Our Dem governor EMBRACED Obama and liberal policies and WON re-election!

[CTyankee]

As national Democrats focus on revamping their strategy for future elections, they are looking to Connecticut Gov Dannel P Malloy, who won while many candidates in his party lost on Election Day.

Heading into the campaign season this year, Malloy's unfavorability ratings were so high that pollsters questioned whether he could pull off re-election. Political opponents put a target on the governor's back early in the year, identifying him as one of the country's most vulnerable incumbents.

But in a Republican surge year, Malloy managed a victory, embracing an Obama-style populism from which other Democratic candidates shied away. While others in the party distanced themselves from an unpopular second-term president, Malloy stood side-by-side with President Barack Obama in the weekend before the election.

A progressive liberal who in the past four years has advanced policies popular among Democrats, Malloy used his first-term record to shape his re-election message, pointing to legislation he signed to expand gun control, to raise the minimum hourly wage, and to require that businesses offer paid sick time.

See full analysis here: http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-malloy-connecticut-democrat-20141116-story.html#page=1

This is wonderful. Right before election day polls were in a dead heat 43% to 43%. The cities, essentially and especially my own New Haven, in addition to Hartford and Bridgeport, had a fabulous GOTV operation starting a year ago and that pulled it out for Malloy. I canvassed my neighborhood and phone banked as did my husband. We were truly worried.

Yes, I know, CT is a blue state, but governors of other blue states where Obama was not embraced lost out to Republicans (the article discusses this). Perhaps if they had done what Malloy did we wouldn't have lost there.

And yes, I know Foley was a terrible candidate. But Malloy hit him hard on income taxes (Foley paid none in the past year) while running photos of Foley's yacht (with the unfortunate name of "Odalisque", meaning concubine) and Greenwich mansion. Plus his Romney like actions of taking over companies and driving them into foreclosure.

[mucifer]

1. Ours did that here in Illinois and lost against a vulture capitalist

That said Governor Quinn was always very unpopular. It's sad what we are gonna have to deal with for the next few years at least.

[CTyankee]

2. I don't know about Quinn but did he get good stuff passed thru the state lege?

Malloy got gun control, a state minimum wage and paid sick leave through. These are all popular measures with the electorate. Foley had the effing nerve to say that he would allow the state lege to overturn Malloy's gun control laws --- right, because the Newtown slaughter was such a trivial event ...

[hfojvt]

3. silly to NOT embrace Obama - in a blue state

But others were being castigated for running away from him - in red states.

[VanillaRhapsody]

26. and they deserve it...

[m-lekktor]

4. he just barely won though, Foley was slightly ahead the whole night

until the end. I kept refreshing the page that was showing the Ct gov race results like a fool and biting my nails! lol

[CTyankee]

9. Foley was ahead before the 3 big cities were counted and that took time.

We need a better system to count votes.

Also, do not discount the fact that many working people waited until after work to vote, so there was a reason for the disconnect.

For some reason, Malloy is unpopular here. I don't get it. I saw him in person and thought he was just fine.

The fact remains that Malloy won by a greater margin this year than 4 years ago. So if anything, he got more popular or Foley was less popular (he also sleep walked thru the campaign). He looked uninterested in getting the job. Geez, what a candidate...

[demwing]

5. Charley Crist LITERALLY embraced Obama

and still couldn't beat Rick Scott, the most hated Governor in America.

All this anecdotal evidence proves nothing.

[CTyankee]

10. But the fact remains that Malloy didn't hide from Obama.

He also had some good accomplishments, ones that people liked. Once he reminded them of that and they looked at Foley seeming to be half asleep, I think that got results for Malloy. Also, the repub. party in CT didn't do what the Dem party did, which was organize their asses off in every local area. You shouldn't underestimate the galvanizing effect that can have on a campaign.

[demwing]

13. Ive not underestimated anything

just noting that anecdotal evidence doesn't prove anything

[CTyankee]

17. Not proving, yes. But you can draw some lessons from other experiences, even tho

no situation is identical and you have to be careful in the conclusions that you draw.

[magical thyme]

6. ours did that here in Maine, and with 60% turnout we're still stuck with the Teapartier LePage

All of the spending proposals on the ballot passed. My dem rep, Chellie Pingree, won in a landslide. Even my red village replaced our GOP state house rep with an Indie former Dem rep.

But I think LePage outspent Michaud by about 3 or 4:1, based on the ads and signs

[CTyankee]

11. What was LePage's opposition like? Was he/she a bad candidate?

[magical thyme]

34. Michaud is a conservative democrat who has managed to win in the red, rural areas

of the state as a house rep. His messaging was very left in an attempt to win the hard left. That was a mistake, imo. Most hard left, as well as center left as well as conservaleft as well as middle of the road sane and moderate repubs would have liked to be rid of LePage. But Michaud's message didn't match his record, and he would have been better off sticking with his moderate, middle-of the road views that kept him in office in the red regions. The left wasn't going anywhere.

Cutler is a former Dem turned Indie who did very well the last time around. Frankly, if the Dem candidate in 2010 had bowed out (she was running at 20% in the final weeks), we would have had a left-leaning Indie gov for the last 4 years instead of the teapartier. This time, Cutler ran a poor 2nd and 1-2 weeks before the election, told his supporters to vote their consciences since he clearly couldn't win at 13%.

Mostly I think Michaud simply was outspent. As I wrote above, in the common areas there were 3-4 LePage signs and a couple Cutlers for every Michaud. Same with the radio ads.

And LePage used the first suspicious Ebola patient as an opportunity to look sane and on top of things in the press. And the used nurse Hickox to to gin up the irrational fear factor.

[Doctor_J]

31. Stop lying down in front of the bandwagon. You're spoiling a perfectly good vanity thread

I am still wondering what the 33rd clone of this same meme has to do with the thrashing the party took. Would we have held any of the seats we lost if Obama had campaigned in KY or GA or AR or IA or NC? If not, why do these threads keep appearing?

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Our Dem gubenatorial candidate here in PA booted the GOP incumbent

making history by denying re-election to a 1st-term governor for the first time since 2-terms were permitted here in PA.

[CTyankee]

12. excellent. How did that come about?

[BumRushDaShow]

19. Well

It helped that our candidate has a deep pocket, has a long history in the Pennsyltucky area (York in central PA, where a mountain is named for his family), that he has multiple degrees (including Dartmouth & MIT), that his family owns the largest American-made cabinet company in the U.S. (he had sold his share, the place almost went bankrupt, and he bought it back and made it profitable again - and although the workers are currently un-unionized, they are paid a livable wage and Wolf got alot of local union endorsements), he served in the Peace Corps, and he drives a Jeep. He seemed almost to be the embodiment of the modern left-leaning "populist". He didn't dwell on social wedge issues but aimed at what was bothering people in PA - Corbett's massive education funding cuts and refusal to tax his Marcellus Shale buddies.

According to this, he's putting his stake in the company in a blind trust, will not take a salary as governor, and will not be living in the governor's mansion.... plus that article lists some interesting reforms that he wants to put in place including ethics reforms, campaign finance reform, and redistricting (if we can get him a 2nd term, he would be in during the next census).

[CTyankee]

20. what a great person! It must be inspiring to have him...you are lucky...

hope it all works out well!

[BumRushDaShow]

21. We are all hoping

although we know he has to deal with a GOP-majority state legislature (both chambers)... However that legislature did actually thwart some of what Corbett had wanted too including privatizing some state functions (state lottery and state liquor stores for example). Wolf has got his work cut out for him but if he can keep the Kochs out and torpedo any leftover ALEC crap, then maybe something can get done. One of the first orders of business that he is working on is getting the full Medicaid expansion in here by somehow by finding ways to get rid of or at least transition out of the half-assed "modified expansion" plan that Corbett put in place just before the election.

[CTyankee]

22. Oh, god, I hope you get the Medicaid expansion...what a sin and crime not to have that for your

own people! What is the matter with these guys?

[BumRushDaShow]

23. I hope so too

I just found an article published today mentioning the strategy that they are looking at -

[font size ="3"]Expanding Medicaid in Pa. faces an immediate hurdle: when?[/font]
Written by Ben Allen, General Assignment Reporter | Nov 17, 2014 3:18 AM

(Harrisburg) --Governor-elect Tom Wolf has long indicated he'll expand Medicaid coverage as soon as he can, but federal rules could restrict how quickly he can make a change. It all comes down to interpretation of a waiver the outgoing Corbett administration received for its Healthy Pennsylvania plan. Health coverage for up to 600,000 low-income Pennsylvanians is set to start January 1st as part of that initiative.

The waiver requires the state to hold a public comment period, and notify the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, before suspending or ending the Healthy Pennsylvania program if doing so terminates health coverage. Katie McGinty, Governor-elect Tom Wolf's incoming Chief of Staff, says the waiver shouldn't apply because no one would lose coverage with the Medicaid expansion.

"But our expectation is since we have been in conversation with federal authorities, since they fully understand and appreciate the direction in which Governor Wolf is going to go, we think we would be able to work in expeditious fashion with them," she says. McGinty wants the Corbett administration to allow outright Medicaid expansion starting January 1st - before Tom Wolf even takes office.

More: http://www.witf.org/news/2014/11/expanding-medicaid-faces-an-immediate-hurdle-when.php

[CTyankee]

24. I hope this happens. All those people...

[shebornik]

8. that's the nice thing about california

Jerry Brown didn't even have to waste any money or time on a campaign to win. I don't think the republican wasted any money either.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. Governor Kitzhaber won in Oregon by good margins as well. As did Senator Merkley

and so forth....

[0rganism]

15. True, but the Oregon GOP is a shambles

Just look at who the GOP chair is (Art Robinson, R-Urine). Sometimes i'm surprised they win anything.

[LyndaG]

16. I was proud of our state, too.

Everybody I voted for won. Jim Hines' election was closer than expected. I don't think he spent much money - I never saw any tv ads.

Didn't Foley's ex-wife call 911 on him multiple times, once for trying to run her and their son off the road with his car? What a guy!

[CTyankee]

18. Was that Foley? I think I remember that being somebody's dirty linen...what a creep he is!

[Cha]

25. I posted on this yesterday.. Mahalo, CTyankee

Dan Malloy who had the President and the FL campaign with him and he thanked them in his Victory Speech.

BRIDGEPORT -- Allies to the end on issues such as gun control and the minimum wage, President Barack Obama helped Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy make his last stand Sunday in Connecticut's most populous city.

Given the rock star treatment by 1,900 people during a rally at Central High School in Bridgeport, where he entered to raucous applause and the U2 song "City of Blinding Lights," Obama said the first-term incumbent has been a loyal friend of his administration who can be counted on to stand up for the middle class.

MOre..
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Obama-rallies-crowd-for-Malloy-in-Bridgeport-5865142.php

Malloy didn't run away from ACA or Minimum wage, either.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5826633

[bigwillq]

27. K and R

[vi5]

28. "Obama style populism"

Oh fucking brother. Is that the new talking point?

[doc03]

29. Our Republican governor ran on the Obama economic recovery and

got 64% of the vote. Ohio

[baldguy]

30. But how could that be? The "progressives" on DU keep telling me that Obama's not a *real* liberal

Or a *real* Democrat, for that matter. And the only people who won were those who ran away from Obama's "3rd way RW corporatist crypto Republican" policies.



Maybe the "progressives" claiming that aren't really progressives? Hmmm?

[Doctor_J]

32. Can you show me a post where a DUer said that CT would turn red?

Thanks in advance.

[baldguy]

33. No, but that puts the lie to the phoney "progressives" whole stance.

Obama's not a "3rd way RW corporatist crypto Republican" and never has been.

[cali]

35. I can't recall seeing a single post here saying what you claim

your penchant for making stuff up out of whole cloth is distasteful- to say the least. furthermore, in blue states like CT and VT, where the dem guvs did embrace Obama, the margins were frighteningly close.