Tom Foley, GOP candidate for governor of CT, has conceded the extremely tight race there to his Democratic opponent with the following message to his supporters:
“Once all this information was available to me this morning, [on the circumstances of disputed ballots in Bridgeport] deciding what to do was easy…I have told my team that I am not willing to pursue a legal challenge to exclude photocopied ballots. Despite their irregularity, I believe that they do represent the will of well-intentioned voters, and should be included in the results….
Foley added:
…And this result should not be questioned. I hope my supporters will accept my word on this. As soon as I am done with this press conference, I will call Dan Malloy to congratulate him on winning the election, and wish him good luck.”
This is the sound of someone who has somehow managed to evade the asylum into which it seemed so many GOPer candidates were forced to complete their re-education.
Someone who can analyze his circumstances, take in new information, and behave like a properly brought-up adult when the world does not conform to his desires.
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He’s smart too. As a commenter noted at the TPM story from which the quotes above were gleaned, this guy will be around Connecticut politics for a long time. He’s leaving both his voters and his opponent’s with the right memory. He’s a grown up.
I didn’t pay attention to that race, and I have no knowledge of the details of Foley’s policy ideas, or how he would govern the state. I’ve no doubt, given my yellow-dog Democrat tendencies, I’d disagree. But this is how it’s done in a democracy where both sides take the idea of the legitimacy of differing opinions seriously.
I wish I lived in that country. In the meantime, congratulations, Mr. Foley, on the class of your act.
Image: William Hogarth, “A Rake’s Progress (no. 8–The Interior of Bedlam)” 1732-35
Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther
I fully anticipate that some in this community will chime in with a hearty “you fool, Tom Levenson!” etc. and so on (only likely more colorful than that) – but not me. ‘Cause I agree with you.
That’s the ticket right there. I don’t expect my political opponents to agree with me; I would really, really like them to act like grown-ups, however. A two-part democracy requires two functioning parties in order to function well.
CJ
I don’t see why he’d be a fixture in the state, his political history is raising 100k for Bush and getting appointed ambassador to Ireland and working in Iraq. He was going to dump his money in the senate race but decided to switch to gov when the sitting Republican declined to seek reelection.
I always saw him and McMahon as rich people just trying to waltz into power with little actual local background.
Of course, I interned with Malloy for five months, so I could be biased.
Mike Kay (Team America)
Leave it to Tom Levenson to get in touch with his inner Broder.
You fool, doncha know, the people want a fighter! not compromise!
gbear
Can’t wait to see how Emmer and the
teabaggerssocial consevatives handle losing the recount for governor in MN. I predict that much rending and gnashing and cursing of Acorn will be involved.At any rate, it’s kinda hard to win when only two people vote for you…
Rosalita
I am relieved we finally have a governor in CT and that Foley handled it so well.
We are so conditioned to expect R’s to assume that some treachery was involved any time a D wins. Even in my small municipality, an R loser sued the winner (in 2004, IIRC) and EVERYONE else on the ballot. She was thrown out of court of course, but it was a bad experience for everyone.
Southern Beale
Forgive me but have we all heard about the Colorado DA who declined to file felony charges against the hedge fund manager who ran down a bicyclist in his car then left the scene … reason being felony charges would hurt his business?
Yes I thought that was the point …
Well, as someone who has a bit of experience in this (my did was killed by a driver while he was crossing the street), it’s really really hard to get felony convictions on vehicular incidents unless someone dies. Sad but true. But this “it’s hard on the person’s business” thing is a new one….
Tom Levenson
@Mike Kay (Team America):
Ouch. Broder. Now that hurts.
I thought the Bedlam picture might get me a little bit of armor against such charges. I mean — I do say that’s the rest of the GOP…;)
WereBear (itouch)
I would get all excited, but this is in the NE, which did not get on the train to Crazy Town.
beltane
The only thing missing in the Hogarth painting are the scooters. Is that Megan McArdle with the fan, gawking at the poor unfortunates for her own amusement?
carlos the dwarf
You clearly have not been paying attention to this race. Everyone knew Foley was going to lose since last Tuesday. He dragged it out, went on the radio to attack the secretary of state, and threatened all kinds of legal action. Tom Foley is not a good example of a reasonable, honest Republican.
catclub
@Southern Beale:
The standard line in bicycling circles is that the driver has to be violating at least TWO laws when they hit the pedestrian/cyclist in order to get prosecuted. (and the hitting clearly does not count as one.)
So speeding AND driving in wrong lane, or running a stop light AND speeding, or illegal pass AND using cell phone.
Otherwise, accidents happen.
I think they are all cancelled out if the cyclist was drunk.
(Many habitual drinkers who lose their licenses take up bicycling. And ride home from the bar at 2-3 am.)
beltane
@Southern Beale: It is especially absurd in this case since the victim of the hit-and-run is a doctor. A doctor is far more important to society than some asshole hedge fund manager.
beltane
@WereBear (itouch): New Hampshire got on the train to Crazy Town, though it was admittedly not a very long ride for them to take. The “Live Free or Die” motto attracts the worst imaginable scum to that state.
Tom Levenson
@carlos the dwarf: I defer to your knowledge. Still think the concession speech was much better than your average bear.
Tom Levenson
@beltane: Actually, that motto is “Live Free or Die and pay insane property taxes for crappy education because I’m too dumb to make the connections needed.”
They just can’t fit the whole thing on a license plate.
Keith G
@Tom Levenson: It’s a great painting. Love the person (pretending to be Pope?) on the left edge.
Where do you get these?
Napoleon
@catclub:
I don’t know if you are right or wrong about that but assuming for a moment you are, and assuming that rule is actually a good idea, I still do not know why he would not be charged. Hit and run is one of those rules like perjury (think Scooter Libby case) or contempt that is the next level above your average broken law or rule in that it makes it difficult to ascertain what rules the defendant broke when they decided to undertake whatever it is they did (in this case fled the scene) and subverts the ability of the state to investigate the matter. There is no way that guy should not have been charged, even if what you say is true.
West of the Cascades
Reminds me of another non-crazy GOP-er, Washington (State) Secretary of State Sam Reed, who certified Democratic Party candidate Christine Gregoire’s 129-vote victory over zombie candidate Dino Rossi in the 2004 gubernatorial election.
Principled Republicans to continue to exist. Probably time to petition to get them listed under the Endangered Species Act, though …
Poopyman
Silly Tom Levenson! Everyone knows that a proper concession speech includes a baseball bat.
Calouste
There must be an article somewhere about the loser of the elections in a banana republic gracefully accepting his defeat instead of having his supporters start riots or calling a state of emergency and how the international community thinks that this shows progress is being made in the country. Heck, there must be piles of them.
The only difference is that US politicians go for endless lawsuits.
Congratulating a politician on conceding a lost election is the same as congratulating them on not shitting in the living room.
Tom Levenson
@Keith G: Wikimedia commons, mostly. The trick is the search phrase, and sometimes a twisted kind of associational mind. Plus I love Hogarth.
An amazingly large amount of great art up to about 1930 or so is available free of copyright,
catclub
@Napoleon:
I am only stating it is the case, there are probably some counterexamples, too. I thought it was also obvious that I consider it an outrage that _this_ is where police and prosecutors keep their empathy — for the incompetent and lazy drivers who can’t be bothered to pay attention when driving. Rather than the pedestrian/cyclist victims.
Tattoosydney
ETA: Never mind. Note to self: Don’t post early in the morning. Sentence structure is hard.
IBH
Foley is not the only one. In the 4th District, Republican Dan Debicella conceded to Democratic incumbent Jim Himes during election night in a close race, much to the annoyance of fellow Republicans. The 4th District happens to be where Tom Foley resides.
Maybe there is something in the water in CT ;-)
Hawes
Foley is sort of the Old School CT GOP: A rich guy with connections. He could be around, and I would expect him to give the 2012 Senate race a try.
Which is good, it will split the GOP/Lieberman for Lieberman vote and insure Chris Murphy’s election.
Anne Laurie
@beltane:
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I think it’s actually McMegan standing behind her, showing off her laboriously-honed skills at toadying to the most powerful person in the room.
Anne Laurie
@Tom Levenson:
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Quote from an actual NH resident when this topic was broached:
And the really scary part is, this person has a testable high IQ and a math degree… from a state university. Further proof of Clarke’s axiom that ‘intelligence has not yet been proven to be an evolutionary advantage.’
Origuy
@Tom Levenson:
Coincidentally, during lunch I watched a portion of a BBC show, The Ages of Britain, which discussed The Rake’s Progress. The presenter, David Dimbleby, went to the small museum where the paintings are and discussed each of them. (The Hogarth segment starts at 5:00 in the clip.)
Paris
This is a weird one. If a bunch of GOP counters suddenly said ‘oh look, we forgot this big bag of photocopied ballots, lets count them’ the Dem side would be screaming bloody murder. I hope this prompts them to refine their procedures so it doesn’t look so bad if this happens again.
JGabriel
Paris:
Exactly. I’d accept the result if the my candidate told us that there weren’t any other shenanigans involved and that the votes represented the will of the people, but I would never expect a Republican candidate to be that fair-minded, even if he only came to that conclusion slowly. Most wouldn’t come to it ever.
I’m sure Norm Coleman still thinks he was robbed. Hell, there are people who still think Illinois robbed Nixon of his chance to become president in 1960, and should have contested it, even though Nixon would have lost even if he won Illinois.*
I assume Foley’s supporters will carp about him being a weak-kneed RINO, but he’s earned a decent amount of respect from me for this concession speech.
(*The final electoral vote in 1960 was 303-219. 15 votes went to segregationist Harry Byrd. Illinois had 27 electoral votes. Even if Nixon collected all 27 of those votes, he still would have lost 276-246. The idea that Nixon conceded a race he could have won is a myth that won’t die.)
.
Professor
@Origuy: That is the difference between the BBC and the crap broadcasting you have in the USA. The ethos of the BBC is thus: Inform, Educate and Entertain. Can you match that?
El Cid
@Origuy: Perhaps it could be aired on a US science or history channel, with quick scene cuts flashing back and forth, heavy attention-getting music, and a helpful annoying voiceover from a well-known star. This would perk it up from those old boring fuddy duddies.
Pseudonym
Honest question: if the roles were reversed, would you be cheering Malloy’s graceful concession speech, or would you want him to exhaust every legal avenue before conceding? I’m not sure which way I’d go myself. What if the presidential election in 2000 came down to a handful of photocopied military ballots in Florida that gave the edge to Bush?
Triassic Sands
And with that highly reasonable statement, Tom Foley instantly lands in Erick Erickson’s crosshairs. Surely, no one capable of making a statement like that can be allowed to ever pursue office again wearing the Republican mantle.
@Pseudonym:
But it didn’t. The real problem in 2000 wasn’t any particular handful of ballots. It was voter suppression, butterfly ballots, dimpled chads and more. It should never have been a question of counting or re-counting a few votes. Every vote in the state needed to be recounted and Gore was wrong not ask for that from the beginning.
I have observed recounts in close races (including elections using punch cards) and I can say without reservation that I felt the results were more accurate after the recount than before. There were votes that were clearly mis- or uncounted, that were easily fixed by consensus. In the 2004 Washington governor’s election the result depended on a tiny number of ballots.
Although I hate the idea of Republicans being elected (to any office, anywhere at this point), I don’t want Democrats elected unfairly. Foley seems to have made a principled decision based on the facts. He deserves credit for that. Had the tables been turned, it would have been up to Malloy to decide what to do. I would hope his decision would be a reasonable one, based on the facts as he saw them.