When Senator Dodd announced his retirement yesterday, all eyes were on Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in hopes that he would announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate. Sure enough, within hours of Dodd’s announcement Blumenthal announced his intention to run.

The 2010 Mid-Term Elections are shaping up to be a toxic environment for Democrats nation-wide. In the past few weeks, two senior Democrats – Senator Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Dorgan (D-ND) – announced they will not be running for re-election, a member of the House switched to the Republican Party, and poll after poll show Obama and the Democrats in fragile condition. This, of course, is coming off the heels of two major losses in the 2009 Gubernatorial Elections in Virginia and New Jersey where the Democrats got slaughtered.

There are of course many reasons why these disappointments occurred, some that have nothing to do with the Mid-Terms. Dodd made risky decisions by moving out to Iowa during his run for President, being enrolled in a questionable mortgage program, and allowing the AIG bonuses in the bailout. Corzine was deeply unpopular in New Jersey and never fully recovered, and Craig Deeds was embattled in a contentious primary season and ran a poorly-organized campaign. All of these factors weighed on the seeming trend of Democratic loss.

With that said, the entrance of Blumenthal into the 2010 Senate Race is great news for the Democrats. Blumenthal enjoys a 78% approval rating in the State, and a stunning 70% approval rating from Republican voters. He has build a reservoir of political capital over his near-twenty year service as Attorney General and has waited patiently for an opportunity to pursue higher office. In his 2006 re-election he garnered close to 75% of the vote.

Blumenthal has dedicated his career to fighting for the people of Connecticut. He has been behind major victories for Connecticuters. He successfully led the legal battle to force the EPA to enforce air pollution regulations on southern and western states whose pollution degraded the quality of Connecticut air. He successfully sought-out sex offenders registered on MySpace.com, in an effort to protect the children of Connecticut. He even helped lead the fight against tobacco companies who employed deceptive marketing to attract minors. This is in addition to his work rooting out corruption, fighting white-collar crime, and being a tireless consumer advocate.

2010 is the year that the stars align for Richard Blumenthal. Not only is his candidacy opportune for the Democratic Party, but his candidacy is a big win for Connecticuters, who have benefited from Blumenthal’s service to Connecticut for decades. Voters have every reason to approve of the job Blumenthal is doing in Hartford, and have every reason to send him to Washington this November.

Originally posted at ThePragmaticProgressive.com

We inaugurated the first African American President in U.S. history, saw the biggest government investment in the U.S. economy in decades, and saw our President win the Nobel Peace Prize. We also experienced the dawning of “tea parties,” the confirmation of the nation’s first latina Supreme Court Justice, the never-ending health care debate, a troop surge in Afghanistan, and SC Gov. Mark Sanford’s Argentine affair.

The Presidential Election of 2008 was supposed to bring about unprecedented change, a new era in American Politics. It was supposed to usher in a new culture of bipartisanship and focus on solving the “tough issues.” It was supposed to be a rebuilding year, a year in which the U.S. repaired its relationship with the world after eight years under the Bush Administration. And to a large extent, 2009 was a year of “change.” The President has healthy approval ratings internationally and took major steps to repair diplomatic relationships with the international community. The President elected to tackle one of the most politically-difficult issues in his first year in office – health care reform – and has encountered moderate success. He also inherited the most fragile economy in decades, and took bold steps in attempt to stabilize it. There were certainly many gestures of change.

On the flip side, the Administration has encountered intense partisanship throughout the year. “Tea Parties” sprung up across the country – protests of the Administration and the perception of “big government,” contradicting the presumed shift in the electorate. The Stimulus passed with just three Republican Senators supporting it – one of whom became a Democrat soon after – and the health care legislation passed in each house relied entirely on the Democrats’ ability to unite their caucus.

The closing of Guantanamo stalled and the “anti-war” President announced a troop surge in Afghanistan of over 30k soldiers. But he also won the Nobel Peace Prize. And next year the Administration is hoping to focus on deficit reduction, yet they are poised to approve a health care bill with a price tag hovering around $1 trillion.

The GOP seems to be largely in the same camp. They felt no remorse opposing virtually every policy initiative of the Administration, from the Stimulus Package to Health Care Reform to Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation. The party that oversaw one of the biggest increases in government spending saw themselves preaching a gospel of smaller government and less spending. The party elected an African American for its Chairman, Michael Steele, despite its virtually homogeneous electorate. They even claimed to have alternatives to the policy proposals of the Administration, yet every time bipartisan talks were initiated the talks broke down. The GOP quickly became the “party of no,” and Democrats were not shy to exploit it.

2009 will certainly be a year to remember, a landmark year of sorts. It may be remembered as a year of massive change, and of enormous political courage by the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats – the year that averted the second Great Depression and paved the way to expand health insurance to 30 million Americans. Or, it may be seen as just another year of fierce partisanship, massive spending, and an example of how America is full of political hypocrites. Let’s hope it’s the former.

Originally posted at ThePragmaticProgressive.com