What Was Tom Foley Thinking?

A Saturday post on this site as Republicans were getting ready to select a nominee for lieutenant governor caused a ruction in the proceeding.  Shortly after the post about Tom Foley’s support of Groton Republican Lenny Winkler appeared here, it made its way around the convention.  Delegates were unhappy to learn that Winkler had executed an about-face 19 years ago in her opposition to imposing a state income tax on the working people of Connecticut, providing a crucial vote for its passage.

The Ruction was printed and distributed inside the convention.  Printed materials of an incendiary sort that aren’t approved by convention censors are considered contraband.  This at a political convention that ought to celebrate free speech, not hinder it. Winkler’s support collapsed, and she ended the ballot with a dismal 90 votes.

A reader pointed out that at the height of the anti-income tax fever in 1991, Tom Foley, of Greenwich, gave $175,000 to a political committee to run ads opposing the income tax.  That would be the Tom Foley who was nominated for governor on Saturday morning.  A few hours later, days after saying he would leave it up to the convention to select a candidate for lieutenant governor, he was flogging Lenny Winkler to be his running mate.

The delegates saved Foley from himself.   We’ll keep an eye on who, if anyone, rescues him the next time he makes an unforced error.  No wonder Michael Fedele and Oz Griebel will proceed to an August primary.