Daily Show’s Jon Stewart skewers Foley, Malloy over testy ‘sex slave’ exchange

When “sex slaves” start making the 2014 gubernatorial election debate it is surely time to vote. The issue (did we say “sex slaves”?)  came up Sunday during the News8 gubernatorial debate between Republican Tom Foley and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

John Stewart was not slow to notice. He discussed Foley and Malloy’s boats on The Daily Show. Scroll to 1:40 to watch:

A viewer of the debate noted the names of the candidates’ watercraft. “Sapphire” was the name of Malloy’s 28-foot and “Odalisque” is Foley’s $5 million yacht. Chief political correspondent Mark Davis, the debate moderator, sharpened a viewer’s question. “I don’t have a boat anymore,” Malloy said. “I did have a boat that had the name “Sapphire” and it was born with that name. It cost money to change the name and have it scraped off and I wasn’t about to do that.” Noting that an Odalisque is a female slave or concubine, Malloy used the issue as another platform to attack Foley.

“If I had a boat named after a sex slave, I would have changed the name. The idea that someone would run for governor of Connecticut with a $5 million yacht registered in another country as opposed to our own state and continue to carry on a name that represents sex slaves is really quite horrendous.” Davis noted that many in the state make their livings servicing the marine trade.

“Not too many people have a $5 million yacht that don’t pay any income taxes for three years in a row,” Malloy said. “And not too many people have a $5 million yacht that’s registered in another country and not too many people I know have a yacht that’s named after a sex slave.


Fanciers of Ingres and Matisse might be willing to cut Foley some slack on the issue.

“The governor is obviously not going for the boat owner’s vote,” Foley said, laughing in that way he has. “And I’m sure not going for the sex slave vote either,” Malloy chimed back.

Foley, who has feigned amazement with the time Malloy has spent this election spouting opposition research on Foley’s companies, bankruptcies and strikes, then commenced to recall how Malloy’s 28-footer sat in a boatyard, unused for years, until he paid accumulated fees before the 2010 election.

“But at least I pay my bills,” Foley replied.

“Listen Odalisque is ah….I’m a great enjoyer of the arts and culture and Odalisque are the names of many great paintings…so it was named for that. I think it’s a very nice name and boats usually have a female name associated with them…Odalisque really means a beautiful woman or a beautiful thing in the art world. It doesn’t mean a sex slave.”

“You have a daughter,” Malloy asked. “Do you really think its appropriate to have a boat named after a sex slave?”