Connecticut Republicans struggled over the weekend to gauge how badly their campaign to win control of the Connecticut General Assembly has been sidetracked by the spectacle of a defiant Donald J. Trump facing off against the establishment of both parties over a video showing him crudely boasting of his ability as a celebrity to molest women with impunity.
Donald Trump
Posted inPolitics
For the record, DRS says NYT didn’t get Trump returns from us
In case you were wondering, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services says it’s checked, and there is no evidence that the Donald J. Trump tax returns obtained by the New York Times came from DRS.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Murphy, stumping in Ohio for Clinton, Strickland, presses gun control
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy is testing the political effectiveness of his push for stricter gun laws in Ohio, a battleground for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and a state that could help decide control of the Senate. In an odd pairing, Murphy is trying to help elect Ted Strickland, a Democrat who was once one of the fiercest defenders of Second Amendment rights on Capitol Hill.
Posted inPolitics
Clinton out-raises Trump in CT defense-industry campaign cash
WASHINGTON — Following a national trend, Connecticut’s defense workers and their bosses overwhelmingly gave to the campaign of Hillary Clinton while slighting that of Donald Trump. According to a Connecticut Mirror analysis, as of the end of August, the Clinton campaign raised more than $56,000 from individuals who work for the state’s defense industry, while the Trump campaign raised only $3,094.
Posted inPolitics
Barred from debate, Johnson and Stein will still win votes in CT
WASHINGTON — They won’t be on the stage for the presidential debates tonight, but Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein will be on the Connecticut ballot in November’s election, and are likely to pull votes from both major part candidates, especially Hillary Clinton.
Posted inPolitics
CT financial industry that backed Romney shunning Trump
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney raised more than $1.5 million from people connected to Connecticut’s financial services industry, but few of those deep-pocketed donors are giving to Donald Trump. An analysis by the Connecticut Mirror shows that, as of the end of July, Trump had only raised about $11,000 from that sector.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The NRA’s embrace of Tyrant Trump
In case there were any doubts about the NRA’s noble political arguments for expansive gun rights, the gun lobby’s embrace of Donald Trump should sweep them away. The NRA always reminds us that it puts ‘freedom first,’ but in truth, it cares not a whit about our democracy and basic rights; its only concern is to expand the gun market, at any cost. What’s more, in sticking by the disastrous and openly racist Trump campaign, the NRA risks alienating itself and its agenda—perhaps fatally.
Posted inPolitics
Trump ignites activism among young Muslims in Connecticut
NEW BRITAIN — Alicia Hernandez Strong sat in the lobby of a mosque that didn’t exist when Barack Obama was elected president, telling Yemeni worshippers how they can register to vote in this old industrial city, a place made and remade by successive tides of immigrants. She comes every Friday, setting up a folding table before afternoon prayers. Her inspiration is Donald Trump.
Posted inPolitics
Challenger Carter steadily attacks, but Blumenthal remains aloof
WASHINGTON — The campaign tactics of Sen. Richard Blumenthal and his Republican challenger, state Rep. Dan Carter, are as different as they can be in politics. Blumenthal has largely ignored his challenger, while Carter is waging a death-by-a-thousand-cuts campaign, launching a blizzard of attacks.
Posted inPolitics
Analysts: Manafort departure won’t right floundering Trump campaign
WASHINGTON — The departure of New Britain native Paul Manafort from Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday isn’t likely to help revive a candidate who is plagued by problems, analysts say, but it will tone down distracting noise.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy presses bill that would force release of Trump tax returns
WASHINGTON — Since Donald Trump has declined to release his tax returns, Sen. Chris Murphy is backing a way to make them public – a bill that would force the issue. The effort is part of a renewed Democratic campaign over Trump’s tax filings.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Aetna’s withdrawal from exchanges is fodder in White House race
WASHINGTON — Aetna’s decision to withdraw from most Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges became the latest debating point in the race for the White House Tuesday.
Posted inPolitics
The Republicans’ favorite issue in Connecticut is Malloy
From Donald J. Trump to Republican candidates for the General Assembly, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is repeatedly reminded that the GOP sees him as a potent campaign issue in 2016, even if the two-term Democratic governor is not on the ballot this fall and probably won’t ever seek elective office again.
Posted inPolitics
Despite sweltering heat, Trump draws thousands, blasts Malloy
FAIRFIELD – Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump brushed aside skepticism about his decision to campaign in a deep-blue state and drew about 5,000 people to a rally here Saturday on the hottest day of the year. Trump tailored his message to include heavy criticism of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a litany of statistics about the state’s sluggish economy, and the pointed question, “How did you lose General Electric?”
Posted inPolitics
Trump, Clinton kick off battle for Connecticut
Updated 3:25 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s plans to hold a rally in Connecticut this weekend will rev up the campaign season in Connecticut, sharpening the state’s focus on the race for the White House. Meanwhile Connecticut Democrats urged state Republicans Friday to repudiate Trump.
