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Christmas Came Early for Republicans
By Martin Gregor, Barkhamsted
Christmas came early for Republicans this year as November 5 saw them take majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, while in Connecticut they won the governor's seat and most Congressional races. A monumental night it was indeed. Heck, Phil Steele even took a couple of towns.
For political junkies, election night often means being married to the television into the wee hours of the morning. For campaign workers, election night is the culmination of months of work. The phone calls to potential voters, statewide meetings, distributing campaign literature, knocking on doors, campaign events, fundraisers, lawn signs, mailers and "boiler rooms" all hopefully translate into victory for the candidate and the political philosophy you happen to espouse.
I had the opportunity to be involved in the Rowland campaign during this election cycle. That Governor Rowland won re-election to a third term by roughly 12 percentage points, in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 220,000 registered voters, was noteworthy but not entirely unexpected, given the quality of his opponent and his opponent's inability to muster enough support from the "O'Neill Democrat" wing within his party.
Nevertheless, Tuesday, November 5 was ample cause for celebration. I joined a few others from Barkhamsted in attending Governor Rowland's victory celebration, albeit late, in downtown Hartford. The crowd was hoping for some red meat to be thrown their way, but Rowland struck a subdued, bipartisan tone amid his thank you's and jokes. The merriment persisted after John's speech, as the band played and people danced.
Gentlemen in their 20s shouted above the blaring music about which bars to patronize after the event. We sampled hors d'oeuvres but didn't imbibe; $5 per beer is a bit steep for Barkhamsted's delegation. I chatted with some old acquaintances and then bumped into Christina, a young woman from Litchfield and John's campaign coordinator in the First District. We gave each other a big hug and said, "Thank you for everything!" As the Governor was waiting to give a private interview for each of the eight or so TV cameras, I offered my hand along with an enthusiastic "Congratulations, John!" Shaking hands, I received a genuine smile and a "Thank you." My efforts have been rewarded. Up close I sensed that he was quite tired, as every candidate should be on election night.
The party shifted gears as election returns were viewed on TV. Euphoria and disbelief set in, as state after state elected Republicans. At one point, a TV network mistakenly put Bill Simon ahead of Gray Davis in California; this announcement drove one of the revelers over the edge, as she reacted wildly and hurt her back falling onto a table.
On our way out we complimented Jodi Rell and then ran into Martha Dean in the lobby. She introduced us to her parents. Martha was smiling, but I can tell her heart was broken, as her race wasn't even close.
For the trip home, I inherited the rear seat of a mini-van. We rode over Avon Mountain in a driving rain. The driver's reactions were a little abrupt; he had been working the polls since 5 a.m., and I was somewhat concerned. Thinking about how it had been a long couple of months of work, I started to nod—but all of a sudden I was startled by the frantic, shrill voice of some old lady screaming at the top of her lungs on WTIC-AM radio. She sounded hoarse. A mental image of another shooting in Hartford, with camera crews on the scene, crossed my mind. A few moments later, I realized it was Nancy celebrating victory at her campaign headquarters in Plainville. Nancy Johnson was involved in a very competitive race this time with Jim Maloney. The Maloney camp was accused of attempting to commit voter fraud during the campaign by registering non-existent people in Meriden, but if that happened, it didn't do them much good. Party on, Nancy—I sure wish we could have been there to share it with you.
Arriving home, I learned the rest of my family had long since retired. I turned out the light on my dresser and crawled into bed, my heart enveloped in bliss, knowing it's morning again in America.
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