dodd came in with a $1.05 million haul, well ahead of his challengers (Caligiuri at about $45k and Simmons not reporting any significant fundraising). Generally when a three decade incumbent out-raises his potential challengers by a million dollars in a quarter, even if his challengers got in the race late in the reporting period, it is considered positive news and a good sign.

Not so for Chris Dodd. Even after reading this account in the Connecticut Post and follow-up from other news outlets, I though it must be a typo or some sort of misunderstanding, but I was wrong. Of his million dollars raised from nearly 400 donors, a mere $4,250 from only 5 individual donors came from Connecticut voters. That is right...only 0.4% of Dodd's cash raised came from the individuals he represents.

Rob Simmons took immediate advantage, sending out this letter to supporters and reportedly getting more in-state individual donation within minutes that Dodd managed to drum up in the first quarter.

So if it didn't come form the people Dodd represents, where did the other 99.6% of his money come from? Let's see.

• $610,000 was from individuals, $440,000 from PACs.
  
• Eighteen states and the District of Columbia yielded more cash for Dodd than his home state, including approximately $90k from individuals in Massachusetts (maybe Barney Frank is expecting reciprocation from Connecticut donors!).
• $299,000 came from executives and PACs representing banks, financial services companies and real estate brokerages, $48,000 from insurers and the heath care industry, and $62,800 from lobbyists (H/T Mother Jones).
• $44,000 came from pawnshops and other companies that make high-interest loans to those with poor credit (H/T Hartford Courant).

Why is it that only out-of-staters and financial types, yet none of his constituents, want to see Chris Dodd re-elected in Connecticut? Probably because they want something from him and won't have to live in his state themselves. As you can see, huge chunks of money came from those Dodd is supposed to be regulating rather than those he is representing. And why not? It worked for the folks in the mortgage industry for years, and it worked for the AIG executives. They all got what they wanted after making sizeable donations to previous Dodd campaigns. Just a cost of doing business in the banking industry.

Additional coverage at Hot Air, FoxNews, Heath at CT Local Politics, Ironman at The Next Right, and RadioVice Online.

Off the Wire: Dodd, Joey and Jack

While Chris Dodd has managed to keep himself out of any new scandals over the past week or so, the attention he has been getting still has not been that positive. Stuart Rothenberg at RealClearPolitics thinks Dodd is the most vulnerable incumbent (thanks for link, LR) in the Senate. Helen Ubinas at the Courant, OpEdNews, Riehl World View, and Consent of the Governed have posts along the same lines. Even those on the left think Dodd may be done.

Then there is the endorsement of the only politician in the state who could rival Dodd for ill-will: Joe Lieberman. My guess is that while Dodd is glad Lieberman isn't out campaigning against him, he'd just as soon have Joe keep his support to himself. Do you think if Dodd and Lieberman combined their votes they could win an election right now?

There are rumors that Jack Orchulli may be interested in running again, as well. CT Local Politics links to video of Orchulli, as well as Sam Caligiuri on Face the State.

Everybody Beats Dodd In Latest Q-Poll

The latest Q poll is out, and despite his seemingly endless repetition of the worn out "all I can do is my job" line and his protestations that he intends to run again, Chris Dodd and Democratic party leaders have some serious thinking to do.

The poll, released this morning, shows Dodd getting crushed in a match-up against Rob Simmons, 34/50, and losing to Sam Caligiuri 37/41 and to Tom Foley 35/43. Pretty incredible since 88 and 80 percent of voters don't even know enough about Caligiuri and Foley to have a favorable/unfavorable opinion. Had the pollsters asked, they probably would have found that the only Republican Dodd could beat was George W. Bush.

It will be interesting to see what part of these results is AIG-induced hysteria and fades away by the next poll, and how much is just voters realizing what they are stuck with for a senator.

Coverage of the results was everywhere and largely harsh. Here's what I got:

• Wall Street Journal
• Hot Air
• Politico
  
• Fox News
• CNN
• MSNBC
• CT Local Politics
• CT News Junkie
  
• American Spectator
  
• AOL News
  
• Swing State Project
• TPM
• 186k
  
• Examiner
  
• Roll Call (subscription required)
• YourPoliticsUSA
  

And from the left (I wade through the muck so you don't have to!):

• D-Kos
  
• MyDD
• HuffPo
  
• My Left Nutmeg
• D-Day
  

Kos Poll Shows Dodd/Simmons Still Tight

Research 2000's poll for Daily Kos shows Dodd up 45-40 on Simmons, with a 4% MOE. While a bit better for Dodd than the last Q poll, it is difficult to compare two different polls with different samples, different questions and different methodologies. In any event, these are still pretty poor numbers for a three decade incumbent. Dodd's favorable/unfavorable is +7 (13 no opinion), while Simmons' is +23 (41 no opinion).

Kos' analysis:

Dodd is the most endangered incumbent in the Senate at the moment. He has certain things going for him: he's got a famous name, formidable fundraising ability, and Connecticut is a Democratic-leaning state. On the other hand, he hasn't been battle-tested by a series of tough races, as Simmons has.

This will be the toughest race of Dodd's long career, and he'd better be up for the challenge. He's still slightly favored, but if he doesn't watch out be [sic] could end up like Elizabeth Dole.

Caligiuri appears to be a nearly-complete unknown; 82% have no fav/unfav opinion. Even so, Dodd barely breaks 50% against him, 51-30. That means there are a lot of people simply voting against Dodd, and not for his opponent, regardless of who it is. Good for the R's, not so much for Dodd.

Also, Rell retains an approval rating of over 70% and polls pretty well in hypothetical 2012 matchups against Lieberman and either Lamont or Blumenthal.

Coverage can be found at My Left Nutmeg, TPMDC, Hedgehog Report, Swing State Project (who downgraded the race to "Leans Dem"), and The Hill.

NRSC's First Shot At Dodd A Dud

I get the St. Patrick's Day connection and all, but this ad is pretty weak. It looks like a high school student put it together when they should have been paying attention in class. The Irish accent is atrocious and I think Dodd has involved himself in too many scandals to cram them all into one commercial. It is dizzying!



I hope Simmons and company have more creative talent on their side than the NRSC showed here. The good thing is I can't imagine it cost very much!

Simmons And Dodd On Sunday Morning Talk Shows

Set your Tivos for tomorrow morning for info on Connecticut's senate seat up for grabs in 2010.

• The Real Story, Fox 61 at 8:30 am: Host Shelly Sindland will have Dodd-challenger and former-Congressman Rob Simmons. Perhaps he will announce his run? He had said earlier he thought he'd decide by the Ides of March.
  

• Face the State, WFSB 3 at 11:00 am: Host Dennis House will have Senator Dodd, where he will likely continue to ignore his flailing in the polls and the questions about his numerous ethical lapses and just talk about how he must plug along and do his job. Of course, had he been doing just that over the last few years, perhaps he wouldn't be where he is.

H/T The Laurel.

Off The Wire: Kevin Rennie On Dodd, The Q-Poll, Joe And Chris Friends Again And More

Unfortunately for me, I am back in the United States, though I haven't made it back to Connecticut yet. I picked a less-than-optimal time to be away, and feel like I missed a lot. I have done my best in the short time I have had to put together some links that may be of interest from the past week.

There are a lot of links and some of it is slightly old news. If you are prioritizing, I would check out the links marked "**" first.


- Kevin Rennie, the Hartford Courant opinion-columnist-turned-investigative-reporter continues his crusade** to hold Chris Dodd accountable for his ethically questionable real estate dealings with William Kessinger and convicted felon Edward Downe. Rennie is doing a fine job of digging through details the mainstream media has thus-far neglected to do, and has gotten plenty of much-deserved attention. Be sure to read Rennie's article, and if you want more, check out:

• Wall Street Journal**
• Commentary Magazine
• The Telegraph
• NROnline
• ConnPoliticsTV
  
• Everyday Republican
  
• Hartford Courant
• MSNBC
• Real Time Investigations

- Quinnipiac released it's latest poll on March 10, and the news is not good for Dodd, regardless of how his folks want to spin it. The poll itself can be found here, with news coverage and analysis at the following:

• Wall Street Journal
  
• Politico here and here
• Ironman at The Next Right
  
• ConnPoliticsTV
• CT News Junkie
  
• Washington Post**
• RedState
  
• Swing State Project
  
• Connecticut Post
• New Haven Register
  
• The Day
• WFSB
• CT News Junkie again** (with Dodd's response to the poll)
  
• RTT News
  
• Capital Beat

When I get home I will put together a more complete look at the poll results.


- Joe Lieberman's transition back to being mostly Democrat continued with his announcement of support for Dodd in 2010 despite Dodd' backing Lamont a few short years ago. Coverage at:

• The Hill **
  
• CNN
• MSNBC
• YourCT.com
  

- Dodd's current plight warranted a substantial article in Time. Connecticut Local Politics has a post on the article, and on Dodd/Lieberman as well..


- Dennis House of WFSB and Face the State has a post worth reading about his role as a journalist in covering someone he likes.

- Ennuipundit on the irony that is Chris Dodd.

Are Connecticut Democrats Hoping For A Dodd Retirement?

The Yale Daily News has a look at Dodd's prospects for 2010, including the perspective of another Democrat who will be campaigning at the same time.

By all accounts, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd is vulnerable.

With 20 months until he is up for re-election, Dodd has yet to announce whether he will seek another term. And the five-term senator's prospects are by no means positive - he is suffering in the polls and is recovering from political scandal. But the uncertainty regarding Dodd's candidacy transcends his career alone; many Democrats are anxious about the political ramifications of his delay.

[snip]

[Democratic gubernatorial candidate Susan] Bysciewicz said that while she does not know for certain if Dodd would seek reelection, she encouraged him to make up his mind soon, and announce his intentions.

"If I secure the nomination of my party, I want the strongest possible Democrat on the ticket with me," she said. "If [Dodd] is running, he needs to announce and he needs to meet with constituents."

Sounds like she is a little concerned Dodd may drag her down, which poses an interesting dilemma: as great as it would be for our state and our country to be free of Chris Dodd, his retirement could very well make the seat easier for the Democrats to retain.

I believe those currently considering a run on the Republican side, especially Simmons but Kudlow and the others as well, have a realistic shot at taking the seat in a match-up against the much weakened Dodd. But if Blumenthal changes his mind with a Dodd retirement, or if Ned Lamont wants back in, I think the odds of a Republican pick-up are very likely diminished.

So here's to hoping Dodd's ego refuses to let him step aside gracefully, and that he gets beat by whichever Republican challenger eventually emerges.

Off The Wire: Dodd, The Dow and Kudlow

- From Ironman's blog at The Next Right, quoting Chris Dodd on February 15, 2007, when the Dow was a little north of 12,600:

"At the end of my tenure on this Committee, I want it to be said that the safety and soundness of our financial institutions was not weakened on my watch," Dodd said.

While Dodd's tenure is not over yet, it may not be too early to say his tenure is likely to be a failure by his own standard, what with the Dow now about half of what it was when he took over.

- Michael Barone at US News and World Report on 2010 and the Kudlow rumors. (HT Ironman again).

- More on Kudlow at Politico here and here (quoted below).

Kudlow confirmed his interest in an interview with POLITICO this afternoon and said he was talking to strategists to assess the feasibility of a statewide run. He said NRSC chairman John Cornyn met with him over dinner last week to discuss the idea, and the two have since had a follow-up phone conversation.

"He came up to me, and put it right on the table. He seems to think it would be a good race, and a national race," Kudlow said.

Kudlow, though, said he enjoys his job as a CNBC anchor and commentator - and it would be tough to leave it for the world of politics.

"I'm thinking about it, that's all I can say...it's the kind of thing where I'm talking to friends, talking to strategists, talking to my wife, and praying on it," Kudlow said. "It's all come on very fast, and I don't have any definite thoughts at all other than the fact that I am thinking about it."

Could be the makings of an interesting primary!

- An interesting post at binder'sblog on Chris Dodd's "liberation."

Larry Kudlow To Challenge Dodd?

Add Larry Kudlow's name to the list of those considering competing to be the Republican nominee to challenge Chris Dodd in 2010.

Reports at National Review Online, CommentaryMagazine, Wizbang, CT Local Politics, The Huffington Riposte, etc.

From the NRO Post:

Republicans in Washington think they may have found their man to pick up a Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010: Larry Kudlow, the former Reagan budget advisor, Wall Street economist and now CNBC TV news anchor. The Internet is abuzz with the chatter of a Kudlow for Senate boomlet, which has even hit the Drudge Report.

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Kudlow confirmed to me that he did sit down for dinner with Senate Republican Campaign Committee Chairman John Cornyn "to hear him out on the idea."

That makes it sound like it was Cornyn's idea. Whoever's idea it is, I don't think it is a great one, at least not if Simmons plans on running. Kudlow's got the name recognition going for him, but he comes with a lot of baggage, too.

Ironman over at The Next Right has a good look at the names that have been thrown out there to this point.

Hartford Business Journal on the Republican Resurrection In Connecticut

In the Hartford Business Journal tomorrow, Dean Pagani looks at the changing political landscape in Connecticut for the 2010 elections.

For the first time in a long time, there are Republicans thinking about waging statewide campaigns, not only because they think they have a shot at winning but to position themselves for future campaigns. That's a healthy approach if the party ever hopes to be relevant.

[snip]

Despite minority status and the lack of candidates as political stars, Republicans see 2010 as their best chance to change Connecticut's political landscape in a long time, The question is no longer whether to run. There is a sense the pendulum is swinging their way.

That is the sense indeed. Hopefully it plays out that way.

Also, as mentioned here, Rob Simmons was on Face the State this morning (video here). He didn't say anything we hadn't already heard, stating he would likely make a decision by the Ides of March. He brought his own mortgage papers and gave a copy to Dennis House, and Dodd's mortgage problems were mentioned every few questions. He did fine, and sounded the entire time like a candidate.

Rob Simmons To Appear On Face The State To Discuss His Potential Senate Challenge

Rob Simmons is scheduled to appear on Face the State tomorrow morning at 11:00 am on WFSB 3 talking about whether he will challenge for Dodd's senate seat next November, and the timeline for making his decision. Christine Stuart from CT News Junkie will also be discussing the potential Dodd-Simmons contest.

A brief clip from the show can be found here. Simmons is talking like a candidate if you ask me.

Off The Wire: More Reasons To Vote Dodd Out

I've been pretty sick with the flu (guess that flu shot wasn't all it's cracked up to be) since Wednesday, but I am trying to keep on top of things. Who would have known when I started this blog the day after the election that Dodd would provide so much material?

Anyway, a few items that caught my interest in the few minutes I was conscious over the past two days:

- Schiff's money-bomb is off and running today. As of 2:55 EST, they stand at $9,348, rapidly approaching their goal of $10k. The Courant has an article about Schiff today, and he answers a question some have asked, namely whether Schiff would run as a Republican, Libertarian or Independent.

If he were to run for Senate, Schiff said he would run as a Republican. "If I wanted to and put int the effort, I could probably get the Republican nomination, but I don't know if I want to," he said.

But what would be the point? "I don't need the power, the fame ... or the money," Schiff said. "I don't need those things. If I really thought I could make a difference, might I be willing to change careers? I might ... but there needs to be a bigger movement, there needs to be more candidates."

Seems a little presumptuous to just assume he would win the Republican nomination, especially if Simmons is in. We'll see.

- The Wall Street Journal takes a few shots at AG Blumenthal for his slobbering support of Dodd and statement that Dodd has done nothing wrong. As the piece points out:

It's interesting that the state's top lawyer can pronounce that there's no evidence of wrongdoing by Mr. Dodd, especially since Mr. Blumenthal told us this week that he has never investigated Dodd's Countrywide deals.

[snip]

Mr. Blumenthal's decision to stay out of the way of federal law enforcers contrasts with his approach when Republican Governor John Rowland and others were successfully prosecuted on federal corruption charges. In that case, Mr. Blumenthal was so zealous that in 2004 a state court judge temporarily blocked his civil suit after federal prosecutors claimed he was making it more difficult to prosecute the federal case.

It's not exactly comparing apples to apples, but the contrast is striking. Of course, Blumenthal had nothing to gain from backing Rowland, while he would need Dodd's support in 2012 were he to challenge Lieberman for his seat. The Everyday Republican's take can be found here.

- Chris Dodd has gotten to someone at the Kansas City Tribune (where's this level of outrage in the CT media?) with his accepting huge campaign contributions from the banking industry and then giving them a 258,000% return on their donations. A taste:

In my weeks of research into understanding how America went from economic lynchpin to a wayward ship drifting on a sea of economic trouble, I find myself baffled and appalled by statements from Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.

His anger seems real enough. But the stench of hypocrisy reeks up the room every time he forgets to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars he received in 2008 as campaign donations from these same banks, their management and employees - currently not under receivership of the U.S. taxpayer.

Read the whole thing.

- Finally, I never posted on Time's list of the 25 people to blame for the financial crisis (and I won't link to it, since it is a joke for not including Dodd and Frank; find it yourself). But Jack Dunphy, a frequent guest-contributer at Patterico's Pontifications, has. Read that post, and while you are there, bookmark the site. Good stuff on a regular basis.

Another Hat In The Ring? Caligiuri "Strongly Leaning" Towards Challenging Dodd

State Senator Sam Caligiuri will make a final decision in the coming weeks, but as of now he is "strongly leaning towards running" for Chris Dodd's senate seat in 2010. From the Waterbury Republican-American:

Caligiuri said he senses voters in Connecticut are ready to boot Dodd out of office after more than three decades in Congress.

"I thank Senator Dodd for his service to Connecticut, and I appreciate his commitment to public service, but I don't think he is the same Chris Dodd we sent to the Senate nearly 30 years ago, and I think he has forgotten over time that he is there to represent Connecticut," he said.

"There are times when it becomes very clear that change is necessary. Then you have to ask yourself do you think you can bring the right kind of change to the people. I am convinced it is time for a change, and I am convinced if I do decide to run that I can bring the kind of change that Connecticut needs," he said.

I imagine he is waiting a few weeks to see if Rob Simmons is running. I can't picture a scenario where Caligiuri could beat Simmons in a primary. On name recognition alone, Simmons would be so far ahead I doubt if Caligiuri could ever catch up.

Also, did you notice the the last quote from Caligiuri was just a little "Hope" short of an Obama campaign commercial? I guess he figures that "Hope 'n Change" worked so well for O, why not give it a shot.

Schiff Supporters Talking Up Saturday's "Moneybomb"

The New Haven Independent, via Instapundit, has a lengthy article on Saturday's fundraising blitz for Peter Schiff organized by the Political Exploration and Awareness Committee PAC (PEAC). Their goal is to raise at least $10,000, but Schiff has indicated that a senate run is a long shot.

From the NHI, which also has an embedded FoxNews interview with Schiff:

Judging from a conversation with Schiff Wednesday, it will take much more than [$10,000] to convince him to step away from his Darien stock brokerage and hit the hustings as a Republican challenger to Chris Dodd.

He does warm up - instantly - to the subject of why he feels Chris Dodd should be handed a forced retirement from the U.S. Senate.

"Dodd has a role in creating a problem. He's not playing a part in the solution," said Schiff, who's 45. "He was one of the biggest promoters of Fannie[Mae] and Freddie [Mac]. He's one of the reasons efforts to rein them in was curtailed. The reason we're in such a mess is the lax lending standards and moral standards that were a result of Fannie and Freddie. Dodd has his fingerprints all over this."

[snip]

"I'm not running for anything. They're hoping if they can raise a lot of money and start an organization, they can convince me and draft me into a senate campaign. I think it is a longshot," he said. "Is it impossible? Nothing is impossible. Is there a slim chance? The odds are I'm not going to do it. It's just not something I think is the best use of my time. Even if I could become a senator, I don't know what the hell I could do! I would be one guy out of a hundred."

So if you believe Schiff, he is not likely to run, but he certainly left the door open wide enough to change his mind and throw his hat in the ring. The bigger question is whether he would run in a primary against another Republican candidate, or would he go the third-party route? A libertarian third party candidate might be enough to really screw things up for a more moderate Dodd challenger, like Simmons.