Hackett on Politics

In case you missed it....

2009-06-08T08:36:00.000-05:00

In case you missed it — and I don’t how you could unless you haven’t turned on your TV over the last week — President Barack Obama gave a “shout out” to U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd for championing the credit card tax reform bill that he recently signed into law.
The TV commercial — which, by the way, doesn’t mention the language about carrying loaded guns in national parks — of Obama signing the legislation has been running consistently on local TV channels for a week now. The campaign ads are being paid for by Dodd’s re-election committee.
Coincidentally, a “non-partisan” group is also running a television ad campaign praising Dodd for his efforts to secure health care coverage for working families. It’s one of those...”call Chris Dodd and thank him”...commercials.
I find this all a bit amusing because when the senator was in to see us in late March at the height of the AIG bonus problem, he was rather adamant that he had no intention of running an 18-month re-election campaign. It was too early to start that, he said.
Four days after that meeting, he hired a campaign manager. And now, I guess, a 17-month campaign is okay. Hey, why let all that campaign cash just sit there. If you got, spend it.
Of course all this “non-campaigning” comes as the senator is facing challenges from both inside the party as well outside.
At the same time, his potential Democratic primary challenger, Merrick Alpert of Groton, was soundly rebuffed two weeks ago by his own town committee. The Groton Town Committee adopted a resolution praising Dodd for all he’s done, and “condemning” anyone who would dare repeat the “trumped up” charges being leveled at the incumbent. The resolution didn’t mention Alpert by name, but reportedly all eyes were on him in the room as that passage of the resolution was being read.
Obviously the Groton Town Committee membership didn’t get the memo on the Democratic Party’s cardinal rule #1: Never speak badly about a fellow Democrat — at least not in public, and certainly, not to his face.
Groton Democratic leaders went even further by claiming the resolution was not an endorsement of Dodd’s re-election — saying, “it’s too soon for something like that.” Of course, stapling the invitation to a fundraiser next month to benefit Dodd’s re-election to the resolution before it was handed out to those attendence shouldn’t be construed as anything remotely looking like an endorsement — not this early in the campaign, anyway.
Republicans may be known as the Grand Old Party, but honestly, if it wasn’t Democrats, politics would never be this much fun.
Because it gets better.
Where do you think Dodd was when news of the Groton incident broke?
He was in Hollywood, California with his two new best friends — President Obama and “Democratic” Sen. Arlene Specter — hobknobbing with Hollywood’s elite and famous — and rich, too.
And what were they doing in Hollywood? You guessed it, attending fundraising events for the Democratic National Committee and the personal re-election campaigns of Dodd and Specter. And they apparently did rather well.
It may be a wee bit too early to being the 2010 Senatorial election, but It’s never too early to raise the moneyfor it. And once you got, spend it. There’s always more out there.

yeah...it's been a while...

2009-06-05T10:46:00.003-05:00

Some quick updates on the U.S. Senate race.

By now you've probably heard that the field of potential Republican challengers to Chris Dodd has grown with the announcement of former Irish Ambassador Tom Foley's decision to get into the race. I find the timing a bit odd....there's just over three weeks left in this quarter before campaign finance reports have to be filed...not a lot of time to raise money.

Foley was a major fundraiser for George Bush, thus the expectations of his fundraising abilities for his own campaign will be high. He might be able to slide this fist reporting cycle, but a lot that will depend on how well his two Republican rivals do...former Congressman Rob Simmons and state Sen. Sam Caligiuri.

My guess is that Foley's entrance into the contest, and a respectable first filing, will hasten Caligirui's departure from the race.

On the Democratic side....Democratic primary challenger Merrick Alpert and his wife Alex have a new addition to the family. Merrick sent me the following e-mail this morning:

Alex and I wanted to share the good news with you. Our son, Wyatt Mateo Alpert, was born at 12:56PM today at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London. He is 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Mother and son are resting comfortably.

Bright lights in the big city....

2009-05-01T15:02:00.001-05:00

I'm heding down to Washington next week. I'll be in the office Monday but thenout for the rest of the week. I'll post on Monday, but just wanted you to know it will be a week before anything new is posted.

Have a good weekend.

A big switch....

2009-04-28T13:03:00.003-05:00

Just wondering if Democrats here in Connecticut are feeling differently now that Republican Sen. Arlen Specter has decided to swtich parties -- different in the sense that they are relieved that efforts to strip Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman of his decision to continue to caucus with Democrats and his chairmanship in the Senate didn't succeed last year?

With Specter's switch, and assuming that Democrat Al Franken emerges victorious in the Minnesota Senate battle against Republican Norm Coleman, Democrats will now have the 60 votes in the Senate to end debate and block filibusters -- thanks to Lieberman's decision to continue caucusing with Democrats.

Speaking of Lieberman....this is what he had to say about Specter's decision to jump parties:

“I enthusiastically welcome my good friend Arlen Specter into the Democratic caucus. It will be very good to have the company of yet another independent minded Democrat in the caucus!

“I have always admired Arlen as a man of deep principle who has been a bridge builder to get things done in the Senate. Arlen understands that we get things accomplished when we listen to the vital center of American politics. I know that Arlen will continue to make a major contribution to the Senate and the nation as an effective independent leader and problem solver.”

Election time....

2009-04-27T10:08:00.004-05:00

There's a special City Council election in Norwich tomorrow to fill a vacancy on the council. Next week, there are borough elections being held across the state. It's localelection time, so I thought, for anyone who might have missed it, it would be worthwhile to post a copy of my column from yesterday's Norwich Bulletin.

I've discussed this particular issue in the past, but it’s worth repeating this morning.

Question: When was the last time the President of the United States wanted to rezone property in your neighborhood for a commercial development?

Or ordered the extension of a sewer line down your street — and you get the bill whether you wanted it or not?

Or decided to eliminate three police officer positions while at the same time approving the construction of a new $30 million police headquarters — that you’ll pay for over the next 20 years?

Answer: Never.

That’s because those are local issues decided by local government. And yet, every four years 80 percent of the registered voters in our communities vote in presidential elections while every two years we’re lucky to see 30 percent turnout for municipal elections. And it’s those municipal contests that have the most immediate impact on our lives.

There’s a special election being held in Norwich Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the Norwich City Council. The expectation is that maybe 10 percent of the city’s registered voters will participate — if we’re lucky. At a candidates forum Wednesday night, only 15 residents came to hear what the two candidates had to say.

This special election is not attracting a lot of interest or generating much excitement. Part of the reason for that are the two candidates themselves.

To put it bluntly, neither is a ball of fire.

If they were interviewing for a job as a motivational speaker, neither would be hired. I do applaud their willingness to serve, but I have to admit, at the candidates’ forum Wednesday there wasn’t a moment where I suddenly had any urge to leap to my feet and applaud.

But that’s not the point, and it certainly isn’t a reason not to be concerned or ignore the contest.
Because they’re not interviewing for a job to be a motivation speaker.

What they hope to claim Tuesday is the position of local policy maker. They want to have the authority to decide what neighborhood will be rezoned to allow commercial development, what streets will get that new sewer line and whether it’s three police officers or three teachers who will be laid off next year.
They want to be part of that very select group of seven whose every decision potentially affects your life.

And one of them will win that right on Tuesday. The question is, which one?

Anyone who has read this column in the past is already aware of my feelings towards giving voters a choice at election time. Too often, voters have no choice. Two years ago in the city’s municipal election, nine candidates ran for the Board of Education. None of them could lose. Each one was guaranteed victory. It was the same situation two years earlier. Your vote didn’t count.

Four years ago, two Republicans ran for City Council. They couldn’t lose. Their election was guaranteed. It didn’t matter what you thought.

That’s not the case this time. There is a choice.

On Tuesday, one will win and join the City Council — and one will not.

The choice of who wins is a decision to be made by Norwich voters. The question is, are you going to make it, or will you be satisfied to let someone else make it for you?

Twittering....

2009-04-24T14:19:00.003-05:00

I've been told that I am now twittering. I'm not 100 percent sure exactly what that mean (Remember I still use dial-up at home with Windows 98), but apparently each time I add to this blog, somehow those who sign up to follow me on Twitter (why?) will be notified. Okay...

There's a special election in Norwich Tuesday to fill a vacancy on the City Council, the unexpired term of state Rep. Christopher Coutu. Because of minority representation, no Democrat is eligible to run (Dems already hold five of the seven seats). Former state rep and alderman Peter Nystrom is the Republican in the contest and unaffiliated voter Jay Gelfond, a petitioning candidate are vying for the spot. Neither is one that might be described as a ball of fire, and as such, the election isn't generating any excitement or interest. Too bad....too often the races in the city offer no choice to voters, and finally one with a choice comes along and most voters will likely miss it.

On Wednesday, President Barak Obama will hold another televised news conference....his 100th day in office. I picked this up from the PoliticWite Web page....Obama by the numbers:

President Obama will hold his 11th news conference of his presidency on Wednesday and the third one televised in prime time. NBC News notes the only modern presidents who have conducted more press conferences in their first 100 days than Obama are Harry Truman (14) and Bill Clinton (13).

By Wednesday, Obama will have given at least 10 major speeches, held eight town halls and made 14 different trips -- most of them to battleground states.

Since taking office he has signed 13 bills into law and signed 19 executive orders.

Meanwhile, Politifact says Obama has kept 27 campaign promises, broken six, and compromised on seven others.

Have a good weekend....it's going to be beautiful.

And this just in....

2009-04-20T11:06:00.002-05:00

The Simmons for Senate campaign has hired former John McCain New Hamsphire state campaign director Jim Barrett to be campaign manager. Barrett is credited with resuscitating McCain's presidential bid at a time when it appeared the Arizona Senator was down for the count. McCain won the New Hampshire primary, and ultimately the GOP nomination.

Finally....

2009-04-20T10:49:00.002-05:00

The governor and Democratic legisaltive leaders are finally sitting down to begin -- yes begin -- budfget negotiations to addres the state's fiscal problem. It's about time.

When the legislature convened in January, the projected shortfall in revenue for the current fiscalyear was $385 million. Today, it is projected at $600 million -- at least, if not higher. (Twice as high)

When the legislature convened in January, the projected revenue shortfall for the next two years was $6 billion. Today, that projection is between $8 billion and $9 billion. (One-third higher)

There are only six weeks remaining in the legislative session. There are just 10 weeks remaining before the start of the new fiscal year.

We have word this morning that union leaders have agreed to the proposed union concessions. That deal now goes to rank and file members next week for their approval.

That's a start....but that's no where near what still needs to be done....and time is slipping away.

But what's frustrating is this sense that no one sees any need for urgency. They're all working on legislative time ... where reality is checked at the door before entering.

Sen. Dodd -- good and bad news today

2009-04-17T09:48:00.002-05:00

Two interesting news reports today regarding U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd.

In this morning's Boston Globe, a story about Dodd's troubles and the challenge it poses to his re-election bid. Included in the story is a rather strong endrosement....from the President of the United States. From the Globe story:

"I can't say it any clearer: I will be helping Chris Dodd because he deserves the help," Obama told the Globe yesterday in a phone interview from Air Force One, as he flew to Mexico on a diplomatic trip.

"Chris is going through a rough patch," Obama said. "He just has an extraordinary record of accomplishment, and I think the people in Connecticut will come to recognize that. . . . He always has his constituencies at heart, and he's somebody I'm going to be relying on and working very closely with to shepherd through the types of regulatory reforms we need."

On the not-so-good news front, the Connecticut Post has a story this morning about Dodd's recently released campaign finance report where the incumbent reported about $1 million raised during the first three months of the year -- with little of it coming from within Connecticut's borders.

According to the Post story: "The five-term incumbent reported raising just $4,250 from five Connecticut residents during the first three months of the year while raking in $604,745 from nearly 400 individuals living outside the state."

The remaining $437,000 collected came from Political Action Committees, only two of which has Connecticut roots.

Tea parties and TV

2009-04-15T12:12:00.002-05:00

A busy schedule today. I'm taping a cable TV show this afternoon (Take Back Sheila Horvitz that airs on ComCast tomorrow night I believe) before heading over the marina area to catch the Norwich Tea Party.

Then tomorrow, I'll be the guest on Murray Renshaw's cable show on MetroCast at 8 p.m. That's live....and there are phone lines. I'd love to hear from you....ask me anything.

It worked....

2009-04-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

Okay....a couple ofquick updates....

Shortly after my Sunday column ran regarding the 2nd Congressinal District race, Matthew Daly, one of two Republican challengers to U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, sent me an e-mail advising me that Richard Foley is "no longer" associated with his campaign. That after Daly loaned his committee $10,000 of which $8,000 was paid to Foley. (At least he got off cheaper than Sean Sullivan who spent $37,000 on Foley before cutting ties with him.)

Tomorrow is the "tea party" day, a national grassroots effort protesting taxes -- and commandeer by Republicans. I doubt you'll see any local Democratic legisaltors attending any of the events in the state, especially considering they're proposing a $3.3 billion increase in state taxes.

Daria Kovak, the other GOP contender in the 2nd District, is supposedly attending the tea party in Norwich. I don't much about her other than she teaches at Eastern and served as an appointee to the state department in the Reagan administration. A good opportunity to find out more about her.

Updating....

2009-04-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

I've never claimed to be a computer whiz. In fact, I still use dial up service and Windows 98 on my home computer. It works...no need to change. So...you might imaginemy surprise recently when I got a notice that this blog was potentially a "spam site" and my acess was locked until a review could be conducted to make sure that I wasn't a spammer -- like I even know how to do that.

Anyway....the review is supposedly under way, and allegedly I can't post anything until it's completed. But yet here I am....and I'm going to try and post this to see what happens. If it works....we'll resume our postings. If not....I'll find one of the IT guys (or a six year old) to see if they can help.

It didn't take long.....

2009-03-17T13:12:00.003-05:00

Any doubts that a possible Simmons/Dodd match up wouldn't be hard hitting have been dashed already.

Yesterday, somebody registered a Web site www.RobSimmons2010.com.

The problem is, if you go to it, you get a page from U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney's old campaign site (from 2006) with a press release about "tainted" campaign contributions Simmons had received from members of Congress (Republican of course) who were having a bit of trouble with the law -- like facing jail time.

The Web page was created by someone under the name Godaddy.com,. and put up through Domains by Proxy based in Scottsdale, AZ.

And we still have a good 19 months to go before this is over....

Impressions from Saturday's event

2009-03-16T13:49:00.002-05:00

The three Democratic candidates for governor were at the Groton City municipal building Saturday morning, the first forum featuring all three side-by-side. About 70 people turned out...an impressive showing at this early stage for a election that is still more than 20 months away.

It was your typical Democratic lovefest with the appropriate measure of Republican governor bashing....the three candidates playing to the choir of Democrats in attendance.

I think its fair to say that Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy made the best impression. He may only be in the exploratory stage, but he is definitely running. He's already announced that he will not seek re-election as mayor this year, and he was definitely in "campaign mode" on Saturday. The best line, when they were all asked about property taxes, "If you want to solve that, elect a mayor."

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz looked "content" ...and that's not a good sign. She mentioned how recent polls have her as the front-runner, and that's a mistake to think at this stage. Right now, it's all about potential delegates to the state convention next year (which Malloy won three years ago), and how well you're doing in the polls (or rather how known you are by non-convention delegates) is meaningless.

Former House Speaker Jim Amann, I think, missed an opportunity by not really focusing on his efforts to bring the Hollywood East tax credits to the state -- and the fact that they are the "only" new jobs being created in Connecticut right now. It would have been the perfect environment since Sonalyst Studios are located here in Southeastern Connecticut -- a good chance for him to connect with potential Democratic supporters who don't know a lot about him right now.

The surprise, however, was Comptroller Nancy Wyman, who isn't a candidate for governor, but told me she'd like to be....and maybe she might....but not now, and not unless the state's financial crisis gets resolved.

And then of course, the big news of the weekend was Rob Simmons entry into the 2010 Senate contest.

I remarked to Malloy about how he and John DeStefano complained three years ago about the lack of press converage they were receiving in the race (a result of the Lamont/Lieberman race sucking all the air out)...and suggested to him if he thought that was bad....wait until the Simmons/Dodd race heats up...there will be no air left in the room.

And the race is on....

2009-03-10T13:43:00.002-05:00

There not exactly being billed as debates, but the first two showdowns of the three Democratic candidates running for governor in 2010 will be held here in Eastern Connecticut this month.

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy and former Speaker of the House Jim Amann have agreed to take part in two "leadership" forums to discuss the problems facing the state and how they, if elected governor, would address them.

The first forum, just announced today, will be held in Groton this Saturday, 10 a.m. at the City of Groton Municipal Building , 295 Meridian Street.

The second forum will be at the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret Tuesday, March 24, 7 p.m.

Should be interesting.

Somtimes you just shake you head and wonder...

2009-03-03T15:47:00.002-05:00

On the same day that state Sen. Andrea Stillman, D-Waterford, plays host to a press conference with the CT Partnership on Problem Gambling, her legislative committee -- the public safety and security committee -- is holding a public hearing on a proposal to create a new lottery game offering a "big jackpot."

The thinking here is that a larger jackpot will entice more players, thus resulting in more revenue for the state.. Yeah, those problem gamblers will really love the bigger jackpots.

That's as bad an idea as the Republican proposal of allowing 24-hour liquor service at the casinos in the hopes gamblers will stay longer at the slot machines and the state can gain from their sloppy play.

The General Assembly is starting to look like an addicted gambler, rolling the dice to try and hit the big one.

Have we lost all shame?

Small steps....

2009-03-02T14:22:00.002-05:00

Here on the blog, in my column and ineditorials in the paper, I've stated that Democrats in Hartford, and in particular, the Democratic leadership, has not shown much of a willingness to make the tough budget cutting decisions that need to be made -- paerticularly in terms of reducing state spending.

I think it's fair criticism -- they haven't.

However, I also like to be fair. Today, Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, announced that the Senate Democratic caucus was returning $400,000 of its funding allocation to the General Treasury in response to the ongoing state budget crisis. It's a small amount in terms of the $4.7 million the caucus has to run its operation -- but it's a start. It's the first real reduction in spending the Democratic leadership has made.

Some might argue it's a token gesture. It is, but no more so that the governor suggesting she's take a day off without pay (in order words work, but not the paycheck for that day) and asking her commissioners to do the same. Those "small' gestures won't make a dent in the revenue shortfall. But they are at least an acknowledgement of the problem -- something members of the General Assembly haven't cleary demonstrated up to this pont that they get. Maybe, they're now starting to get it.

That would be nice, because time is runing out and there's still a lot more work that needs to be done -- and it needs to be done sooner rather than later.

Williams said that the caucus is continuing to look for other cost saving measures, and hopes to return a full 10 percent to the general fund....that's would be $470,000.

That would be nice....but the deficits we're facing are in the billions....and Williams and the other Democrats need to start looking more seriously on where those savings are going to come from.

Big week coming up...

2009-02-23T11:49:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is a busy day...

Preston voters will again be heading to the polls to voice their opinions on what to do about the Norwich State Hospital property -- eithre proceed with the purchase or give it back to the state. It's a tough call, with risks associated with both choices.

President Obama delivers his first State of the Union address tomorrow night. He supposedly will outline -- although briefly -- his plans for the next big project: Health carae reform.

On Wednesday, the General Assembly wil again try and tackle the current year's $1 billion revenue deficit.

And...did you happen to catch Rob Simmons on Channel 3 Sunday morning. He certainly looked and sounded like a canddiate. Although I've had my doubts about whether he would jump in and challenge Chris Dodd in the 2010 Senate race....I think he's going to do it. A decision is coming in three weeks.

Which is sinking faster....

2009-02-20T13:45:00.003-05:00

The economy, or U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-CT, ?

Dodd's latest problem is the disclose of campaign contributions from the Stanford Financial Group, whose founer is the latest player accussed of bilking investors out of billions of dollars. When asked about it, Dodd said he is donating the $27,500 he received from individsuals related to the firm to charity -- and ardently denied he was 'too friendly" with banking and investment interests.

Meanwhile, the efforts to draft former Ron Paul economic advisor Peter Schiff to challenge Dodd in next year's election is holding a "moneybomb" event this Saturday -- that's an Internet fundraising effort to collect large sums in a single day. It seems the effort is coming out of San Diego, California and spearheaded by six tech-savvy Libertarians. It is, however, gaining some attention from like-minded folks nationwidd. For his part, Schiff is saying he's not really interested and doubts that he could be convinced to run -- but not comletely rulingit out.

And eleswhere, former Republican Congressman Rob Simmons is telling folks he'll make his mind up about a possible Senate run against Dodd by mid-March. I still have doubts about whether he'll jump back in to the political arena -- but then again, a six-year term is a lot easier to deal with then having to mount a campaign every two years....so, who knows.

As for this Sunday's Hackett on Politics column in the paper, it's all about the money and the very strange way the numbers are adding up. Have a good weekend.

Same day voting....

2009-02-18T14:45:00.002-05:00

That was one of the highlights up at the Capitol today, a prosed bill that would allow people to register to vote at the polls on Election Day. It seems like a fairly easy concept to get your arms around -- and I am confused as to why anyone would think that's a bad idea.

I'm originally from Rhode Island. There, you can even register for one of the political parties at the poll on Primary Day. As an independent, I use to go to the poll, register as a Democrat or Republican, vote in the primary of my choosing, go back to the table after voting and re-register as an independent. It was fast, easy and I think, encourage better turnouts.

Same day registeration is a good idea. During this past election, as I was making my way around eastern Connecticut to various polling places and town clerk's office, I ran into a small number of people who said they registered at either DMV or through the mail, but somehow their registration cards were never forwarded to their hometowns. They were stuck using the presidential ballot only

What a surprise....

2009-02-17T10:05:00.002-05:00

There I was last night, sitting on the couch and watching ABC News -- like I do every night. Late in to the newscast, they show a series of photographs released by the White House of President Obama's "photo album" of the economic recovery week. The first photo shown is a picture of Obama serving cookies to his guests at the White House Super Bowl party....

And I couldn't believe what I saw....

Who's he serving cookies to? None other than Jimmy Sullivan of Norwich, CT....the former City Council member, Board of Public Utilities Commissioner and unsuceessful (2004) candidate for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District.

Dodd....

2009-02-13T14:50:00.002-05:00

this from the political wire:

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) is writing a book on the congressional bailout of the financial services industry, titled Thirteen Days: How the Financial Crisis Changed the Politics of Washington. It will be published in June.

According to Publishers Weekly, the book "will provide an intimate look at how, over the course of 13 days last September, a financial crisis led to panic and meltdown. Dodd, the chair of the Senate banking committee, will also describe how he and others acted swiftly to try to save the American economy."

The book is obviously modeled on Robert F. Kennedy's Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

I'm not sure this actually helps Connecticut's senior senator who is not as highly regarded among voters here than he once was. In fact, not a lot of folks feel like he can be believed, and I don't think this book is going to change people's minds.

The big question is....who will the Republicans throw against him in the 2010 campaign. Well..it's seems one well-known Republican has been meeting with the head of the Republican National Senate Committee and is thinking about it. (More on that in this Sunday's newpaper column Hackett on Politics.

Have a good weekend.

Stimulus breakdown

2009-02-12T11:29:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest breakdown for Connecticut in terms of what the federal economic stimulus package does:

It aims to provide or save 41,000 jobs over the next two years.
It provides a tax cut of up to $800 for 1.3 million workers and their families.
It has a college tax credit of $2,500 for four years.
Offers an additional $100 per month inunemployment insurance benefits to the 278,000 residents now out of work.
And provides funding to modernize at least 80 schools.

The state will now receive $2.8 billion in federal stimulus money, slightly higher than the $2.1 billion the governor had used in her budget proposal.

It's far from an immediate fix and the results, unclear as they may be now, will not be immediate. It is a start, however.

Budget fallout

2009-02-06T14:11:00.001-05:00

My e-mail is flooded with press releases from just about every organization one can think of criticizing Gov. m. Jodi Rell's proposed state budget. As promised, the governor served up a proposal that would be filled with enough for everyone to find something to hate....and they have.

What few are offering, however, is an alternative -- except that we need to raise taxes.

I agree that a tax increase is necessary, but only in context with spending cuts. Personally, a one-tenth of 1 percent cut in overall state spending (the first year of her budget, followed by a 3.5 percent increase in spending the second year) doesn't come close to what needed to be done toshrinkthe size of government.

However, there are parts of her proposal that I find do atempt to address the problem

I'm most impressed with her plan to cancel $400 million in approved bonding projects -- most of them earmarks for pet projects of legislators. It was a bold move on her part to send legislation to the General Assembly to formally cancel those authorizations. She didn't have to do that because, as head of the state bonding commission, she controls the agenda and could have simply refused to put any of those projects on the agenda. But she decided to force the legislature hand, saying it is unfair to let folks "think" the funding might be coming -- cause it isn't.

More and more of the details of her proposal will surface as we dig deeper into her budget. And opposition to it will continue to grow each time another new detail is uncovered.

It will be interesting to see what kind of alternative plan the Democrats come up with.

Rell budget

2009-02-03T16:31:00.002-05:00

In a meeting with Gov. Rell last week, she acknowledge that she's heard the criticism of not taking advantage of her political capitol and using it to push forward programs and ideas. She then reached over and grabbed her notes on her two-year budget proposal and said, "This is all my political capital."

Rell is anticipating a difficult budge battle with Democrats...and she took the airwaves Monday night to speak directly to the citizens of Connecticut in what is obviously her attempt to use her popularity to force Democrats to deal.

Tomorrow at noon, she releases her budget....

Then the dealing begins....