Them Dems sure know how to lose

Not since the days of Gov. William A. O'Neill has a Democrat crushed the carpet of the governor's office in the state Capitol. That is 18 years ago. The last time a Democrat won an open gubernatorial campaign for governor was when Ella Grasso defeated Robert Steele Jr. in 1974, 35 years ago.

So why can't the Connecticut Democratic Party, in the bluest of blue states, win gubernatorial campaigns? The answer, the liberals took over.

O'Neill was one of the last protégés of former state and national Democratic Chairman John M. Bailey. John Bailey's leadership laid the foundation for the modern Connecticut Democratic Party, a party that took political control from blue-blood Yankee Republicans and gave it to a culturally and ethically diverse Democratic Party.

Since O'Neill left office the Democratic Party in Connecticut has drifted to the far left. In today's Connecticut Democratic Party, Boss Bailey wouldn't and couldn't be elected chairman.

In 1990 the party that John Bailey built began to disappear. In its place the Connecticut Democratic Party created a black hole of liberal orthodoxy that has perfected how to lose the governor's race. The nominee for the Democratic Party in 1990 was Congressman Bruce Morrison. Even with overwhelming Democratic Party registration Morrison, a proud progressive, garnered only 20 percent of the vote. He came in third. In second place, with 38 percent, was the Republican candidate John Rowland. A Connecticut Party candidate Lowell P. Weicker Jr., a former Republican turned independent, won with 40 percent of the vote.

In 1994 Weicker, despised by many for pushing the income tax through the General Assembly, declined to run for re-election. Then-state Sen. John Larson won the Democratic nomination at the party's convention. Larson, dubbed too moderate and close to the insurance industry, was defeated in the primary by the liberal candidate Bill Curry. Rowland ended up winning a four-way race.

Rowland then won re-election twice by overwhelming numbers against Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly (John Bailey's daughter) in 1998 and again to Curry in 2002. In 2004 John Rowland's departure to federal prison placed Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell in the governor's chair.

Glimmer of hope flickered briefly

In 2006, with Rowland banished, the Democratic Party felt it had a chance. Nationally the Republican brand was tarnished and Rell, despite high poll numbers, seemed vulnerable. At the 2006 Democratic convention Stamford Mayor Stamford Dannel Malloy, a moderate with a pro-business record, won the nomination.

Once again the liberal wing of the Connecticut Democratic Party rebelled, tossing its support behind New Haven Mayor John DeStefano. After winning the August primary over Malloy, DeStefano dutifully went on to lose to Rell, getting just 35.5 percent.

As the Connecticut Democrats were losing the gubernatorial campaign the national Democratic Party was sweeping away Republicans across the country and winning back the U.S. House and Senate.

In the clearest rejection of this liberal orthodoxy that runs every aspect of the Connecticut Democratic Party, Ned Lamont, the darling of MoveOn.org and the Connecticut liberal blogosphere, won the Democratic primary but lost the general election to "Independent Democrat" Sen. Joe Lieberman.

If the Democratic Party in Connecticut - with a candidate such as Lamont who was well-funded and had national support - couldn't defeat a George Bush ally like Lieberman, it might be time for the liberal cabal to realize the voters of Connecticut, (to use an old salesman adage), "ain't picking up what your puttin' down."

To win in 2010 the Connecticut Democratic Party will need to be brave enough to put forth a candidate who is willing to be honest with the voters and admit we must reduce the size of state government, raise taxes and become aggressive about creating a more pro-business environment.

If not, the past will be a prologue and the Connecticut Democratic Party will once again get a black eye in a very blue state.

Ben Davol is a veteran of numerous local, state and federal political campaigns. Once a Republican organizer, he is now registered as unaffiliated.