No one is more qualified than Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He’s the nation’s longest serving attorney general (1991-present). He also has an impressive resume:
– Law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun
– US Attorney for District of Connecticut from 1977-1981.
– One of four Attorney General’s nationwide that oppossed immunity for telecommunication industry and their cooperation with Bush.
– Recently sued Countrywide Financial for fraudulent business practices.
– He was one of ten attorney generals that went after the tobacco industry and won in 1996.
– Classmate of Bill Clinton at Yale Law School.
– He has gone aggressively against HMO’s.
– Last year when a Long Island company wanted to run a natural gas pipeline across Long Island Sound into Connecticut he went after them in federal court and won. The company sought to use a ruling from the Commerce Department to move the project, yet a federal judge ruled that the Commerce Secretary’s wording was “arbitrary and not based on facts.” When the Long Island company threatened to go directly to the Bush administration Blumenthal dared them (knowing full well that Bush’s administration time was basically expiring).
– Considered for a federal judgeship by Clinton, yet did not accept the offer.
– Went after utility companies for contributing to global warming.
– Sued the FAA on behalf of residents for redirecting flight to LaGuardia over some of the state’s more wealthy towns, arguing that it created air and noise pollution and that the re-routing did not do what it had sought to do, which is to cut back on delays at LaGuardia.
Only downside for Blumenthal is that he endorsed Clinton and that he recently argued on behalf of the state against gay marriage. He argued that the state constitution did not recognize gay marriage (which he is actually correct, yet a state judge felt otherwise) and that it would require the legislature to amend the constitution (which they sought to do in a Democratic majority legislature, yet failed at accomplishing).
Many expect him to be interested in Dodd’s seat should he retire in 2010. However, Blumenthal would not challenge Lieberman. They have been friends for many years and Lieberman was CT Attorney General prior to Blumenthal taking office. Another positive with Blumenthal is that he can keep Lieberman in check. Blumenthal had many opportunities to run for Governor, yet each time passed it up. He is Connecticut’s most popular Democrat, even ahead of Dodd.
The Competitive Enterprise Institue, a pro-business group, named Blumenthal as the worst attorney general. Second place went to former CA Attorney General Bill Lockyear (CA) and third to former NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Now, if a pro-business group calls you the worst, then you surely must be the best. Blumenthal is also a strict pro-environmentalist (oil companies will fear him big time).
However, Blumenthal is one elected official who has never allowed politics to interfere with his work and for that he would be a STRONG US Attorney General.
Blumenthal for Governor
he’s going to kick Jodi Rell right out of that seat.
and he’s also been spearheading the bailout thingy. So his approval ratings aren’t as high as they could be.
Also, if all he said was that the state constitution didn’t recognize gay marriage when it didn’t, then that doesn’t seem like a problem to me. I don’t know what this is about, I don’t know what happened, and I don’t know the details and motivations, and I don’t particularly care about gay marriage either, so don’t take my word on it though.
However, for the record, he’s been in TV ads opposing question one in this year’s election. Question 1 was to open a constitutional convention, which was something advocated by lots of anti-gay-marriage groups in the aftermath of the CT Supreme Court’s decision. While apparently a move to open up state laws to direct democracy, Blumenthal argued in a TV ad that they’d be dominated by special interests, and encouraged people to vote no. (Question 1 was rejected by about 60-40 IIRC.)
Question 1 in CT was oppossed by the real lobbyists: those for gay marriage and teacher unions. They both were against it because they didn’t want citizens of CT to be given the right to have citizen initiative made available to them. Unfortunately many residents believed those oppossed to Question 1 and citizens still lacks the power to recall officials (even after many have been sent to jail). If the Democratic majority legislature actually did their job, then CT residents wouldn’t be screaming for reform. While 40% may seem low it has increased since the last referendum.