Schlesinger and Gambling

A story from the Hartford Courant appeared on the National Journal's Hotline Blog that presumptive GOP Senate nominee Alan Schlesinger could be facing some serious questions in the next couple weeks about his gambling habits. Schlesinger apparently held a casino loyalty card under an assumed name, although Schlesinger claims he has not used the card "in this decade."

The chair of the CT GOP doesn't sound too convinced by Schlesinger's explanations:

Gallo, who is close to Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell, said, “Our mistake is that we only vetted candidates using their real names...”

...The party chair would be unlikely to have been so critical of the Republican nominee without a signal from Rell’s office...

Republicans are rumored to have some moguls of their own interested in jumping into the fray. Forcing Schlesinger off the ballot would be the first step. He won’t go quietly, you can bet on that.

This appears to be more good news for Lieberman from a strategic standpoint. A weakened or late-entrant GOP nominee is not likely to pick up the support of many unaffiliated voters, which would boost Lieberman's chances in a 3- or 4-way race where unaffiliated voters form the "swing" vote.

I'll say it again - more candidates in the race means that less attention goes to Lamont, and the closer this campaign comes to being a circus, the less likely each individual challenger is to be taken seriously.