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Sunday’s WFSB  debate among the five candidates for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate found the state’s five Catholic bishops more vexed than the candidates. The morning encounter featured the contenders in an early round setting forth some confusing views on abortion, contraception, health insurance, and the First Amendment. The two contenders headed for a primary showdown in August, United States Representative Christopher Murphy and former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, staying that the Roman Catholic church and other religious organizations should have to cover contraception and abortion services in their health insurance plans for employees. The clash between health insurance and religious tenets received little attention. The bishops provided a scathing response that you can read on debate host Dennis House’s blog.

The debate provided proof that Murphy believes he is far ahead of perennial candidate Bysiewicz, who let loose with some howlers during the 60 minute encounter. The Middletown Democrat lost her way on campaign finance. She said she wants to bring the Connecticut taxpayer funded campaign finance program to Washington if she’s in the Senate. Bysiewicz, however, declined to participate in that system during her disastrous bid for attorney general in 2010, the first year it was available for statewide candidates. She wanted nothing to do with it, but she claims now to be a champion of it.

Bysiewicz also said she has stood up to special interests. When she sued herself and lost in 2010, evidence in the case over her qualifications to serve as attorney general revealed she did little other than visit Democratic town committees around the state. Someone in her office, it was never clear who, stayed busy compiling contacts for her political operation. Bysiewicz herself was known to spend hours calling people who had business with her office for political donations.

Murphy, who can be a chameleon, often decries the state of discourse in American politics. He’s part of some dodgy bipartisan group of congressmen. He announced at the start of the debate that Republicans are trying to bring the country to its knees. He sees disagreement at destruction. The third term representative provided a moment of candor. He knows the Republicans have missiles in silos aimed at him, and he’ll fire some at them if he wins his party’s nomination.

Stamford state Representative William Tong added some incongruous moments the debate. One was his cringe-inducing mention of the care his father (that’s right, the one who arrived in the United States with 57 cents) received at St. Francis Hospital as he gave one of the answers that vexed the bishops. Tong bemoaned being 40 years old and still owing college loans. Somehow this is a fault of our system. No mention that he owns a home assessed for tax purposes at more than $500,000. We all make choices–like those $6 gallons of milk he said he purchases in response to a lighting round of questions to test a candidate’s grasp on reality. . Tong may be a trifle out of touch with the experiences of regular folks in Connecticut–or anywhere outside certain tony precincts.

The Republican Senate candidates meet at WFSB this Sunday at 11 a.m. We’ll see who they vex with their answers.

Harwinton First Selectman Michael Criss, a Republican, enjoys serving his town. The intense attention he’s received as a local party leader and delegate to the Fifth Congressional District Republican nominating convention has surprised the 36 year old. He was chagrined to see that Lisa Wilson-Foley claimed him as a supporter when he had not endorsed her. Criss was astonished that the Wilson-Foley campaign continued to claim his support after he endorsed Litchfield Republican Mark Greenberg.

Criss likes Wilson-Foley but “doesn’t believe she is the one to win.” He never endorsed her, does not like her tactics, and is particularly unhappy with her campaign contributions to Democratic U.S. Representative Christopher Murphy in his first two campaigns for Congress. Criss was surprised when former Governor John G. Rowland called him to urge him to endorse Wilson-Foley. Rowland told him to call with any questions about Wilson-Foley. Rowland’s role in the Wilson-Foley campaign continues to prompt interest. The WTIC talk show host is said to grow testy when party leaders resist his push for the Simsbury Republican.

When the Harwinton Republican Town Committee also endorsed Greenberg, the disgraced former governor sent a text message to Criss asking, “What is going on? I hear you have endorsed Mark Greenberg.” He had, though Wilson-Foley continues to name Criss as a supporter.

The five Harwinton delegates and a super delegate are committed to Greenberg.

Former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz raised $361,818.22 in the first quarter of the year for her campaign for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate. Her campaign announced late Friday afternoon that it has cash on hand of $1.050,405.90. While Bysiewicz will have enough money to stay in the race, she will need some breaks in the weeks ahead to close the gap with frontrunner U.S. Representative Christopher Murphy, who has several times more cash on hand to spend in the August primary.

Bysiewicz,who ran unsuccessfully for governor and attorney in her annus horribilus of 2010, ought to sail past the 15% delegate mark she needs to force a primary. She’ll need a marked improvement in fundraising during the spring and early summer if she’s to be anything more than a vanity candidate who has nothing else to do but run for office as a reinvented populist.

William Tong’s campaign for the United States Senate has not broken through to the top tier a month before the Democratic nominating convention begins. The Stamford Democrat chose Friday afternoon on Friday the 13th to announce he had nothing but bad luck in first quarter fundraising.

Tong, serving his third term in the General Assembly, raised only $186,210.48 in the first quarter of the year. His campaign reports having cash on hand of $226,848.58. No word on what’s owed. While Tong has more than the 57 cents he bangs on about his father clutching when he arrived in the United States, it’s not enough to mount a credible primary effort against opponents Christopher Murphy and Susan Bysiewicz. The privately educated Tong was counting on a debate performance breakthrough. It has not happened.

Insiders say Tong is short of the 15% of the delegates he’ll need to qualify for the August primary ballot. If he falls short of that threshold, Tong will have to engage in the expensive and time-consuming task of collecting thousands of signatures from registered Democrats.

Another story on the greedy hands of government and red light camera companies joining to cheat drivers. This time WRAL has the often-told tale of cameras programmed to accuse drivers who have not violated the rules of the road.

People do form strong attachments to their smartphone apps, but this may be the first instance of a candidate losing support over one.  Republican State Central Committeeman Mark Pappa loves the Buddha app so much he attached his support for United States Senate candidate Linda McMahon to it last year. This is not a serene tale.

“Here’s the deal, if Linda wants my SCC [State Central Committee] endorsement, which I really do want to do, I want you to meet with me first on this. That’s the caveat, which I hate to do, but you are really missing something here, and I feel Linda’s chances of winning would be somewhat diminished with out [sic] the product, hence it makes it hard for me to endorse someone who’s [sic] staff is not pursuing every option for her to win!!!!” Pappa wrote in an email to the campaign on October 17, 2011.

Daily Ructions will try to bring some order to a story stuffed with contradictions. According to Pappa, the Buddha social networking app is “being developed.” The app is “great for people who have restraining orders,” though it’s not clear how that would work. Pappa says he has no stake in the app but learned of it through a friend of a friend who’s an investor in it.” How it would change the nature of campaigning in Connecticut was not clear when Pappa spoke of his October emails this morning.

Pappa said today he is “not endorsing anybody but probably won’t be a member of the Republican Party much longer.” He then amended that statement and declared, “I’m a Kie Westby guy. He’s the only conservative in the race.” Pappa, a Newington Republican, wouldn’t say why McMahon is no longer a conservative in his estimation. He supported McMahon in 2010, he also supported Rob Simmons. During the convention roll call, Pappa voted for Simmons. When switches were allowed at the end, Pappa jumped to McMahon in a move that always leaves one side feeling betrayed and the other suspicious.

In his waning days as a Republican, Pappa proposed that the party’s state central committee adopt a rule to require candidates to disclose financial connections to any delegates. The proposal took a drubbing on a recent committee vote. McMahon, however, says she’ll abide by the spirit it. Pappa says the campaign threatened to release the email you’ve read about in this post if he didn’t drop the idea. “I see behind the curtain what it’s all about, and I don’t like it.”

Some wisdom of the Buddha for Pappa as he takes leave of politics: “The secret of happiness lies in the mind’s release from worldly ties.” There’s an app for that.

Former Hartford City Council member and unsuccessful mayoral candidate John Kennelly wants to serve as the chairman of the city’s charter revision commission. Kennelly, who has been dealing with a February arrest for drunk driving, is one of 11 members of the commission.

With Mayor Pedro Segarra mired in contradictions on Hartford’s fiscal policies, this would seem a bad time to add to the tumult that is Kennelly’s constant companion.  Kennelly has contacted other members of the commission seeking votes. Hartford political veteran Bruce Rubenstein has also been making calls to see where members stand. One of those fielding calls is former Republican council member Corey Brinson. He told Daily Ructions that he may make a bid for the chairmanship in an effort to bring peace to the warring factions taking shape on the commission.

The free market in campaign staff hiring taught state Representative Penny Bacchiochi (R-Somers) that it can be tough to shakedown the invisible hand that writes the checks. Bacchiochi tells a convoluted tale of her journey to the Christopher Shays campaign for the United States Senate. The Somers Republican supported Rob Simmons’ in his bitter 2010 loss to Linda McMahon in their 2010 Senate contest.

Bacchiochi worked so hard for Simmons against McMahon that she did not learn much about McMahon. She wanted to learn more about the Greenwich Republican this time, she told Daily Ructions. The best way to do that was with a job on the campaign. Early last fall, Bacchiochi met with Team McMahon in search of a lucrative paying positing. Bacchiochi put together a haphazard, skeletal outline of events (mostly To Be Announced), according to a document seen by Daily Ructions, helpfully informing the McMahon campaign that the 681,113 people who live in the 2nd Congressional District occupy 2,143 square miles. It would have been found wanting by a town council candidate. It’s not hard to see why no offer of employment was forthcoming from the McMahon campaign. Bacchiochi says she didn’t name her price. Others recall Bacchiochi floating a risible $13,000 a month as compensation. After all, there are private school fees to be paid.

Bacchiochi found refuge with Parson Shays and his woeful campaign. That’s curious because Shays has claimed McMahon bought the 2010 convention, which would have meant putting hundreds of delegates in her pay. Shays, as is his custom, is thin on details after he files his buckshot. In this instance, McMahon declined to hire Bacchiochi, who as a legislator is a delegate to the May nominating convention, but Shays has her on his payroll. She hasn’t brought much heft to Shays’ effort. McMahon has been capturing endorsements from 2nd District Republicans that suggest Shays is meeting little success in transferring the remnants of the Simmons campaign to his struggling drive for the nomination.

Republican Senate hopeful Linda McMahon has commenced fire on rival Christopher Shays. Rather than drawing attention to contrasts, McMahon points out in a Maundy Thursday email that Shays shares a similar record with Democratic frontrunner U.S. Representative Christopher Murphy.

The stinging declaration will have Shays bleating and whining in high pitched tones. Unlike Shays, McMahon is no conscientious objector when summoned to battle.

More to follow on the opening day of full engagement.

You can see the release comparing the two Christophers here. We’ll probably be seeing more of this as the Republican nominating convention in May grows near. Team McMahon does know how to find another candidate’s weak spots and exploit them.

Senator Richard Blumenthal reminded a Stamford audience that the mind bogglingly rich often live in another world, especially when they had to spend no time making their fortune. Other people’s names can be a terrible inconvenience to them. The New York Post published an item yesterday on Sergeant Blumenthal botching the name of popular cultural staple, Oscar winner Liza Minnelli at a Stamford event Friday night. She sang the song about her name and he still got it wrong.

Not the first time. Many veterans who served with Blumenthal during his long tenure as attorney general in Connecticut suspected he had no clue what their names were. He proved it during a 2005 Second Circuit argument over the federal government’s proposal to close the Navy’s submarine base in New London, Connecticut. The government’s lead lawyer introduced those assisting him to the court. Blumenthal, making one of those high profile appearances he craves, decided to do the same. Trouble was he know remember their names. Insiders recall that the government’s lawyer later asked Blumenthal if he’d like him to introduce Dick to his own staff.