Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • 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
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    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

Op-Ed: Tonight’s debate, a ‘thrilla’ or not?

  • Other
  • by Ned Lamont
  • October 16, 2014
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The New York Times recently referred to the Malloy-Foley debates as “The Thrilla in Manila.” Linda McMahon should be lining up the pay-per-view rights.

Thursday evening’s shindig at The Garde in New London is historically feisty:  starring savvy journalists fed gotcha questions from opposing political camps and a raucous crowd that cheers each verbal punch. Still we revere these ‘Lincoln-Douglas’ moments to take a measure of our candidates.

Op-ed submit bugSo here’s a primer (from a guy not famous for his own political victories) on how to judge the bout:

Incumbent Dan Malloy has driven up challenger Tom Foley’s negatives over the last two months with a relentless attack on his character and corporate ineptitude, often drawing on 30-year-old indiscretions. Nobody expects the nasty ads to morph in to Morning in America/Happy Days are Here Again sunny optimism, but the crowd at The Garde should feel free to groan out loud if the debate devolves into a long diatribe about fast cars, fancy yachts, and shuttered textile mills.

Dan has spent his energy excoriating us not to vote for Tom, not so much why to vote for Dan.  Dan’s record is not so bad, why run from it?

Truth be told, the state has made progress over the last few years, but not enough to make a difference. The state economy has been stuck in neutral for a generation, and we continue to get passed by states which have put their fiscal house in order and started on serious pension reform.

I am not thinking about a slash-and-burn Republican governor in Kansas or a Wisconsin moment, but Democratic governors in California and New York who have righted a sinking ship, not to mention a Democratic Treasurer in Rhode Island who has made their pension solvent again.  That’s our immediate competition.

‘Business friendly’ is a lot more than tax cuts and corporate give-aways. It is an honest budget where the citizens do not have to guess every year which tax goes up and whose ox gets gored.

Connecticut is better off than we were in 2010, but Dan, explain optimistically and convincingly why you  need four more years to deal with billion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see (see Keith Phaneuf’s eBook: Ct Budget Crisis), all the while rebuilding our aging infrastructure.  Come on Garde, give a cheer for GAAP accounting and a groan for repeated references to tax avoiding TB Bibbsy yachts.

Over to you, Tom: you cannot play rope-a-dope and expect to dethrone the champ.

If you get off the mat and come out swinging, the base will cheer but the moderates and independents you need to win will shake their heads and stay home.  If you stay in the witness protection program and occasionally announce that you are not Dan Malloy, you will find yourself 6,500 votes short on Election Day.

Your answer to every dicey attack should be the same: Connecticut has been losing new business and jobs and young workers to other states for a long time, and we not continue to lose compared to our peers over the next four years. Connecticut must have a growing economy in order to pay for investments in our future.

We understand that Tom will be much more likely to cut spending than Dan, but give us a few hints about the where and how to show that you are serious about governing.

And dear press: avoid the cheap shot. Admittedly it is much easier to snag a gotcha moment than any substance at an end of the campaign debate.

But you can explore a fundamental difference in philosophy: Dan’s pro-business agenda has featured aggressive use of taxpayer subsidized incentives to companies which promise to move here or to stay in Connecticut. Hundreds of companies have been so blessed. Yep, everybody does it, but in Connecticut, it is not the exception, it is the rule.

Tom would argue that these ‘bribes’ are necessary because our unpredictable tax and spend agenda is toxic to new business startups and old business expansions.

The winner of that debate deserves to be our next governor, and he may win by thoughtfully putting The Garde to sleep on Thursday eve.

Ned Lamont is a Greenwich businessman and professor who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2006.

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

Ned Lamont

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Best of 2019: Key Dems press bill to increase minority recruitment at Coast Guard Academy
by Ana Radelat

The bill is a response to allegations of discrimination and a racially hostile environment at the school.

Navy cuts number of EB Virginia-class subs in new contract
by Ana Radelat

Electric Boat wanted the Navy to include 10 subs, and possibly 11, in the so-called "Block 5" contract. But the Navy agreed to only nine.

Electric Boat facing mounting challenges as sub work ramps up
by Ana Radelat

There continue to be concerns about EB’s ability to build the new Columbia-class submarine alongside its smaller Virginia-class attack subs.

Talk of gun violence, little else
by Paul Stern

In national politics last week there was talk of little else than gun violence, white nationalism and gun control following the fatal shootings of 31 people in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas. There was little more than talk, too.

Politics and the ‘dark psychic force of collectivized hatred’
by Paul Stern

President Donald Trump insists he is not a racist, but 51 percent of Americans believe he is, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week. Certainly his “send her back” comments about Somalia-born U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and last week’s jabs at U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore did nothing to dispel that […]

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Enriching the already rich — it’s been the American way.
by David Holahan

There are supposed to be two certainties in life: death and taxes. Here's a 2021 corollary: As the rich get richer and richer, they pay less and less into the U.S. Treasury. It’s no joke, my fellow 1040 filers. A recent study by economists and the IRS found that the richest Americans —yes, those infamous one-percenters— have been cheating on their taxes to the collective tune of at least $175 billion a year.

Opinion There is no equity without standardized race, ethnicity and language data
by The Rev. Robyn Anderson

Over a year into a pandemic that has cost the lives of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color at rates that are unjust and preventable, we cannot allow ourselves or our state to continue to use the word “equity” without the data to show policies really are addressing injustice. We all know the disparities aren’t about race; they’re about racism.

Opinion Baseball is still a civil rights battleground
by Steve Thornton

For over 150 years, the baseball field has been a battleground for civil rights. Bigoted politicians like Texas governor Greg Abbott are still fighting the Civil War — on the wrong side of history.

Opinion Getting connected for Connecticut students
by Sabrina Tucker-Barrett

There is one key to ensuring the success of Connecticut students: we must keep them connected. Whether your children are in fifth grade or freshman year, they have or will continue to learn virtually in some capacity, which means unstable Wi-Fi during class, delays in homework submission or inability to research are unacceptable.

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