Can a lousy winter sap all sense?

It must be the weather. The winter of 2010-11 has turned into the silly season in Connecticut politics, giving credence to the theory that extreme weather can cause a person to temporarily abandon his common sense. You could look it up.

To review: We have Sen. Richard Blumenthal indulging once again in an exaggeration of his personal history and his top aide compounding the felony by telling the person who reported it she’ll never work in this town again.

Then we have the birther movement raising its empty head in Connecticut with the introduction of a bill requiring presidential candidates to offer proof of their nativity in one of the 50 states before appearing on the ballot of this one.

And best of all, what the media have cleverly dubbed Plate Gate, the not terribly shocking story about former Gov. Rell and alter ego Lisa Moody giving low numbered license plates to various Republican pols, friends and relatives on their way out the door and the over-the-top reaction to it by all and sundry. All, that is, except Governor Malloy, who joked he hasn’t yet developed a policy on three-digit plates.

I could cite other examples, but we try to limit these musings to around 700 words as a kindness to the reader.

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Let’s start with Blumenthal, who damaged his campaign for the Senate by claiming he had served in Vietnam during the war when he actually served in the District of Columbia, a very distant outpost of that war.

Now he has given the impression he was at the side of Justice Harry Blackmun when Blackmun wrote the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973. But Blumenthal didn’t become a Blackmun clerk until 1974, which means Blackmun had actually done all his heavy thinking on the decision without young Blumenthal’s wise counsel.

This wouldn’t have been noticed if it hadn’t been for the Vietnam business and it would have passed quietly if Blumenthal Chief of Staff Laurie Rubiner hadn’t decided to threaten the reporter, Deirdre Shesgreen of The CTMirror.

“This is a very unfair route you are going down,” said Rubiner, who then added darkly, “We’ll remember this.” This caused the media to rally round the Mirror and Shesgreen and gave added prominence to what no one has thankfully called Roe v. Wadegate.

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The birther movement’s appearance came in the form of Danbury state Sen. Michael McLachlan’s bill requiring presidential and vice presidential candidates to prove they were born in the United States in order to run in Connecticut.

McLachlan, also known for his opposition to same-sex marriage, gun control and state-financed stem cell research, amusingly claimed he was merely helping to put a stop to arguments about President Obama’s birthplace. It became less funny when a moderate legislator, state Sen. Andrew Roraback, dignified the bill by saying it deserved a public hearing.

Coincidentally, Roraback is being mentioned for the open Congressional race in the 5th District, but must first get by the nut wing of his Republican Party in a primary. If he and other Republican moderates have to pander to their extremists to be nominated, we could be looking at another Republican disaster, but that’s another story.

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In this space, we still have to consider the aforementioned Plate Gate. A while ago, blogger and Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie asked the governor’s press secretary, Roy Occhiogrosso, for the names of people Gov. Rell gave low-numbered license plates as she was leaving office.

Occhiogrosso obliged, but when it was pointed out there’s a federal law against revealing license plate owners’ identification, he said, rather believably, he hadn’t known and apologized.

The law was passed after a murder by a stalker who found his victim through her license number. It is hardly aimed at protecting the privacy of vanity plate coveters but nevertheless, it is the law.

Chris Healy, the Republican state chairman known for his restraint in all things, quickly called for an investigation by the state’s attorney, and the editorial board of The Waterbury Republican-American, offered its cheery perspective.

Occhiogrosso, the Republican-American explained, is “a snarling political animal.”

Can spring be far behind?

Dick Ahles is a retired journalist from Simsbury. E-mail him at dahles@hotmail.com.