Peter Schiff, a Waterbury money manager, author and financial pundit, today used "Morning Joe" as the platform from which to launch his much-anticipated bid to challenge Sen. Christopher Dodd.
The announcement came as no great surprise. There have been multiple reports, it was teased on a twitter feed and a grassroots group of California liberatarians have been pushing for Schiff to run for months.
"Smashed your TV? Fix it and tune into Morning Joe at 8:15 tomorrow morning!," Schiff tweeted yesterday afternoon. A Web site for Schiff's campaign is already up and running.
Schiff joins a crowded field for the Republican nomination, one that already includes State Sen. Sam Caligiuri of Waterbury, former U.S. ambassador Tom Foley, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon and former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons.
"Connecticut Republicans can be the first to elect a real Republican," Schiff told The Courant. "Republicans talk about shrinking government; I want to shrink it substantially."
The Waterbury conservative told "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough, himself a former Republican Congressman, that he was disgusted with the way government had driven up the cost of health care in America and share his prescription.
"The solution is the free market ... what made this country great," said Schiff.
Schiff went on to blame the Federal Reserve for the economic collapse that still has the nation reeling, blaming them for supplying the easy that allowed some investors to leverage themselves at rates of 30-to-1 or higher.
"We're in worse shape now than before the crisis, deeper in debt," Schiff recently told the Associated Press. "We should have let more institutions fail."
Despite a host of challengers, a Quinnipiac Poll says that Dodd would emerge victorious if the election were held to day, the Courant reported. In spite of talk that he received sweet heart mortgages, Dodd's approval ratings are on the rise.
