"If Diane Farrell wins, she may still be in the minority, and then you'll have a member with no clout and no experience," Shays said at the Norwalk Inn & Conference Center during the debate, which was organized by the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce. "You've heard her describe problems and offer a lot of criticism, but have you heard her offer any real solutions?...If she's on the transportation committee, she will be able to decide how much money goes around to all the districts. But if she were a state legislator, she'd be able to decide how that money was spent. I would suggest that if she's interested in transportation, she should be a state legislator." Hartford Courant
The polls on the race have been all over the map, one with Farrell leading by five points, one with Shays up by seven. It's clear that it could go either way. Shays' biggest goal right now is to try and make voters ignore the R for Republican after his name. He has distanced himself from Bush, criticized Republican leadership, and even said that Republicans don't deserve to keep the majority in Congress. It's a sad reflection on Connecticut that the Republicans have to be moderate or even liberal to get elected. In the case of Sen. Lieberman, even being a Democrat wasn't enough, as Democratic voters instead opted for the more liberal Lamont. However, even Shays, despite his disloyalty to his own party, is a far better congressman than the alternative, Farrell, who claimed that America has "aided and abetted al-Qaida and terrorists." We need to make sure we have leaders who can help guide American through the War on Terrorism and the Iraq War, and Farrell doesn't even have her sides right.
