CAPITOL WATCH

Virginia Refuses to Overlook Dodd Goof

     Ballot Access News reports that Virginia has denied an appeal by Chris Dodd's presidential campaign, keeping him off that state's primary ballot.

     The Dodd campaign filed its petitions at Richmond city hall, not the elections board. The Dodd campaign argued that they should be allowed, since they were gathered in the allotted time.

     This will be irrelevant, of course, unless Dodd scores in Iowa.

     -- Mark Pazniokas

    

Merry Christmas

     We're laying low until the New Year.

     I'm heading to Des Moines on the 1st to watch Chris Dodd either fold his tent or celebrate a better than expected finish in the Iowa caucuses.

     If you are looking for something to do this week, the Red Cross would love a little of your time -- and a pint of your blood. They are giving away nifty shirts.

     Peace.

     -- Mark Pazniokas

Dodd Campaign Goofs In Virginia

     Ballot Access says Chris Dodd's presidential campaign screwed up in Virginia, filing its paperwork with the wrong office, jeopardizing its access to the primary ballot.

     Update: The Dodd campaign says, "As Sen. Dodd has met all the signature requirements to be on the ballot, we are working with state officials to rectify the situation.”

     -- Mark Pazniokas

Marty Looney: Heisman Trophy Expert

As a state legislator for the past 27 years, an attorney, a teacher, and the current state Senate majority leader, Martin Looney has plenty of accomplishments.

But one of his little-known talents is that he has memorized all 73 winners of the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's top player in college football. Looney picked up this talent as a young lad, and he adds to the list each year when the trophy is awarded in December.

Looney's aides have heard many times that Jay Berwanger of the University of Chicago was the first Heisman winner in 1935. Off the top of his head, he says that Larry Kelley and Clint Frank won the award two years in a row for Yale - back when Yale was a football powerhouse in 1936 and 1937.

Looney also volunteers that no player from Alabama has ever won the trophy, including quarterback Joe Namath.

"He lost to John Huarte of Notre Dame in 1964,'' Looney told Capitol Watch in the LOB cafeteria.

Sen. Chris Dodd's Ad on Limbaugh's Radio Show in Iowa

The fans of Chris Dodd and the fans of Rush Limbaugh are not normally on the same page.

So some thought it seemed odd that one of Dodd's radio advertisements in Iowa is running on Limbaugh's nationally syndicated show that often attracts a highly conservative audience.

Longtime Connecticut political operative David Boomer, who was driving across the fruited plain on the way to his next-door home state of Nebraska for the Christmas break, described Dodd's commercial as "a very good ad running on talk radio stations in which a Democratic state legislator, who was also on active duty in Iraq, endorses him.''

But Boomer, a staunch Republican with longtime party credentials, wonders how many hard-core Democrats in Iowa would actually be listening to Limbaugh's show. For the record, candidates Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are all broadcasting ads in Iowa on Limbaugh's program.

--Christopher Keating

Jodi Rell And A 'Sexist' Rumor

     Psst, hear the rumor?

     You know, the one about Gov. M. Jodi Rell resigning to take care of her ailing 67-year-old husband, Lou. Or the alternate version: She'll quit with a year left in office to set up her lieutenant governor, Michael C. Fedele, as the GOP nominee in 2010.

   Either way, such a gesture would be pretty damn nurturing of her, no? You might call it evidence of a deep maternal instinct. Womanly.

    Rell calls it sexist.

    In an interview in her office this week, Rell put on the record something she had told me off the record weeks ago when I first asked her about the rumor that had popped up with increasing frequency for months.

     Not only was the rumor baseless, Rell said, it would be instantly laughable -- if told about a man.

     "Would you ever, ever ask a man, if he were governor, 'Are you going to stay home and take care of your wife?' " she said.

Pat Scully Signs With Sullivan & LeShane

     Patrick Scully, the former communication director for the Senate Democrats, has joined the public-relations subsidiary of the prominent Hartford lobbying firm, Sullivan & LeShane.

     Scully, who occasionally has been subbing for Colin McEnroe on WTIC-AM since leaving the Senate Dems, is starting immediately, the firm announced today.

     He was hired by the Senate when Kevin Sullivan was Senate president pro tem. Scully didn't mesh with the new office crew brough in by Sullivan's successor, Donald E. Williams Jr.

     Scully worked in radio before coming to Hartford. He also was the national spokesman for the non-profit Catholic League, a gig that allowed him to exercise his vocal chords on shows like Crossfire, Hardball and The O'Reilly Factor.    

     -- Mark Pazniokas

Rell Opposes Ice Missiles

Gov. Jodi Rell came out Wednesday against ice missiles - the kind that fly off your roof and hood as you are speeding down the highway.

"We have all seen snow and ice fly off from car and truck roofs while on the highway,'' Rell said in a statement. "These ice missiles are hazards that can break windshields and cause accidents.''

The state has a "failure to secure a load'' law that allows police to issue citations to anyone who fails to secure a load.

"This is more than a pet peeve for many Connecticut residents. It is a significant safety hazard, and it is entirely preventable,'' Rell said. "The bottom line is that it is each driver's responsibility to clear snow and ice from his or her vehicle.''

Numerous complaints about the ice missiles have arrived at Rell's office, which noted that a truck was disabled in New Haven on Interstate 91 Tuesday after ice slid off its roof and damaged the truck's air brakes.

--Christopher Keating

Blogs Beat Drum for Dodd -- for Majority Leader

     Christopher J. Dodd has not indicated a willingness to take on Harry Reid for majority leader, but that isn't stopping bloggers from pushing Dodd as the next majority leader -- or vice president.

     His successful filibuster against granting telecom companies immunity for handing the Bush administration phone records without a warrant has whet the appetite of liberal bloggers for an edgier majority leader.

     Dodd's presidential campaign spokeswoman says the senator is focusing on running for president just now, but thanks for asking.

     The Nation, in a sympathetic piece, calls the majority-leader push condescending and questions why Dodd's presidential campaign isn't getting more love among the Netroots types.

     -- Mark Pazniokas

Lieberman, McCain Reaction in Aisle 3

     Bill Clinton says Joe Lieberman's endorsement of John McCain is hardly a surprise.

     He commented while dropping in on a supermarket with Hillary and Magic Johnson in Des Moines, where you can't buy a loaf of bread without being accosted by a presidential candidate, a former president and an ex-NBA star.

     -- Mark Pazniokas