Paul Bass Photo
Clinton presses the flesh after the “rally.”
Former President Bill Clinton told Democratic loyalists in a barely half-full Omni Ballroom Tuesday that they “have a job to do” — reelecting Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in a tough rematch against Republican Tom Foley.
Malloy’s campaign sought to have Clinton’s star power, which still shines bright in New Haven, rub off on a campaign that’s behind in the polls and suffering from an apparent enthusiasm gap.
That gap was on display at the Omni event in downtown New Haven. Timed to launch the post-Labor Day launch of the main general-election campaign season, the event was billed as a “rally.” At times it felt more like the late-night post-dessert stale-coffee phase of a rubber-chicken dinner. The event violated the first rule of political event-staging: The campaign booked a room (already shrunken) that proved too big, not too small, for the several hundred politicos and Democrat diehards it could muster.
Speakers did try to ramp up the enthusiasm. Their message: Connecticut has slashed unemployment, added 60,000 new jobs, raised the minimum wage, passed the nation’s toughest gun-control law, boosted pre‑K education, eliminated its deficit, run the country’s most successful Obamacare health care exchange, and lowered shootings and homicides in cities since Malloy’s 2010 election. Because Malloy made “tough choices.” Those tough choices may have turned off some voters. So the party faithful needs to work hard to turn out voters in November. (Foley lost to Malloy by just 6,404 votes in 2010.)
U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Dick Blumenthal set the tone for that message in warm-up speeches.
“I am so pleased to see a capacity crowd today,” Murphy declared.
He must have been looking at this cluster at the front of the room …
… not here …
… or here. (A campaign spokesman later claimed that the event eventually reached a “capacity” of 300.)
“We have a great story to tell. You have to go out and tell it,” Murphy declared.
Scott McLean Photo
In his remarks, Malloy (pictured) contrasted his view of the state — safer, more compassionate, economically growing — with that of Foley, who has sought to seize on popular discontent over the state of the economy in general.
“This is a guy who prays for rain on a sunny day,” Malloy said of his opponent. “Connecticut is a great state. We’re going to prove that on election day.”
Scott McLean Photo
Trim since his move to a vegan diet, Clinton (pictured) in his keynote address emphasized the need to make sometimes unpopular choices — like raising taxes or passing gun-control laws — in order to govern well. Malloy has done that, he argued. Foley, like other Republicans nationally, is promising to cut taxes without specifying what services he will have to cut as a result, Clinton noted.
“I’ve been listening to this for 30 years. They talk tough,” Clinton said of Republican candidates. “But they govern soft. They tell voters you can eat all the candy you want, but you will never have to go to the dentist.”
Murphy, Blumenthal, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, and Malloy himself all touted Clinton’s record as president in creating jobs and cutting unemployment. The point was to link Clinton’srecord with that of Malloy, who lacks Clinton’s personal charisma.
Thomas MacMillan File Photo
In a year when incumbent President Barack Obama is suffering low approval ratings, Clinton may be considered more of a prize guest-speaker catch for Democratic candidates in close races. Clinton has been playing that role for years in Connecticut races, including at a Wilbur Cross High School rally (pictured) for Dick Blumenthal’s 2010 U.S. Senate campaign.
But when it comes to firing up Malloy’s Democratic base in 2014 in cities like New Haven, the governor’s campaign might conclude he could use the current president’s help after all as the election nears. If so, his campaign may have an easier time filling the hall.
This article omitted that the lack of enthusiasm may have had something to do with Malloy's intrusion of himself into the mayor's primary to endorse Harp. Prople have something called memory. Surely, a better strategic thinker might have told himself there's no reason not to wait until the general--as Blumenthal did. Malloy might have used his memory to recall that New Haven was vital to his margin of victory, so why look for trouble?
Had Malloy not had made a primary endorsement, I would have been there with my $50 in hand. I would have loved to have seen a president at that reasonable price. But Malloy made it a price too steep to pay.