{news} 1st debate an opportunity for DeStefano

[clifford thornton]

1st debate an opportunity for DeStefano 

Gregory B. Hladky, Capitol Bureau Chief
10/09/2006
<javascript:%20openEmailWindow();>Email to a friend<javascript:%20openEmailWindow();><http://www.nhregister.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1281&dept_id=31007&newsid=17301634>Printer-friendly<http://www.nhregister.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1281&dept_id=31007&newsid=17301634>
Tonight's first gubernatorial debate of 2006 will offer Democrat John DeStefano Jr. his first real opportunity to make up ground against Republican M. Jodi Rell. 


The debate at New London's Garde Arts Center kicks off at 8 p.m. and will be televised statewide on Channel 8, giving DeStefano a chance to stand side-by-side with Rell and convince voters to change their minds about the popular GOP incumbent.

      Advertisement

       <http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/6848-41854-12202-1><http://bannerads.zwire.com/bannerads/redirect.cfm?ADLOCATION=4000&PAG=461&BRD=1281>  
But it won't be easy.

Rell is sitting on a big lead in the polls. She is seen by most voters as the woman who came into office after the Rowland scandals, vowing to clean up Connecticut's "culture of corruption."

Republicans love her, independents think she's great, and she gets more support from Democratic voters than DeStefano does. A grandmother and cancer survivor, Rell has been called everything from "Snow White" to the "Betty Crocker of Connecticut politics."

DeStefano's tricky task will be to attack Rell in a manner that won't offend all those voters who appear to have a genuine affection for her.

In recent weeks, DeStefano's strategy has been to acknowledge that Rell did well handling the "transition" from the corrupt regime of ex-Gov. John G. Rowland, while portraying her as a traditional "do-nothing" Republican.

Experts will tell you that most decisive debates aren't won by the cogent arguments of one or another of the participants, but are rather lost when someone makes an embarrassing mistake. 

Rell has been running her campaign for months in a way that seeks to minimize her chances for error, and that's not likely to change tonight.

As the incumbent, Rell has been using state bond allocations as an excuse to travel around the state to let the local folks know how much state government is doing for their city, town or region. She has stuck to her "Rose Garden" strategy, staying out of the line of fire as much as possible and attempting to portray herself more as a governor than a mere candidate.

Asked last week how she was preparing for the debate, Rell said she was reviewing her administration's accomplishments and "talking to my mirror a lot."

Rell is likely to emphasize all the new money the state is spending to improve mass transit and reduce highway congestion, as well as her efforts to reform state contracting procedures and campaign financing.

DeStefano, meanwhile, will probably be hoping to convince voters that Rell hasn't done anywhere near enough on property tax reform, support for education and insuring universal access to health care.

No matter who wins, loses or draws in today's debate, one person is certain to be dissatisfied.

Green Party candidate Cliff Thornton, who was initially included but later excluded from the New London debate, is planning on staging a protest outside the event.

"The only way to address this grave injustice is to protest and demonstrate, loudly and nonviolently," Thornton said last week. "The Republicans and Democrats have lied to us and trampled on our rights to free speech."

Gregory B. Hladky can be contacted at ghladk at nhregister.com or (860) 524-0719. 
Thornton for Governor
PO Box 1971
Manchester, CT 06045
votethornton at yahoogroups.com<mailto:votethornton at yahoogroups.com>
www.votethornton.com<http://www.votethornton.com/>
860 657 8438-H
860 268 1294-C
860 778 1304-Tim Mckee-Campaign Manager
860 293 0222-Ken Krayeske-field Manager
Paid for by Thornton For Governor
Max H. Wentworth, Treasurer
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20061009/f256dff3/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: email_this_article.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 101 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20061009/f256dff3/attachment.gif>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: printversion.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 101 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist10.pair.net/mailman/private/ctgp-news/attachments/20061009/f256dff3/attachment-0001.gif>