I’ve written a number of posts about the New London Day’s columnist, Dave Collins. Dave, despite the cynical tone of so many of his columns, is, it turns out, a fairly naive guy. He decided that any Republican who refused to renounce Donald Trump was beyond the pale. I think he actually thought that the local Republicans would pass the test. So far, not a one of them has passed, though some have failed to turn in their little blue books.
Poor Dave has already had to read Heather Somers and John Scott out of the ranks of the respectable. That must have hurt, but nowhere near as much as the latest. Last week Republican State Senator Paul Formica failed the test. Dave may be working on his column as I write this, and I’m sure it’s breaking his heart.
Dave in particular, and the New London Day in general, has been deep deep deep in the tank for Formica ever since he declared for the Waterford-New London senate seat in 2014. Dave couldn’t disparage Formica’s opponent or distort her record enough. When she (Betsy Ritter) was appointed Commissioner on Aging after her loss, Dave railed against the appointment, even while conceding that she was qualified for the post. The Day itself ignored the fact that Formica was totally unaware of the contents of a very important ballot question (which would have allowed the legislature to liberalize our antiquated voting laws) and was, in fact, generally pretty much of a dunderhead. But then, he’s a Republican.
If there’s a single Republican candidate in the area who could risk passing the Trump test, it has to be Formica. He’s pretty popular, because he runs a seafood restaurant. Yes, you read that right.
It’s entirely possible that Formica doesn’t even recognize the danger Trump poses to the Republic, but if that’s the case, he’s far too dumb to be in the state Senate. Most likely he does, but feels that danger is worth risking if the alternative is his own electoral defeat, even though there’s not much chance of that.
Anyway, I almost feel sorry for Dave. But I don’t.
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