Former Connecticut House member Chris Shays was in the historic House chamber this afternoon for Gov. Dannel Malloy’s budget address. “I thought the governor gave a terrific speech,” said Shays, who is vying with Linda McMahon for the GOP’s U.S. Senate nomination. “I thought it was decisive. I thought it showed leadership. And the real question is how well can both sides work together? The big challenge that this state has – and I think the governor knows it but I’m not sure the majority in the Legislature knows it – that when you tax wealth and you tax jobs they leave. So that’s the one thing they’re going to have to sort out. Too many people are leaving the state because other states are more attractive economically. Candidly, I’ve been speaking to folks in terms of supporting my campaign and now their legal address is in Wyoming or Florida. And I know people who have shut down their businesses. And I know that certain states are targeting us like Florida and Wyoming where the governors are actually calling businesses here. You can micromanage and try to incentivize businesses here, but overall you’ve got to find a way to get the overall tax rate down on employers. But this was a decisive speech. It was clear that he’s isolated the problems that he wants to address and I think people should respect that.”
Archive for February, 2012
Labriola on Yankee poll: It’s not how you start, but finish
State GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. downplayed the findings of a new poll by the conservative Yankee Institute that doesn’t exactly bode well for Republicans.
Among Connecticut voters surveyed by the Yankee Institute, President Obama holds a 50-37% advantage over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and a 56-35% edge over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
“It’s very early in the process,” Labriola told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers. “We’ve had months and months of very close focus on the Republican candidates for president and very little investigation during this time on Obama’s record. Once we do unite behind our nominee for president and the voters give a thorough investigation of the woeful economic policies of the Obama administration, they will turn to the common sense leadership and fiscally conservative policies of our Republican nominee for president.”
Labriola also put a positive spin on the U.S. Senate race polling by the Yankee Institute, which shows Democratic Congressman Chris Murphy, D-New Britain, with a 49-40% edge over former WWE CEO Linda McMahon and a 45-39% lead over former Congressman Chris Shays.
“I would treat him as more of the incumbent in the race,” Labriola said of Murphy. “I think it’s clearly going to be a horse race for the United States Senate seat in Connecticut. We’re more than overdue for the voters to restore a balance of power to Connecticut by sending a Republican to the United States Senate.”
Wieland jumps into 4th CD race
Richard Wieland
The 4th Congressional District picked up a late entrant today — Redding Republican Richard Wieland.
Wieland, 80, formally announced his candidacy on the green in Redding, according to state GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr., who was in attendance for the announcement.
According to a biography on Wieland’s campaign website, he has a background in aerospace, information technology and defense industries.
Wieland joins fellow Republicans Chris Meek of Stamford and Steve Obsitnik of Westport as would-be challengers of U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Greenwich, a second term incumbent.
Malloy reflects on eve of second budget address
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, speaking this afternoon to reporters at CCSU: “We have traversed a tremendous amount of territory in the last 13 months, going from a state where we had the largest per-capita deficit in the nation, to a point where we established our means and we’re going to live within them. I have said this from Day One: I manage for long-term results hoping that there is a short-term byproduct. And we’re going to continue to manage on a long-term basis. Education reform, a package will be adopted this year. The full impact of that package won’t be understood for several years to come. We manage for long-term results, not short-term results. I didn’t manage for short-term results when I was a mayor for 14 years and I’m not going to switch and manage for short-term results as governor. I’m going to do what I think is the right thing to do, whether it’s popular or not, and try to move the state forward.”
Tong weighs in on Hoekstra ad, wants apology
State Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, who is seeking his party’s nomination for U.S. Senate, is out today with a reaction to the controversial Super Bowl ad aired by Michigan Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra.
The ad depicts a young Asian woman and apparently refers to American jobs being shipped to China, although China is not mentioned.
Tong was the first Asian America elected to the Connecticut General Assembly and would be one of the few Asian Americans on the national political scene were he to win the nomination and November’s general election.
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A MESSAGE TO CANDIDATE FOR UNITED STATES SENATE PETE HOEKSTRA
Stamford, CT – Following the airing of U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra’s racist TV commercial, candidate for U.S. Senate William Tong (D-CT) released the following statement:
“Images of a young Asian woman riding a bicycle among rice paddies speaking in cliched, broken English have no place in our political discourse. Hoekstra’s ad is xenophobic, racist, fear-mongering, and quite frankly disgusting.”
“Let us remember that Chinese Americans and Asian Americans of all national origins have fought and died for this country. Japanese Americans saw during World War II what can happen when xenophobia takes hold of the country. It is important now, as our interaction and competition with China increases, that we not stigmatize or vilify another group of Asian-Pacific Americans who have for generations been among the most important contributors to the nation.”
“Pete Hoekstra owes an apology to all Americans. The ad should never have been made, and both it and its disgusting companion website should be pulled immediately.”
Conservative Yankee Institute poll: Obama beats Romney by 13 points; Malloy approval at 51 percent
The Yankee Institute’s poll of 500 “likely” Connecticut voters has found that President Obama would defeat Mitt Romney 50-37 percent; US Rep. Chris Murphy has a 49-40 percent edge over Republican Linda McMahon in a US Senate scenario, while Chris Shays would lose to Murphy by 45-39 percent.
The poll, released in the Capitol a few minutes ago, pegs Gov. Dannel Malloy’s approval rating at 51 percent. The margin of error in the small sampling is plus or minus 4.5 percent.
A lesson in CT geography from Linda McMahon
I was born and raised in Connecticut and – until today - unaware or did not remember we have a Scotland.
But thanks to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon’s campaign, now I know/remember.
Former Scotland First Selectman Clark Stearns was among the latest group of officials to endorse McMahon’s bid for the GOP nomination, according to the campaign.
McMahon’s been releasing these endorsements - currently over 150 - every few days to give a sense of momentum to her second bid for Congress and to cow opponent Chris Shays, a former U.S. Rep., into giving up the fight to return to Washington D.C.
Scotland – located on the road from Canterbury to Windham – looks lovely.
Here’s a description from the town website:
-Scotland is located in Eastern Connecticut and is part of the “Last Green Valley”. Although relatively small in area, Scotland makes its own mark. Birthplace of Samuel Huntington, our country’s first President, his home still stands and is open to visitors. Our very busy library is also home to the D’Elia tool museum. Nationally recognized for its collection of antique wood planes, it’s worth the trip. The Waldo house is home to both Farm Days in early May, and the Highland Festival in early October.-
And for those of you who read that and thought, “Samuel Huntingon?” here’s a link for the Huntington Homestead.
Brian K. Hill channels Rodney Dangerfield
No respect, no respect.
That’s the message coming out of Republican Brian K. Hill’s U.S. Senate campaign.
A former Judge Advocate General’s Corps officer, Hill is once again making a case: to be included in the GOP Senate debates with frontrunners Linda McMahon and Christopher Shays.
Hill’s campaign spokesman Chip Jones issued this statement today:
“Brian K. Hill is the only true conservative candidate in the Connecticut political discussion. What’s more, he is a conservative who can cross political and class lines to offer a message of hope to regular everyday people, who neither of them bump into in their own social circles. Mr. Hill’s message is an inspiring message of hope to the unemployed and underemployed. A message of simple values that will build the economy back to the point where normal middle class life is not a dream, but an attainable goal. Let me be clear. Brian K. Hill relishes the opportunity to debate either or both of his challengers.
Does it make you wonder?”
