Rob Simmons is a class act, through and through.  While I’m upset that he didn’t win the support of a majority of delegates at the recent Connecticut Republican Convention, his decision to gracefully exit the race is probably best for the party.  I know some of my good friends disagree with me.  A bloody primary campaign would reduce the odds of a Republican defeating Richard Blumenthal in November–a prospect that has increased in recent days with the revelations of Blumenthal’s serial lies about his military record.  This week Simmons decided to effectively suspend his campaign, rather than forcing an aggressive primary battle with Linda McMahon.  His name will remain on the ballot, however, for the August primary.

In the sake of full disclosure, I used to work for Rob, first as an intern in his congressional office and then as a staffer on one of his re-election campaigns.  He’s an outstanding public servant.  His record of service in the US Army, CIA, State Legislature and US Congress is impressive.  Rob Simmons can be summed up in three words:  ”Duty, Honor, Country.”  His knowledge of national security issues dwarfs the vast majority of those serving on the Hill.  And no one in this country has fought harder for America’s military veterans than Rob Simmons.  He would have been the strongest nominee and would have had the best chance of defeating Blumenthal in November.

Passions are still cooling on both sides.  Primaries and nominating conventions are often nasty, dirty, bloody affairs, but that’s simply a reality of American politics.  At the end of the day, the people of Connecticut, and the rest of the country, would benefit the most by having a Republican replace the ethically-challenged Chris Dodd–whether that Republican is Rob Simmons, Peter Schiff, or Linda McMahon.  Left-wing blogs are doing their best to split the party.  I wasn’t involved in any of these campaigns, though I was rooting for Simmons from my home in Virginia.  It is my sincere hope that the party can reconcile and defeat Blumenthal in November.  It does no good at this point for other Republicans to question the electability of McMahon.  While the vanquished may find such comments satisfying, they only hurt the conservative cause.

I hope this is not the end of Rob’s career in public service.  President Obama should consider nominating Rob to the position of Director of National Intelligence.  He would also make an outstanding Director of the CIA–however, it is quite unlikely that the current administration would be interested in appointing a qualified and competent public servant to a high-profile national security position.  But anything can happen in American politics, so it’s a good thing that Rob’s name is still on the ballot.