Jonathan Kantrowitz

Yesterday, the House of Representatives defeated House Concurrent Resolution 248 offered by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) by a vote of 356 to 65. The privileged resolution would have directed the President to remove all American troops stationed in Afghanistan in the next 30 days, unless the President deemed such action to be unsafe.

Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) voted against the resolution, as did Joe Courtney, Chris Murphy, and Rosa DeLauro. John Larson, bless his heart, voted for the resolution.

While Himes believes American involvement in Afghanistan should come to a decisive and successful end as soon as possible, he believes forcing withdrawal in 30-days would put America’s security severely at risk. While a 30-day withdrawal might technically be possible, it would mean the near immediate departure of all American troops without the time or resources to save the billions-worth of military equipment currently stationed in Afghanistan. Additionally, Himes argues that America’s Pakistani and Afghan anti-terrorism allies have made significant progress in recent weeks, and a sudden departure could undermine this improvement.

“I, as much as anyone, want to make sure we have a robust plan in place to bring our troops home as soon as possible and having accomplished their mission,” said Himes. “But it is unreasonable to put our security at risk simply to meet an arbitrarily short withdrawal deadline and irresponsible to walk away from our Afghan and Pakistani allies just as we see them engaging meaningfully.”

This is just Joe Lieberman/Chris Shays talk. (“Nobody wants to bring the troops home from Iraq more than I do.”) What is a “decisive and successful end”? What if no such end is in sight, or even possible? How long do we stay there then? And who are our “Afghan allies” other than corrupt, self-serving warlords? And “billions-worth of military equipment currently stationed in Afghanistan!” It boggles the mind that with all that equipment we can’t fight insurgents with no heavy equipment at all without killing hundreds of innocent civilians.

CTBob and I met with Gerry Garcia yesterday. He’s running for Secretary of the State (SOTS). He is deeply committed to improving voter turn-out, especially in the inner cities, and sees that as his principal mission as a candidate and as SOTS. He previously served on the New Haven City Council , where his proposed “Promise to New Haven” legislation tied the mayor’s salary to increased voter turnout.

CTBob’s write-up is here:

I found Gerry to be very engaging and earnest about the office, and optimistic about his chances. With at least a three-way race for the Democratic nomination looming (against House Majority Leader Denise Merrill, and State Senator and former West Hartford mayor Jonathan Harris) Garcia feels he’ll have the widest appeal throughout the state.

Garcia spoke about the issues facing our state and ways to increase voter participation, especially after a disappointingly low turnout during the 2009 elections. “We need to get more people voting,” Garcia said. “I’m in favor of early voting similar to the system in use in California.” California allows registered voters to opt to vote by mail rather than by going to the polls to vote.

He also suggested same day voter registration to encourage increased voter participation. Other states have successfully implemented the same-day scheme to good effect….

The New Haven Independent has a good write up and video of New Haven Mayor John DeStefano giving his endorsement to Garcia and pledging to deliver most, if not all of New Haven’s 81 votes at the State Democratic Convention in May.

Gerry with his wife and father

The Yale Daily News describes his background better than I can (“94 SOM ’01″ means he graduated from Yale in 1994 and from Yale’s School of Management in 2001):

Former Ward 9 Alderman Gerald “Gerry” Garcia ’94 SOM ’01 announced last week his plans to run for state secretary of the state in the 2010 election. If elected, Garcia intends to boost voter turnout by pushing to make Connecticut an early voting state; make the secretary of the state’s work more transparent; and make it easier for small businesses to open in Connecticut, according to his campaign Web site. In an early voting state, citizens can mail in a paper ballot several weeks before Election Day.

“Not enough people have been stepping up,” Ward 15 Alderman Joseph Rodriguez said. “But Gerry’s a local kid, and it’s time we had that sort of representation at the state level…”

After representing Ward 9 between 1996 and 2001 and receiving his business degree from the School of Management, Garcia worked at the now-bankrupt New York investment bank Lehman Brothers. Since returning to New Haven in 2006 from New York City, Garcia has worked as a small-business financial adviser, according to his campaign Web site.

Garcia, 38, was born in California. Shortly after his birth, his Jewish mother and Puerto Rican father moved the family to New Haven, where Garcia attended the city’s public schools. As a Yale undergraduate, Garcia was president of Despierta Boricua, a service and social organization for Puerto Ricans at Yale, and the Yale chapter of the Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi.

Rodriguez said that in several past meetings with Garcia he encouraged the former alderman to run for secretary of the state. Rodriguez also said he plans to lobby on Garcia’s behalf when Garcia seeks the endorsement of the state’s Hispanic Democratic Caucus — which consists of Hispanic lawmakers in Connecticut.

“Gerry is sending a great message to our younger Latinos: when it comes to making a difference, there’s no barrier you can’t cross,” Rodriguez said.

Ward 6 Alderwoman Dolores Colón, also of Hispanic descent, said she believes Garcia would inspire the state’s Hispanic youth if elected.

“If he’s elected, and he keeps a clean record, he could be a great role model,” Colón said. “I wish him the best of luck…”

One initiative Garcia undertook while he was Ward 9 alderman was the failed “Promise to New Haven…”

Garcia also worked… to introduce the state’s first living-wage legislation, which became law in April 1997. The legislation aimed to reduce homelessness by pegging the minimum wage to the cost of local housing.

CTBob, who is a much more professional blogger/journalist than I, followed this up with The Alpert campaign – and it’s nothing, really – Sorry about that:

Hello, Bob.

Regarding your question from yesterday, Merrick wrote the following to Daniela of The Courant:

“Dear Daniela,

I read your blog yesterday and then contacted the Judicial Branch to make sure that I did not owe any fees. I was informed that I had paid the fees in full for 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. (The 2010 invoices have not been sent out yet.) They did not receive the payment from me for 2008, so I hand delivered that payment to their office this morning. When I spoke with you earlier in the week, I was incorrect when I stated that I had claimed the partial exemption since I do not practice law. In fact, as the Judicial Branch records reflect, I have paid the full fees although legally I could have taken either the full exemption (by filing the ‘Retirement’ form they provided me) or the partial exemption since I don’t practice law.

Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”
Hope this helps clarify things.

Cordially,
Lev

–
Mr. Lev St.King
Director of Communications
Merrick Alpert for U.S. Senate
215 Bank Street
New London, CT 06320
Office: 860.447.3255

So I appear to have gotten my pants in a twist over nothing but a misunderstanding compounded by a misstatement – and I’m glad because I want his voice to remain in the campaign.

Christine Stuart, CT News Junkie, call them “moderate” and “fiscally conservative” Democrats. I call them something else entirely, since many of them have consistently stabbed their fellow Democrats in Hartford in the back as they have vote against Democratic initiatives. I won’t name names – Christine does that, but I will give you a hint – 2 are from the same town in which I reside.

Here’s what these outstanding legislators said in a letter to their leadership: “The only way we can responsibly address the current deficit is to immediately reduce spending.”

Gee, how are you going to do that? Reduce legislator’s salaries and allowances? Fire the State Police? Cut allocations to cities and towns? Whatever you do, it’s going to fall hardest on the poor and working class. But that’s the “only way,” isn’t it?

Oh wait – there is another way – it’s called revenue enhancement – you can start by repealing the cut in Estate Taxes on the rich which you just voted for. And raise income taxes on the wealthy? We can’t do that – some of them might want to move if we do. And some might not vote for me. Too bad – that’s really the only responsible way out of the deficit.

The Congressional Joint Economic Committee has released a new report on the impact of paid sick days legislation on working families.

Representative Rosa DeLauro and Senator Dodd held a press conference in Washington DC today to announce the findings.

“Almost half of all private sector workers—and 79 percent of low-income workers—do not have a single paid day off,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro. “That means 57 million Americans cannot take a day off if they or a member of their family falls ill. This new JEC report shows how paid sick days legislation will protect the public health by helping to stop the spread of diseases such as H1N1, save employers money, encourage productivity, and boost the economy simply by giving America’s workers the freedom and flexibility to stay home if they or their families are sick.”

“Let’s not forget the real victims of the recession – millions of struggling families across America who are just barely making ends meet. Ensuring access to paid sick days is one small but important step elected officials should take to ease the burden on those hardest hit by the recession,” said Jon Green, Executive Director of Connecticut Working Families.

Findings in the report include:

• The lack of paid sick days is most acute among low-wage workers, working women, and minorities and in occupations with key public health implications.
• Evidence suggests employers have been rolling back paid sick days in recent years.
• Employees without sick days are more likely to go to work sick.
• 80% of mothers assume primary responsibility for taking their children to doctor’s appointments
• Half of all working mothers must miss work if their child is sick, and half of them report they do not get paid when they do so

Yesterday, the Labor Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly approved a measure to create a basic workplace standard for paid sick days. The bill (SB 63) would allow workers at business with more than 50 employees to earn paid sick time – up to 5 days per year and explicitly protects flexibility for employers who already have paid leave policies. A similar bill passed in the House of Representatives last year, but wasn’t called for a vote in the Senate.

An estimated 600,000 workers in Connecticut lack paid sick days. Some of the largest groups of workers without paid sick days include workers in food service, retail and healthcare. When those workers can’t afford to miss pay and come to work sick, they risk spreading illness to their coworkers and to the general public.

Dan Malloy today officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010. Malloy, a former prosecutor and Mayor of Stamford for 14 years, filed paperwork this afternoon with the State Elections Enforcement Commission in Hartford.

“Connecticut is still a great state, but the fact is we’ve fallen behind,” said Malloy. “Our problem isn’t that we can’t do better, it’s that we don’t demand better. I’m running for Governor because I’m tired of watching Hartford from the outside and seeing it mired in mediocrity. I want to lead the charge in demanding a better, more vibrant Connecticut.”

Continued Malloy, “Connecticut has become a place where being dead last in job growth doesn’t raise an eyebrow. Having the worst achievement gap in the country gets yawned at. Having more debt per capita than any state in the nation gets accepted as a way of life. Getting shut out of federal funding gets a shrug of the shoulders. Enough’s enough – it’s time to demand better.”

In conjunction with his announcement, Malloy has outlined his position on a number of issues he sees as critical to Connecticut’s future, such as jobs, the economy, education, transportation, and more. The information is available now at www.danmalloy.com.

Malloy stressed that his time as Mayor of Stamford gives him the experience necessary to be an effective leader in Hartford.

“As Mayor, I led the way on issues that will face our next Governor,” he continued. “Under my administration we grew jobs, expanded access to health care, built thousands of units of affordable housing, and made Stamford into one of this nation’s safest cities. I’ll put my track record of success in being a leader that made a positive, meaningful difference in tens of thousands of lives over an extended period of time up against anyone who wants the job I’m working my heart out to win.”

I am a big fan of street-level campaigning. I like to see candidates meeting and greeting average citizens – not just going to DTC meetings and fundraisers. Jim Himes is doing a wonderful job of that – he was all over Fairfield County Monday – but it helps to be an incumbent office holder on break to do that. Jim walked the district from Greenwich to Bridgeport during the last campaign (and I walked from Westport to Bridgeport with him.) He also walked through Black Rock (yes, I was there, too.)

Here are a couple of candidates out on the trail during a previous campaign:

So what do our Democratic candidates’ publicly released schedules look like?

Governor:

Dan Malloy’s calendar is chock-full – very impressive!

Ned Lamont’s schedule is not nearly as full, but he’s clearly out there, and he’s probably not listing everything.

Mary Glassman’s primitive website has nothing listed, nor any place to put such a list.

Rudy Marconi’s website says “There are currently no events.”

Senate:

Richard Blumenthal’s website has no events listed.

Merrick Alpert’s website has 3 past event, from March 6-8, but no future events.

Following President Obama’s call on Congress last week to act now to pass health insurance reform, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine issued this Spanish-language video calling on Latinos to take part in the final push for health reform – reform that would benefit the Latino community:

Spanish version:

English version:

For Hispanics, health reform can’t wait. One out of every three Hispanics under 65 lacks health insurance, 80 percent of Latinos stand to benefit from reform, and all Americans will benefit once insurance companies are held accountable: no more skyrocketing prices that the middle class can’t afford, no more denied coverage for preexisting conditions, and families will be able to keep their children on their policies until the age of 26.

But with Republicans siding with the insurance companies and the status quo, the stakes are too high for Latinos. President Obama has taken the fight for reform further than any other president in history, and we will not give up the fight for reform that will be so helpful for Latino families, who are disproportionately affected by our broken health care system.