Tom Foley: "This actually was not a news conference.” 12.03.2009

Tom Foley: "This actually was not a news conference.” Connecticut Republican Senate Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Foley realized today that running for governor is a lot harder than it looks! When you say you’re going to announce your campaign to become the person who runs the state, chances are, reporters will come and they’ll even ask you QUESTIONS! (Despite Foley’s insistence that the event – advised to the press – “actually was not a news conference.”)

Usually, it’s a good idea to be able to articulate WHY you want to run for governor before you actually announce that you ARE running for governor. While Foley is clearly taking a page from Linda McMahon’s playbook – holding off on having substantive opinions or proposals on things until after your policy team meets and tells you what you believe – maybe he’s asking himself what another famously tripped up political candidate (and former governor) would do in a similar situation…

Perhaps Sarah Palin can give Foley some advice on “Going Rouge” when she comes to Connecticut to campaign for him next year?

Below, please find the statement we put out in advance of Tom Foley’s announcement and some initial reaction to his embarrassing foray into his second campaign of the year.

--Colleen

“Seeing as though his time spent getting Iraq on track was an absolute failure, we’re not quite sure how Tom Foley believes his managerial skills will translate here in Connecticut. Certainly if he believes he has the chops to govern the state, he should run. But being Connecticut’s chief executive, particularly at a time like this, is about more than a snazzy title and a nice office. Over the next few months, assuming Tom Foley doesn’t drop out of this race, too, we look forward to hearing what he believes he has to offer the people of this state on any number of issues they find themselves facing.” – Colleen Flanagan, Connecticut Democratic Party Communications Director

CONNECTICUT POST’S KEN DIXON:

In one of the more bizarre political announcements the Blogster has covered, Greenwich millionaire Tom Foley, the former ambassador to Ireland, seized the opportunity to fill the GOP void left by Gov. Rell, but declined to articulate why… He wants to be governor. He intimated that he’ll use his own millions of dollars. Yet he declined to talk about policy until he develops position papers. Wow. There’s a lot to be said about fresh faces in politics, but if you want to run for governor, shouldn’t you be able to vamp before reporters for five minutes on the day you announce?

HARTFORD COURANT’S CHRIS KEATING:

In a Hartford speech that lasted about 6 minutes, Foley gave no details about how he would solve the state’s budget deficit or whether he would cut taxes. In a question period with reporters, Foley also declined to give details about spending or health care.

HARTFORD COURANT’S RICK GREEN:

Foley announced Thursday afternoon that he was abandoning his senate bid to run for the governor’s job. He didn’t offer much more except to hint that he would not accept public financing. "There will be plenty of time to talk during the campaign,’’ an aide said.

CT NEWS JUNKIE’S CHRISTINE STUART:

Foley did not say how much of his own money he would be willing to spend on the race. He also didn’t lay out any policy stances saying only that he would be forming a team in the next few weeks to “make recommendations for solving the problems we face.”