September 17, 2009
Peter Schiff Launches Senate Run
Peter Schiff, the broker, author and financial pundit from Weston who has already taken in more than $1 million in campaign contributions and hired staff, confirmed on national TV this morning what has been widely expected for weeks: He is running for U.S. Senate.
Schiff supporters across the nation have been pushing his candidacy since at least January, but he said he would not enter the race unless he had raised $1 million, a threshold he crossed earlier this month. Schiff made his announcement on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show at 8:15 a.m. today."I have decided to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate from my home state of Connecticut,'' Schiff said.
Schiff, who served as economic advisor to Texas Congressman Ron Paul's presidential effort, will run as a Republican. But he is a libertarian at heart who believes government has grown too big -- and too expensive -- and that the U.S. is facing financial catastrophe unless the federal government radically changes course. He would be the fifth GOP candidate to enter the race:
State Sen. Sam Caligiuri, former ambassador Tom Foley, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon and former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons are also seeking the Republican nomination. The winner will square off against Democratic incumbent Sen. Christopher Dodd.Dodd "represents all that's wrong with Congress,'' Schiff said on the show.
He called Dodd a "poster boy for the economic crisis."Schiff was asked by "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough about health-care reform. The solution to rising health-care costs, Schiff said, is the same as the solution to most economic problems facing the nation: "the free market."He was also asked whether the U.S. should send more troops to Afghanistan. Schiff said no, we cannot afford the enormous expense of war.
In a telephone interview Wednesday night, Schiff, who had just returned from an economic conference in Poland, acknowledged that he already has a lot on his plate. He runs a brokerage firm, Euro Pacific Capital, is about to launch a new company and has a new edition of his book "Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit From the Economic Collapse," coming out in two weeks.
"The career politicians are retired and they'll be able to devote 100 percent of their attention to [campaigning],'' he said. Unlike McMahon, who announced Wednesday that she is stepping aside as WWE CEO to run, Schiff does not plan to quit his job should he enter the race. Schiff says the fact that the Republican field is crowded is a plus for him. He also predicted he would receive a boost from McMahon's candidacy.
"She's going to be able to spend a lot of money criticizing Simmons, so I won't have to do it,'' he said. "What sells Linda McMahon sells me.''Hours before Schiff's television appearance, state Democratic officials blasted an email criticizing him. "Despite his groupie-like following, Schiff actually has few qualifications to run for the Senate and has publicly admitted that he can't even remember the last time he voted,'' said party spokeswoman Colleen Flanagam.
"Schiff's followers praise him for his predictions on the economy, but despite the fact that Schiff proudly advised investors to bet against the U.S., they still lost record sums of money."Schiff takes issue with Flanagan's assertions that his clients have lost "record sums" of money.
"They're trying to discredit me by saying my clients did really badly -- they didn't,'' Schiff said this morning. "My clients have done extremely well. ''Running for Senate was never his life's ambition. "I'm not doing this for a job,'' he said. "I have a much better job in the private sector."
But he also suggested he cannot stand by and watch the U.S. economy implode. "I'm watching this train wreck in slow motion. I know how bad things are going to get in this country...As an American and as a father, do I really want to just watch happen?"
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-peter-schiff-senate-0917,0,3466805.story
