3/27/10: Go Green! Save the Endorsement press releases!

With all the press releases currently flying regarding endorsements for candidates running for ANY office in CT, I want to remind our supporters that our campaign has not focused on these political endorsements. Rather than beg these insiders to help us create another press release, I have instead continued to walk the streets and ask for the support of the average citizen in the 5th district! At my announcement last November and every day since, I have believed that the voters of the 5th district, and not a few hundred insiders should decide who will be our nominee facing Chris Murphy in November. I appreciate the people who make up our town committees and are the backbone of our party, but most of us know the delegate selection process in many towns leaves a lot to be desired. Add that to the number of ‘Super Delegates’ who make up the insiders of our party, and it is easy to see why people who use ‘common sense’ tell me that they do not like the current system!

Many people have told me they think that an endorsement from a town committee binds those delegates to support THEIR candidate at the convention. The truth is that these delegates can vote for anybody they decide to, which I feel further leads average people to question the system. If your town committee endorses candidate A, yet the delegate votes for candidate B at the convention, doesn’t it beg the question of why? I realize that many people like the convention system because it reminds us of the ‘old days’ and the fun that these smoke-filled, horse trading, and back slapping events provided.

However, in our current political climate where 50% of the population always seems to be for or against everything and questions every move of both parties, I believe we need to make our endorsement of candidates more than just a collection of connected party insiders endorsing their friends and colleagues. We should open up the process, and dare I say it, let the ‘common folks’ tell us who they prefer. This ‘new’ process may go a long way in gaining their trust and ultimately choosing the candidate most in line with their beliefs and not the well connected. I believe that the current system is the same one that gave us Presidents Bob Dole and John McCain!

Bill Evans
BillEvansForCongress.com