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Republican State Chairman Chris Healy’s unexpected bid to explore becoming the next Republican national chairman is getting a cool reception in Connecticut: Neither of the state’s other two Republican National Committee members back him. Pat Longo of Wilton and state Rep. John Frey of Ridgefield said in interviews Thursday they are supporting the incumbent, Michael […]

Did Joe Lieberman’s “incoherent intransigence” on a piece of the health care reform bill contribute to Democrats’ losses Nov. 2? Ezra Klein suggests Lieberman’s dogged opposition to allowing uninsured adults over 55 to buy into Medicare may have hurt the party’s performance. That provision, which died after Lieberman threatened a filibuster, would have taken effect […]

Expecting cuts to its $332 million allocation from the state next year, the University of Connecticut is hiring a consultant to help it reduce costs. “We think it’s very important we examine the expenses and income of the university… I am very optimistic that we will be able to save substantial dollars,” said Lawrence D. […]

WASHINGTON–As they prepare to exercise their new-found legislative power, Republicans in Washington have made health reform their No. 1 target. But while efforts to defund or derail the overhaul law will no doubt be center stage come January, a host of other health care policies could be also be tweaked or significantly revamped as the […]

At a press conference to launch a holiday fund drive for National Guard families, Gov. M. Jodi Rell Wednesday said she has a little present for Governor-elect Dan Malloy: a detailed budget outline of the state’s financial commitments, her agencies’ initiatives and possible steps to help close next year’s $3.3 billion deficit. Rell said the […]

Linda McMahon’s U.S. Senate campaign is looking more and more like a one-woman economic stimulus plan, albeit one that didn’t produce a new job for the candidate herself. A new Washington Post analysis found that McMahon’s $47 million Senate spending blitz translated into $97 per vote won on Election Day. That put her at No. […]

With the two parties still sorting through the 2010 election detritus, Sen. Joseph Lieberman has gone to another place with a lot of political turmoil: Iraq. Connecticut’s soon-to-be senior U.S. senator is traveling abroad this week with Republicans John McCain and Lindsey Graham, of Arizona and South Carolina respectively. Lieberman’s office was tightlipped about the […]

NORWICH – When this cash-strapped town closed its schools for spring vacation last April, it still had to pay to keep school buses rolling. The school district continued operating buses for students attending programs outside the district, including a New London magnet school and state-run technical and agricultural high schools. Norwich school bus: Transportation is […]

Calling it a “national catastrophe,” an urban education group Tuesday released a study showing a vast achievement gap between black and white male students in the country, and suggesting that poverty is only part of the cause. The report, by the Council of the Great City Schools, finds for example that only 11 percent of […]

One burning question (among many) in Washington right now is what Democrats think about Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bid to keep her leadership job in the next Congress, despite seeing her party lose 60-plus seats in the House. It’s something a lot of lawmakers would rather not chat about, at least in public. Among the Connecticut […]

Governor-elect Dan Malloy may have promised not to cut state aid for schools, but state education leaders aren’t taking that for granted: They’re scrambling to form a plan for dealing with a major loss of funding. For the current school year, state lawmakers capped school aid at $1.9 billion, but $270 million of that was […]

WASHINGTON–When the political music stops at the House Democratic Caucus post-election bash, will Rep. John Larson still have a chair at the leadership table? Larson’s staff says yes, and the 1st District Democrat has been holed up calling his House colleagues to shore up support. But others say Larson’s ability to keep his job as […]

Honeymoons never last, especially in politics. But Governor-elect Dan Malloy is getting the warm greeting from legislative Republicans in Hartford that Barack Obama never experienced in Washington after winning the presidency. House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, are praising Malloy, who will be the first Democratic […]

Just as they did during passage last spring and during the fall campaign season, Democrats and Republicans disagree about health care reform in the aftermath of last week’s election, Chris Cillizza says at the Washington Post. Democratic strategists say the reform bill was at worst a neutral factor in the minds of voters, noting that […]