In 2012, Joe Lieberman will be up for reelection. Lieberman is currently an independent and has toyed with running as an Independent, Democrat, or Republican for US Senate. Frankly, besides his view on the War on Terrorism and his endorsement of McCain in 2008, Lieberman’s platform does not fit in with the mainstream Republican Party. Reportedly Democratic Congressman Chris Murphy is considering a bid and if Lieberman remains independent, the Republicans will need a solid candidate to challenge the two of them. In a 3-way race, anything can be possible. I suggest we draft former Irish Ambassador and 2010 gubernatorial nominee Tom Foley.

Tom Foley has an MBA from Harvard Business and has extensive private sector experience as a business owner and investor. From August 2003 to March 2004, President Bush had Foley serve in Iraq as the Director of Private Sector Development for the Coalition Provisional Authority, overseeing most of Iraq’s 192 state-owned enterprises and helping to grow the Iraqi economy. In June 2004, the Department of Defense awarded Foley with a Distinguished Public Service Award. Foley then went on to serve as US Ambassador to Ireland from 2006 to 2009.

In 2010, Foley decided to run for Governor of Connecticut. Post-primary polling showed Foley behind for quite a while – but his great campaign closed the gap in the final weeks of the campaign with some firms showing him ahead. During his bid for Governor, Foley proposed privatization of certain government run health care facilities, freeze hiring, and ran against Obamacare attacking these government mandates. On election day, Foley lost the general election by a 0.5% margin; he lost by 6,100 votes of the over 1.2 million votes cast in Connecticut. Foley received more votes in his bid for Governor in 2010 than Lamont (D) and Schlesinger (R) received combined in their bid for US Senate against Lieberman in 2006.

In 2012, Foley may find his opportunity to serve the people of Connecticut. With the potential of a 3-way race for US Senate and with his personal wealth, Foley could readily raise the funds to be competitive. While self-funding is not a requirement for a candidate and can fail at times (Linda McMahon, Meg Whitman), with Foley’s recent close statewide campaign, business acumen, and pro-growth platform, I think he can be competitive against Lieberman, Murphy, or both.

Cross-posted to Old Line Elephant