Malloy talks Newtown, Obamacare on ‘Morning Joe’

It was an odd eight minutes Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Topics ran the gamut: the Newtown shooting, the state’s high taxes, its relative success implementing Obamacare, and, briefly, the slimmed-down governor’s ability to do sit ups.

Host Joe Scarborough introduced Malloy, who was in MSNBC’s studios in New York, by touting a New York Magazine piece about how the outpouring of sympathy and money has complicated Newtown’s grief.

“What are you guys doing, obviously Dec. 14^th, the one-year anniversary is coming up,” Scarborough said. “What are the plans?”

“You know, I think, — first of all, I can’t wait for the 15^th of December to get here, to tell you the truth,” Malloy said. “For the families, for the town of Newtown, for those of us who were involved that day, getting by the one year is going to be real important. You know, I think it’s going to be a lot lower key than people think, to tell you the truth.”

Scarbough asked, The families want it to be low key?

“I think the families overwhelmingly want it to be low key,” Malloy said. “I think the community of Newtown wants it to be low key, as low key as something like that can be. A lot of lives were changed beyond anyone’s imagination.”

Malloy mentioned his visit to Newtown in July, when First Selectman Patricia Llodra was eager to show the governor a town trying to regain its equilibrium. She took him on a tour of the businesses in Sandy Hook, the village down the hill from the massacre site.

“It was good to see things starting to get back to normal,” Malloy said.

Scarbough, who lives in Connecticut, then abruptly changed the topic: “Speaking of Connecticut, when are taxes going to be lowered?”

“I hope soon,” Malloy replied, even though there is no immediate prospect of lowering taxes.

Scarborough held up a New York Post cover predicting the rich will flee the city as a liberal Democrat is poised to be elected mayor Tuesday.

Malloy noted that the top tax rate is lower in Connecticut than in New York and New Jersey.

Conversation shifted to Obamacare, a comfortable topic for the governor. Connecticut’s exchange is working well, especially compared to the federal site. Malloy said more than 7,600 people have signed up.

Alas, the panel never got time to explore the governor’s physique, other than co-host Mika Brzezinski, a fitness and nutrition buff, introducing Malloy by remarking on the slimmer, trimmer body.

“He can do a thousand sit ups,” she said. “Look at how much weight he’s lost.”