Paul Hughes of the Waterbury Republican-American has an important story on Dick Blumenthal's campaign contributions from tobacco company lobbyists.
Yes, the seven industry lobbyists only donated a total of $3,500 to Blumenthal -- a drop in his $2 million bucket.
Yet for Blumenthal, who has touted his tough stance against Big Tobacco, including his role in a landmark $206 billion settlement, the donations are problematic.
According to Hughes, Blumenthal's campaign is returning at least some of the contributions, just as it did last month with a donation from the owner of a construction company that is currently suing the state.
Blumenthal campaign manager Mindy Myers told Hughes that the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate won't take campaign cash from "subordinates, members of law firms under contract with the attorney general's office, or parties involved in litigation with his office."
How did these donors wind up giving to Blumenthal in the first place? Maybe it's a result of the campaign's use of those freelance fundraising consultants, who are so adept at collecting cash but perhaps are unaware of the political baggage that certain donations come with?