So he's in. No, he lost the straw poll to Linda McMahon, so he's out. Or suspended. No, wait...
Yup, he's running.
Rob Simmons, the former congressman and intermittent candidate for U.S. Senate, stated unequivocally at the start of a debate Tuesday night that he is in the race — even though he curtailed his campaign and released his staff shortly after losing the GOP endorsement to Linda McMahon at a party nominating convention in May.
"I am running for the United States Senate because I love my country and I don't like where it's going,'' Simmons told an audience at Trinity College. "I don't like the bailouts, I don't like the unemployment, I don't like the rising deficits, I don't like the foreclosures and in particular, I don't like the ... spending that threatens to bankrupt out country."
Of course, the tea bag he carries in his pocket (he really does) has gotten cold. The Q-poll from July has McMahon up 52-25 over Simmons (Peter Schiff at 13) and they all lose to Richard Blumenthal, the Dem AG running for Senator in November.
This won't help Simmons get any traction. While I think he'd make a better candidate than McMahon, her money says otherwise. And his indecisiveness about running and his 'spoiler' role now makes him damaged goods. But most importantly, primary-voting Republicans aren't rational, not even in Connnecticut. Simmons isn't nutty enough to get the nod.