Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Money
  • Election 2020
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Money
    Election 2020
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

The DeLauro style: ‘Emotion on display’

  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • September 4, 2012
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Charlotte, N.C. — Talking points on women’s issues come easily to Rosa L. DeLauro, the congresswoman, ardent feminist and ovarian cancer survivor from New Haven.

DeLauro, the senior member of the U.S. House delegation from Connecticut, followed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to the podium Tuesday night to talk about pay equity as the Democratic National Convention opened with an appeal to women.

“America’s women still make just 77 cents for every dollar men earn,” DeLauro said. “It’s even tougher for women of color. Those pennies add up to a real difference to middle class families — trying to pay their bills, trying to get ahead, trying to achieve the American dream. And we are making progress.”

But she could have riffed on gender inequity of all stripes, as she’s warmed quickly this week to what Democrats say are the outrages of the Republican plank on abortion and the GOP’s commitment to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which she says would set back the cause of women’s health.

Dodd DeLauro

Chris Dodd and his former chief of staff, Rosa L. DeLauro.

DeLauro is a walking, talking political action figure: Pull a string, and the talking points pour forth in a staccato cadence, accentuated by ring-covered hands that can wave dangerously close to listeners when the conversations are one on one.

“There is not a distinction between her persona and her speaking style,” said former Sen. Chris Dodd, her former boss. “With Rosa, it’s all the same, whether you’re having a private conversation with her or you’re in a room like tonight.”

Unabashedly liberal, it was DeLauro who turned with a fury on Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman when it appeared he would block health-care reform, saying Lieberman should be recalled – an option unavailable to voters in Connecticut.

“She is emotion on display, with a principled, centered focus on people, always leading with her heart,” said U.S. Rep. John B. Larson of East Hartford, a House leader who ranks behind DeLauro in the state delegation.

“We have one rule” about speaking, said Chris Murphy, the young congressman running for U.S. Senate, talking about the state’s all-Democratic delegation of five U.S. House members. “Nobody follows Rosa.”

At age 69, with 22 years in the House, no longer does she have an eye on the Senate, where she worked as a chief of staff from 1980 to 1987 to Dodd, who was forced into retirement in 2008.

Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general with 20 years as a high-profile statewide office-holder, was the consensus nominee to succeed Dodd. This year, with the retirement of Lieberman, she deferred to the 39-year-old Murphy.

“I love what I do,” DeLauro said. “We win the House back and I chair the Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health, education. I have seniority. I’m there 22 years. You can make things happen.”

Standing in the spotlight of a national convention, on a blue stage surrounded by a circle of illuminated white stars, it’s hard to remember that she once was a political operative most comfortable behind the curtain.

She twice was a campaign manager and then chief of staff to powerful men, first Mayor Frank Logue in New Haven, then Dodd.

“I always viewed myself in that top spot, next to the person who held elective office,” DeLauro said.

Dodd hired her after a three-hour conversation on a gray, rainy day in 1979 for his first Senate campaign.

She stayed on as his chief of staff for seven years, leaving to run a campaign to end U.S. aid to the Nicaraguan contras, then she helped launch EMILY’s List, a group devoted to encouraging Democratic, pro-choice women to run for Congress.

In 1990, she took her own advice, running for the open seat in the 3rd Congressional District when the incumbent, Bruce Morrison, ran for governor.

“Was I uncertain? Yeah, it was a leap of faith on my part,” DeLauro said.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida congresswoman chosen by President Obama as the Democratic national chairwoman, said it was DeLauro’s work with EMILY’s List that set a path for her and other young women to run for office.

 

rosa at convention

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven addresses delegates Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention.

 

“I stand on Rosa DeLauro’s shoulders,” Wasserman Schultz told the Connecticut delegates earlier Tuesday.

Marla Romash, whom DeLauro hired out of the University of Connecticut in 1979 to handle press on Dodd’s campaign, said the experience was unforgettable.

“I think I learned more about life and politics from Rosa than anyone else in my life,” said Romash, who later was the press secretary for Vice President Al Gore. “She’s family.”

DeLauro’s first campaign was her only close contest, but she never has lost her sense of competition.

To DeLauro, politics is combat, a fight for important issues in an institution that still matters, regardless of the gridlock that’s settled over Congress like a fever that shows no signs of abating.

Little about her is subtle, not her politics, her speaking style or her sense of fashion or decor. The art in her house is bold, bright and modern, as are the scarves she favors and the earrings and eyeglasses she wears. She was briefly a social-media sensation when someone created a tumblr page called, “Rosa DeLauro is a f****** hipster.”

On Tuesday, she wore a plaid mini-dress to the delegation breakfast.

DeLauro is a second-generation American and second-generation politician, a daughter of Wooster Square who now lives closer to Yale with her husband, pollster Stanley Greenberg. Both her parents were New Haven aldermen.

DeLauro said her father, who was born in Italy, once helped a Yale professor who was researching what happened to workers after the closing of the Candee Rubber Co. in New Haven.

He told her the workers were easily discarded, with little recourse.

“I learned that at home, about what people’s lives are about, from both my parents,” she said. “Advocacy for people is critical. It’s what drives me.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Sunday in Hartford: Massive show of police, not protesters
by Mark Pazniokas and Dave Altimari

Reporters outnumbered protesters. Cops outnumbered everyone. Sunday at the Connecticut Capitol was peaceful and well-documented.

‘No one took us seriously:’ Black cops warned about racist Capitol Police officers for years
by Joshua Kaplan and Joaquin Sapien | ProPublica

While many officers were filmed fighting off Capitol rioters, at least 12 others are under investigation for possibly assisting them.

Donald Trump built a national debt so big (even before the pandemic) that it’ll weigh down the economy for years
by Allan Sloan and Cezary Podkul | ProPublica

The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during President Trump’s time in office.

For some transgender people, pandemic paves path to transition
by Carol Leonetti Dannhauser | C-HIT.ORG

The COVID-19 pandemic has given many transgender individuals the incentive to begin gender-affirming hormone therapy.

The struggle for racial justice and equality is far from over
by Marilyn Moore

On the eve of the annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, I and many others are reflecting on what recently transpired at the U. S. Capitol and how it relates to the injustices that Dr. King and so many others fought to change so many years ago. It is obvious that our nation's fight for racial justice and equality is far from over. In fact, it continues to this day.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The struggle for racial justice and equality is far from over
by Marilyn Moore

On the eve of the annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, I and many others are reflecting on what recently transpired at the U. S. Capitol and how it relates to the injustices that Dr. King and so many others fought to change so many years ago. It is obvious that our nation's fight for racial justice and equality is far from over. In fact, it continues to this day.

Opinion The mentoring circle: Supportive relationships across generations
by Josiah H. Brown

January is Mentoring Month, January 17 International Mentoring Day — with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday a day of service. 

Opinion Evidence not clear that Trump incited Capitol destruction
by Alan Calandro

Defending President Donald Trump is not popular and I have no interest in writing this other than adherence to truth. Recognizing the truth (if we can find it, which is not always possible of course) should make us be able to come together around that and move on with a common understanding.

Opinion Securing our nuclear legacy: An open letter to President-elect Joe Biden
by Erik Assadourian

Dear President-elect Biden: As you noted in a tweet shortly after protestors stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, “Today is a reminder, a painful one, that democracy is fragile.” Indeed it is. And so are nation-states.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO