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

Power and powerlessness at home and in Washington, D.C.

  • Other
  • by Paul Stern
  • July 1, 2018
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The Democratic Party’s power in Connecticut and its powerlessness in Washington, D.C., were both on display last week beginning with a special one-day session of the state legislature and U.S. Supreme Court Anthony Kennedy’s announcement that he will retire this summer.

Kennedy’s departure gives President Donald Trump and the Republican Party the opportunity to replace a critical swing vote on the high court with a  more conservative justice, potentially opening the door to changes in policy on a number of social issues including abortion. And while Democrats all over – including Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy — strenuously object, there is little they can do to forestall the appointment before the November mid-term elections.

Clarice Silber :: CTMirror.org

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro: “Cowards.”

They can, however, and apparently will, make the appointment and related issues a rallying cry for voters — something U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, did Friday along with  Blumenthal and Murphy.

The Kennedy announcement was so politically potent that it managed to partly turn the public’s attention from anger over proposed immigration legislation and the Trump administration’s now-abandoned practice of separating undocumented immigrants from their children when they cross the border. DeLauro was particularly incensed and called the Republicans “cowards” for postponing debate and a vote on the issue. She was no less irritated than Murphy and Blumenthal, who complained they were promised, then denied, access to immigrant children being housed in Groton.

Earlier in the week Kennedy and his fellow justices issued a ruling that is widely viewed to have weakened public-sector unions – a matter of grave concern in Connecticut where unions hold considerable political influence and where funding union members’ pensions and benefits has been a defining budgetary issue. It is likely to be a big issue in the gubernatorial elections as well.

mark pazniokas :: ctmirror.org

AFL-CIO leader Lori J. Pelletier leads protest the U.S. Supreme Court ruling outside state Supreme Court.

The campaign to be the next governor chugged forward for some candidates, hit some snags for others and, as always seems to be the case, had a lot to do with money.

In Republican David Stemerman’s case, the money was $10 million of his own that the former hedge fund manager pledged to use to boost his gubernatorial campaign.  For one of his primary candidates –  former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst –  it was about money he would not use to run the state if elected, pledging  “I will veto any new tax hikes and reduce taxes for struggling Connecticut residents.”  And for their fellow Republican competitor Steve Obsitnik, the monies at issue were those raised by an independent expenditure committee called FixCT, Inc., and whether they were collected legally. (He has not given up, he says, on getting the public campaign financing he needs to pursue a viable campaign.)

The race for governor among Democrats got a little more focused when Guy Smith, a corporate executive from Greenwich, conceded that he had not gathered enough voter signatures to petition himself onto the Democratic primary ballot with Ned Lamont and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim.

Democrats, by a narrow margin, hold the political upper hand in Connecticut, as evidenced last week by state senators’ decision to reverse some of their positions on a number of bills and uphold seven vetoes by Gov. Dannel Malloy.

Democratic identity, however, came into question following the surprise primary election in New York of 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic Socialist whose candidacy has parallels with that of Connecticut lieutenant governor candidate Eva Bermudez Zimmerman.

Election campaigns and potential changes in leadership aside, government continues to function — but in some cases not very well. The wait times for callers to the Department of Social Services, for example, are longer than they have ever been despite efforts to improve them.

This chart was part of a presentation given by DSS in March.

Department of Social Services

This chart was part of a presentation given by DSS in March.

Over at the Department of Motor Vehicles wait times are improving, but not everywhere.

Connecticut hospitals, at least, are a little happier than before now that Malloy has decided to release to them close to $300 million in state payments. Submarine makers are perhaps less so following a vote by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee opposing U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney’s, D-2nd District, bid to add about $1 billion to the budget for the purchase of an additional Virginia-class boat per year.

Students at the University of Connecticut, meanwhile, appear to have dodged another tuition increase, for the time being, now that the trustees have approved a new $1.25 billion budget that will not be sustainable beyond the fiscal year.

Not so fortunate are elderly residents who were receiving two meals a day from the state.  Instructed by lawmakers to make budget cuts they could not identify for themselves, Malloy trimmed $2 million from the senior nutrition program, in many cases reducing the number of daily meals to one.

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

Paul Stern Paul is the part-time assistant editor and the primary handler of the Mirror's Viewpoints commentaries. He has more than 40 years of reporting and editing experience at newspapers in New Jersey, Florida and Connecticut. He worked 22 years at the Hartford Courant in various editing roles including as deputy state editor, assistant editor of Northeast Magazine, and as an associate editor at Courant.com.

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 Biden is right to think big on infrastructure
by Jim Cameron

Hurrah! It was finally “infrastructure week” in Washington. In his first 100 days as President, Joe Biden has delivered a plan that his predecessor just kept teasing us with for four years:  a complete rehabilitation and expansion of the nation’s infrastructure.

Opinion My life and every other Black life matters
by Eugene Bertrand

"My life and every other black life matters." This is every black person's motto in the United States of America. In the past few months, we've seen an increase in deaths among the Black community.

Opinion Send us the children
by Kellin Atherton

Send us the children, President Biden. Send us the children, Governor Lamont. But not just the children. Move heaven and earth to find their families. Find mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins. Children are coming here alone. Find someone to ease their loneliness and bring them too.

Opinion Lobbyist uses seniors and people with disabilities to protect drug company profits
by Ellen M. Andrews

Reading William Smith’s opinion (Connecticut must protect vulnerable populations from biased and discriminatory healthcare practices, April 13, 2021), I was worried that my state had passed draconian laws that were harming the health of seniors and people with disabilities. Thankfully, that isn’t the case. Our anti-discrimination laws are still in place and functioning.

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