Written by Joe Tetreault | 04 January 2010

With the start of 2010, TetreaultVision will begin looking at the mid-term elections, in particular the senior Senator of my home state, Connecticut.  In 2006, Chris Dodd was busy campaigning against junior Senator Joe Lieberman on the basis that his 18 years in the Senate were enough.  As Connecticut residents have discovered, what applies for you and me is not meaningful to Senator Dodd, and clearly his nearly 30 years in the Senate are not enough as he considers his run for re-election this fall. Dodd's penchant for preferred status is not limited to Senate tenure. His sweetheart mortgages from Countrywide - a company over whom Senator Dodd has theoretical regulatory oversight - in addition to his Irish Cottage - which he consistently low-balled the value of on his ethics disclosures - have illustrated how necessary through and incessant oversight of our Senators is. These Doddering Old Fool Updates will seek to do just that.

Senator Dodd has topped an important year end top 25 list. And no it's not a good list to be on if you are an incumbent Senator entering an election cycle when the mood of the electorate is at best angry and at worst chomping at the bit to throw the rascals out. NBC Connecticut 30, echoing the New York Times, points out the potential escape hatch for Senator Dodd.

The race is so tough that some Democrats have discussed – in private anyway – the possibility of Dodd stepping away and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal stepping into the race

[...]

To date, that has not happened, so Democrats are putting their hopes in a contentious and expensive Republican primary to take the heat off Dodd, the Times reports.

Seems the Democrats are pinning their hopes purely on what might best be described as wishful thinking. Dodd has enjoyed a structural advantage in Connecticut, built on years of service by both himself and his father before him.

Like Father, Like Son

Thomas Dodd was a Connecticut Senator between 1959 and 1971, serving two terms before being censured and subsequently defeated in 1970. The act that prompted his censure was an ethics scandal.Connecticut voters have begun to register their dismay with Dodd's action that enrich himself and show him as a bought representative.

In addition to taking money from companies he oversees, he also has turned a blind eye to the epic failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal government's enfants terrible, whose insolvency should be the top priority of the Senate Banking Committee, which Dodd chairs. (Hint: it's not)

In spite of this spotty record, and the appearance of impropriety - an appearance that rather than refuting, Senator Dodd has allowed to persist, when he and he alone could release the documents that would exonerate him of the swirling ethical charges - a program Associate with the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG) has written to The Day of New London to defend the Senator on the take.

As the article titled "Senate OKs health care measure, reaching milestone," published Dec. 24, notes, on the eve of this Christmas Sen. Chris Dodd helped pass comprehensive health care reform. Connecticut residents could not have received a better holiday gift.

Jenn Hatch of West Hartford sounds positively glowing about the accomplishments of Senator Dodd. But if the bill passed by the Senate on Christmas Eve was in the public interest, would the unseemly $100 million subsidy to fund the construction of a medical center need to be written into the law, by Dodd himself. ConnPirg's mission statement reads:

ConnPIRG is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, ConnPIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight to end them, using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation. ConnPIRG's mission is to deliver persistent, result-oriented public interest activism that protects consumers, encourages a fair, sustainable economy, and fosters responsive, democratic government.

It's hard to fathom how Dodd's fealty to his benefactors, like Countrywide don't uniquely disqualify him from the support of ConnPIRG. What's to say that pharmaceutical or insurance interests, who have significant presences in Connecticut, won't decide to buy off Senator Dodd in the future to ensure that future legislation affecting their industries are favorable, like Countrywide did?

The answer is absolutely nothing. When Congress is for sale, restricting the scope of their power is essential to ensure that the so-called special interests cannot run roughshod over the rights of citizens. If ConnPIRG was really interested in advocating for the public interest and protecting the voices of ordinary citizens from being drowned out by special interest lobbyists they'd stay as far away from Dodd as possible. He may support you today, but that's because somebody else hasn't met his price, yet.

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