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Anti-war group endorses Farrell

By Neil Vigdor
Staff Writer

September 1, 2006

Democracy for America, the liberal grassroots network of "Dean Democrats" that helped deliver a Senate primary upset for Ned Lamont, endorsed congressional hopeful Diane Farrell last night at a Greenwich rally.

"Diane, now that I've been in politics all of eight months, let me tell you some of my wisdom," Lamont said facetiously during a joint appearance with Farrell downtown in front of the Havemeyer Building. "Not all endorsements are created equal."

Lamont, who supplanted Joe Lieberman as the party's nominee on a wave of opposition to Iraq war, said "they deliver" of the influential political action group started by Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.

Farrell, who is pitted in a tight race against Republican Christopher Shays, agreed.

"A DFA endorsement is a big deal," Farrell said, standing beside several of the organization's leaders, including Dean's brother, Jim, a Fairfield resident.

The organization, borne out of the former Vermont Gov. Dean's failed 2004 White House bid, had been somewhat slow to embrace Farrell's candidacy.

Some Democrats had speculated that Farrell's support of Lieberman over Lamont before the party's Aug. 8 primary was a source of the anti-war group's tepid support. Farrell, like many in the party establishment, has since backed Lamont.

"We forgive and forget," Sal Ciccione, the Democracy for America's state leader for Connecticut, said in an interview before the rally.

Others in the crowd of about 120 wondered aloud about the endorsement's timing.

"My only question was what took you so long?" said Jim Himes, the chairman of the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee.

Jim Dean, who took over the grassroots organization from his brother, urged the bumper sticker and sign-waving crowd to volunteer for Democrats such as Farrell and Lamont.

"It is not good enough any more just to go vote," Dean said, adding that the party is blessed to have several strong candidates on ticket locally.

Farrell seized on the moment, attacking Shays' support of the Iraq war and President Bush, who she said had set a failed agenda for the nation.

"Has this really been a terrific six years in our nation's history?" asked the former Westport first selectwoman.

Farrell also accused Shays of changing course on the war with his recent statement that the country should consider setting a timeline to bring the troops home.

Shays, who recently returned from his 14th trip to Iraq since the start of the war, opposes a "date specific" withdrawal. His campaign manager, Michael Sohn, rejected accusations of flip-flopping.

"The bottom line is Chris has always given his honest assessment good or bad after every trip, and that's what his trips are about," Sohn said.

Sohn also questioned Farrell's newfound alliance with Lamont and reiterated Shays' support for Lieberman.

"Chris is voting for Joe, and Chris is standing by Joe. Diane has dumped Joe as soon as the political winds have changed," Sohn said.

Farrell's visit to Greenwich last night came two days too late as far as Phil Maymin was concerned.

A Greenwich hedge fund pioneer who is running on the Libertarian party line against Farrell and Shays, Maymin had challenged his two opponents to a Town Hall debate Tuesday night on the Iraq war. Both declined the invitation.

Maymin favors a July 4, 2007, troop withdrawal and said he would have never authorized the war under any circumstances unlike his opponents.

"I'm surprised they didn't want to clarify their positions in front of their constituents," Maymin said.

Farrell's visit couldn't have come at a better time for fellow Democrats Edward Krumeich Jr. and Frank Farricker, however. The two candidates for state office appeared jointly with Farrell and Lamont, posing for pictures with the household names.

Farricker is running for state Senate against Republican incumbent William Nickerson, who has represented all of Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan for 16 years.

Krumeich is challenging GOP state Rep. Claudia "Dolly" Powers in the 151st District, which includes Cos Cob, Riverside and eastern Greenwich.

Both candidates spoke of change, from Hartford to Washington, D.C.

"The first step to ending this madness is to take back Congress," Krumeich said.