Senator Chris Dodd(D) to Retire
Ordinarily this would be a good thing for Conservatives. Senator Dodd was knee deep in the scandals concerning Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as being involved in a sweetheart loan with Country Wide. His approval ratings were in the tank. The Republicans in Connecticut saw a clear win for any one of the Republican candidates running against Dodd in the fall.
But the DNC was also aware of that and HAD to do damage control in order to make sure the Democrats kept their majority position in the Senate. Somehow the DNA (and Obama, I’m sure) convinced Dodd to take the retirement after 30 years in office — simply put, take the bullet for the Party.
In Chris Dodd’s stead will be Connecticut’s Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal. He has a reputation of being an advocate for the people of the state and he’s well liked among the constituents of the Blue State. Conservatives see him as being rather intrusive and pro-government but the older citizens have always considered him likeable. Some had aspirations for him to be Governor one day. But the DNC felt it was best that Blumenthal make his political move now, for the sake of the Democratic Party.
This is going to prove to be a hard pill to swallow for Conservatives. They were hoping to not only be rid of Senator Dodd, but to finally have a Conservative voice in the state.
This move will also bring Senator Joe Lieberman to the position of the senior Senator of Connecticut. Some would have been glad for him but many like myself have a bad taste in my mouth concerning Lieberman since he voted for cloture of the Senate Healthcare bill. If he had only voted NO, we wouldn’t be discussing the legislation anymore.
Knowing that conservatives can’t count on Joe Lieberman in the next round of votes on the healthcare legislation, the prospects for Connecticut as well as our nation seem gloomy.