On the night that Democrats intend to coronate Richard Blumenthal as their nominee for U.S. Senator, his opponent, Merrick Alpert, was prevented from speaking at the party convention.
Alpert intended to deliver a speech to more than 1,800 delegates at the Democratic Party convention at the cavernous Expo Center in Hartford's North Meadows, but the rules committee prevented it, according to Alpert.
Alpert released a copy of the speech that he intended to deliver - as he struggled to try to reach the minimum of 15 percent of the delegates that are necessary to force a primary.
"You deserve a primary. We need a primary,'' Alpert said in his prepared remarks.
Known for his outspokenness, Alpert had prepared to tell the delegates that he believes the recent controversies of the past week would cause the Democrats to lose the U.S. Senate election in November. He included remarks that many of the delegates clearly would not want to hear on their party's big night.
"We're not ready to win the Senate election,'' Alpert said in his remarks. "My assessment is if the general election were held this Tuesday, we would lose. After the events of this week, the polls confirm my assessment.''
Alpert did not expressly mention the recent controversy surrounding Blumenthal, who delivered a speech that was captured on videotape in Norwalk in 2008 in which he said that he had served in Vietnam. Since then, other speeches have been unearthed in which he said similar things. In fact, Blumenthal remained in the United States throughout the conflict and never served in Southeast Asia.
"We need a candidate who is straight with himself and straight with the people of Connecticut,'' Alpert said. "We need a candidate who has fought and earned the nomination, not one who has sat quietly while the crown of coronation has been placed on his head. And, we need a candidate who has been completely vetted so we have no more unpleasant surprises. Think about it in your own life: if you have a son who will play football in the fall, do you keep him in the house over the summer to keep him safe or do you have him running contact drills to toughen him up?''
Party chairwoman Nancy DiNardo gaveled the convention open at about 6:15 p.m. Friday and tried to gain the attention of the distracted delegates who were still filing into their seats. She called for order several times in an attempt to corral more than 1,800 activists who were talking politics in the aisles and in the delegations. The sergeant at arms then took the podium several times and tried to regain order, asking the assistant sergeants at arms to clear the aisles.
"We are the party of the people,'' DiNardo told the crowd in her opening remarks.
Throughout the beginning of the convention, Alpert supporters could be heard shouting, "Let's go, Merrick!''
Alpert also bashed wrestling entrepreneur Linda McMahon, who is battling for the Republican nomination against former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons of Stonington and investor Peter Schiff of Weston.
"I am running because I cannot stand the thought that Linda McMahon from World Wrestling can buy it, and you can't tolerate that, either,'' Alpert said. He added, "We all know that the highly effective attack in Tuesday's New York Times was hatched in Linda McMahon's office. If we settle on our nominee tonight, that exceedingly well-funded and vicious machine, created by Karl Rove but now housed at World Wrestling, will be gifted three additional months to ruin our candidate.''