Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal
Photo by Steve Kotchko
Posted 10/19/09
Last week, Democratic State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal held three news conferences, including one on Columbus Day—a holiday for state employees. Virtually no one was in Blumenthal’s state office building that day, but reporters and TV crews showed up, and that was all that mattered to the publicity-conscious AG.
Indeed, Blumenthal’s odd scheduling was smart strategy. Since nothing else were going on in state government that day, it became a light news day, and his event was a blessing to TV news directors searching for material to fill out the nightly newsblocks.
The topics of last week’s Blumenthal events were all over the board: an official opinion on legal processing fees charged by state marshals, an official report on the 2007 theft of a State Department of Revenue Services laptop that contained confidential taxpayer data, and a consumer warning about the “Smart Choices” food product labeling program.
Beyond his official duties, Blumenthal is noted for his seemingly indefatigable scheduling behavior. He often crisscrosses the state at night and on weekends showing up at a host of civic and political events from tractor parades, to Democratic fundraisers, to the funerals of fallen soldiers.
Blumenthal seems to be everywhere, so when he doesn’t show up, reporters and other observers get rattled. On Oct. 5th, Democratic Vice President Joe Biden came to Connecticut to hype the Obama administration’s economic stimulus effort. The Veep appeared at an outdoor event in Fairfield.
Reporters watched as several Democratic officials including Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz and State Comptroller Nancy Wyman went through the Secret Service metal detectors. One journalist asked another: “Where’s Blumenthal?” In a mocking fashion, the other reporter replied: “Knowing Dick, he’s probably in the official motorcade.”
That was a joke, but minutes later, when the Biden motorcade arrived, and the official party strode up the sidewalk, there was Blumenthal. He later explained that he’s close to Biden and his son, “Beau”, Delaware’s attorney general. Biden even acknowledged Blumenthal during his official remarks.
Republicans frequently castigate Blumenthal as a relentless showboater who files lawsuits and hold press conferences but has poor follow-through, or as they say in Texas “all hat, no cattle.”
Blumenthal, who’s been attorney general since 1991, claims he loves his job and enjoys working to protect consumers and the interests of the State of Connecticut. Last month, he successfully wound up legal action against drug maker Eli Lilly and Company for allegedly deceptive marketing practices. The settlement brought a $25 million payment from Pfizer that was directed to the state general fund at a time state officials were searching for money to ease the deficit.
Politicos and reporters can laugh at Blumenthal’s constant quest for press, but the strategy has worked well for him over the years. In the last Quinnipiac University statewide poll, job approval ratings for Republican Gov. Jodi Rell and the Democrat-controlled legislature took a nosedive. In that same survey Blumenthal’s job approval remained at an incredibly high 78%. In the 2006 elections, Blumenthal logged a higher number of votes and a stronger winning plurality than Rell.
However, critics claim Blumenthal has a “chicken streak”, and is averse to using his popularity in a contest that’s not a sure shot win, such as the gubernatorial race. Blumenthal eyed the governor’s office for years, but each time the gubernatorial election cycle comes around, he hems and haws, and eventually opts to run for reelection as AG instead.
Perhaps that’s because his true political desire is to be U.S. Senator from Connecticut. When Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd’s image became badly tarnished by various personal and professional controversies, there was some speculation Dodd might retire, and that had to catch the AG’s attention.
Right now it appears Dodd is committed to his 2010 gubernatorial campaign. If Dodd ever decides to call it quits, Blumenthal would surely seek his seat. All those Republican Senate hopefuls now in the field would probably cry. Their battered target, Dodd, would be replaced by consumer crusader Blumenthal and his stratospheric job approval ratings.
A more interesting scenario looms down the road in 2012. Independent Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman will face reelection. If the 67-year old Lieberman seeks another term, will he ask for the Democratic nomination, or run as an independent as he did successfully in 2006? If Democrats want someone else as their candidate, would Blumenthal be willing to run, or would that be too dicey for the popular pol whose critics view as being risk averse?