Some intraparty foibles boggle even the Blogster, who has seen alot of weird things over the years in Connecticut politics. Here’s the latest e-mail from Chris Healy, the GOP state chairman. It arrived minutes after a separate e-mail announcing the candidacy of Mark Greenberg, a Republican hopeful for the Fifth District seat held by U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, who is a self-proclaimed successful businessman.
Anyway, it sure seems that this rather odd release from Healy is designed to encourage state Sen. Sam S. F. Caligiuri, R-Waterbury, to abandon his U.S. Senate challenge to Sen. Chris Dodd and leave the nominating fight to Rob Simmons and Linda McMahon.
Here’s Healy’s release:
This is a sentiment shared by many Republican activists in the district. And while it is in no way meant to diminish the efforts of other Republican candidates, Sen. Caligiuri has established himself as a proven reformer and principled legislator.
Senator Caligiuri’s potential entry into the fifth congressional district race spells trouble for Democrat Chris Murphy and shows Republicans are ready to provide new leadership in the Congress.”
It’s now 3:30 and the Blogster received this response from the Caligiuri camp:
“Waterbury, CT – In response to Chairman Healy’s call for Senator Caligiuri to enter the Fifth Congressional district race, Caligiuri made the following statement:
“I want to thank Chairman Healy for his kind words and encouragement of my potential candidacy in the Fifth Congressional District. Over the last several days I have been exploring this option with Chairman Healy and other leaders in the party who have reached out to me in support of this move. My goal has always been to best serve the people of Connecticut by reviving our economy, reforming government, and restoring fiscal responsibility. Over the coming days, I will make a decision on how I can best continue to fight for those principles and serve the people of Connecticut.”