We just returned from Drinking Liberally. I'm happy to report that turnout was up (misery loves company), and so were spirits. After all, if we don't find a way to blow it, 2016 should be our year.
But I must comment on a phenomenon that we observed here, though it was obviously not so pronounced elsewhere in the state. We lost a number of state legislative races. Previously Southeastern Connecticut was solid blue; we are now half red. Each loss had its own story, but I think there was a common thread in each.
My own feeling, and I've heard the same analysis from others, is that Dan Malloy did some of the Democrats in, but in a rather strange way. For example: Malloy won every district in Groton.
Okay, we interrupt this train of thought to digress. For us Groton Democrats this was a delicious thing, as it was a fairly good indication that Heather Bond had no business being on a state wide ticket, inasmuch as she couldn't deliver a single district in her own home town. In off years Groton is by no means solid blue. If Heather had any home town pull, then Foley should have swept the town. Hopefully, this means we have seen the last of Heather, Connecticut's answer to Sarah Palin (the main difference being that Heather is more all about Heather than Sarah is all about Sarah).
Okay, back on the train we go. As I said, Malloy won every district, but the incumbent Democratic state legislative candidates lost every district but one. That seems counterintuitive, given Malloy's unpopularity. My take is that a number of voters concluded that, while they disliked Malloy intensely, they loathed Foley even more; so their thinking went roughly like this: Okay, I'll vote for Malloy, but I'm not voting for any more fucking Democrats. Folks like Lisa Wright and Betsy Ritter lost because Dan Malloy won. Had the Republican alternative been more acceptable, one or both of them would likely have won.
So that's my take on things at the local level. Nationally, I think there was a different dynamic, and I'll get to that when I have a few minutes to put my thoughts together.
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