Connecticut Conservative

Thursday, November 16, 2006

It's Official: Courtney over Simmons

The race for the U.S. House in Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District has finally come to an end. On Election Day, it was impossible to call, with Democratic challenger Joe Courtney marginally ahead of Republican Rep. Rob Simmons. For the past week, counties have been recounting, at one point discovering a miscount that had added 100 votes to Courtney. Now, more than one week later, the results are in. With about a quarter-million votes cast, Courtney won by 91 votes and Simmons has stop further recounts and conceded.

The fact that Rep. Simmons was able to do so well in a Democratic year is a testament to his character and values. He would have been one of two Republicans from New England in the House. He has consistently been the House Republican in the most Democratic district. If Democrats weren't able to gain that seat this year, they never would have been able to.

The smallest of things could have sent the race either way. If Rumsfeld had resigned before the election, Simmons would probably have won. If Simmons had run a slightly different ad campaign, or made one more speech, or any number of things, he could have won. But it serves no purpose to lament now.

Simmons had been the congressional leader on military affairs. A special forces veteran with combat experience in Vietnam, he also served in the CIA and received a degree from Harvard. He was the consummate congressman, regardless of party affiliations. I'm truly disappointed to see him lose. Hopefully we'll seen him again in two years.

13 Comments:

Of all the losses this year losing Rob Simmons hurts the most. While he was not my congressman (Nancy Johnson was) I would have been more than proud to have had the privilege to have him as my representative.

I certainly hope this fine man somehow stays active in Connecticut Republican politics. I hope he either considers a run again in 2 years, or maybe even take a shot at Dodd in 4 years.

We need good men like this in government who are such a sharp contrast to so many young, and old, from both parties, we could well do without.

By Anonymous, at 8:07 PM
Mel Martinez is a terrible choice to chair the RNC. Martinez is an open borders zealot, and Bush junior should have picked Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele for the post.

By Anonymous, at 11:49 PM
Simmons is the best congressman this state has ever had.

By Anonymous, at 6:57 PM
>>Mel Martinez is a terrible choice to chair the RNC. Martinez is an open borders zealot, and Bush junior should have picked Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele for the post.

The GOP typically recieves around 40% of the national Hispanic vote while as of 2004 only 12% of the Black vote (up from 7% in 2000).

Clearly, especially considering the growth of the Hispanic population it simply makes good political sense to address that market.

The above withstanding; my gut feeling is the same as yours however, Steele strikes me as a good man.

By Authentic Connecticut Republican, at 11:20 PM
11:20 ACR

Agreed, Steele is a good man. Bush flubbed this one.

The Bush/Rove/Weekly Standard crowd thinks open borders and another amnesty is good politics, but they further risk alienating non-Hispanic conservative voters. Rich Lowry and Pat Buchanan have written about this recently. As Buchanan states:

"The neocons .. point to the fall-off in the Hispanic vote for the GOP, from 38 percent in 2002 to 30 percent in 2006, and attribute the drop-off to calls for a border fence. Yet far more serious was the fall-off among white voters, whose support ... fell from 58 percent in 2002 to 51 percent.

Because the white vote in America, 80 percent of the electorate, is 13 times as large as the Hispanic vote, which accounts for only 6 percent of all voters. It is the defection of its white vote that is killing the GOP.

The Reagan Democrats are going home."

And if to "address that market" means repeating the flawed 1986 amnesty, that would be terrible public policy as well. Importing cheap labor strains social services and hurts legal American workers of all backgrounds, including Latinos.

By Anonymous, at 1:46 AM
>>"...And if to "address that market" means repeating the flawed 1986 amnesty,..."

Nothing of the sort.

Imagine if the CT GOP had embraced and even (gasp!) fielded a few people of Italian descent in the 1940's thus making that massive (in CT) ethnic group a Republican block right now.

The same opprotunity is once again presenting itself.

By Authentic Connecticut Republican, at 8:03 AM
Good. I'm glad you don't support "comprehensive" immigration reform (i.e., guest worker/amnesty)

Too bad GWB doesn't share your belief. He apparently needs to be reminded that the US is a country with a distinct culture, history and set of laws which prior waves of immigrants accepted, assimilating into the larger society -- and not just an ATM machine for corporations and 12-20 million illegal aliens to send remittances back to their corrupt home countries. Bush would also do well to listen to what Rep. Tom Tancredo, a grandson of an Italian immigrant, has to say on these issues. Good politics, good policy.

By Anonymous, at 2:02 AM
should be easy to round up the 11 million illegals and ship 'em home in a week or two.

By Anonymous, at 12:32 PM
^
Nice try. I hear this blather spouted all the time in the liberal MSM, and by the Bush adminstration and other amnesty backers. No one credible is talking about "rounding up" millions of illegals and shipping them back in a week or two. Rather, FAIR has outlined a credible 7-step attrition plan:

1)Secure the borders
2)Apply strong and serious worksite enforcement
3)Eliminate document fraud
4)Reform unwitting accomplices: SSA and IRS
5)Encourage state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws
6)Eliminate state and local benefits to illegal aliens
7)Provide necessary resources to DHS and DoJ.

By Anonymous, at 7:38 PM
i see a state rep changed her colors??

she stated her reason was because it is NOT the party of rockefeller and javitz! come on. give me
a break. what icons to mimic yourself with!

i changed to an R because the pubs at least HAD
ideas. hell, i guess the D party changed from the JFK
mold; strong on defense, pro-business, lower
taxes, pro-middle class........... that's why i changed.

By left-out, at 8:50 AM
8.round up the 11 million illegals and ship 'em home in a week or two

By Anonymous, at 12:18 PM
^
you make a persuasive argument, now keep on repeating yourself.

By Anonymous, at 9:33 PM
"The GOP typically recieves around 40% of the national Hispanic vote while as of 2004 only 12% of the Black vote (up from 7% in 2000).

Clearly, especially considering the growth of the Hispanic population it simply makes good political sense to address that market." says Connecticut Republican.

Is the Hispanic market similar to the Negro market?

You lost my vote. Slaves cost too much money, im too poor to purchase one. I guess you guys arent interested in the white middle class market.

By Anonymous, at 5:40 AM