Rush Limbaugh told listeners last Thursday that the state of the Connecticut GOP was quite sorry. Responding to a caller from Hartford, he said:
You people in Connecticut don’t have a prayer, it’s over then, when you talk about Republicans winning anything there, unless they’re RINOs. Yeah, I feel for you. Every time I go to Connecticut — I go there every summer — they’re the most depressed Republicans in the country. I mean they out-depress even Republicans in California.
Now, myself and my good pal, former state senator Tom Scott, a true conservative hero in the Nutmeg State, have launched a new outfit, the Roger Sherman Liberty Center, to fill the vacuum, to provide a voice for conservative economic principles in the liberal-dominated and -monopolized public debate in CT. It’s not something we have launched because we have nothing better to do. We have launched it precisely because there is hope that a conservative message – which I will admit is often not a Republican (local variety) message – will resonate with the citizenry.
About the RINOsauruses that have dominated the local GOP for ages: No question, far too many have Stockholm Syndrome. After Democrat Governor Dannell Malloy proposed a budget that raised taxes by billions, the perceived GOP response was 1) general silence, and, from the few Republican legislators in Hartford, that 2) taxes were “on the table.”
Malloy announced his economy-crushing budget in February. A Yankee Institute poll conducted within days uncovered clean angst by CT residents. Amongst the findings (reported at the time by NR’s Brian Bolduc) were majority support for balancing the state budget strictly by spending cuts, (hyper) majority support for cuts in union benefits, majority opposition to tax hikes, and this doozie: “Fifty-eight percent of Connecticut’s residents have considered leaving the state because of high taxes.”
Over at the Sherman Center (which was formed in late March), with a few hands and even fewer bucks, we nearly cobbled together a coalition of GOP and Dem senators to kill the Governor’s proposed budget (we lost, 19 to 17). With a few more days, a few more dollars, what could have been … But even in that defeat was a positive sign, as relates to the sorry state GOP: We contend that by the mere formation of the organization, the 14-member Senate Republican caucus got religion; any talk of supporting any budget that hiked taxes disappeared (amazing what a little bit of clearly stated principle can accomplish), and, a few legislators even became a bit emboldened. On May 16th the Sherman Center filed a legal challenge against the adopted budget, charging it blatantly violated the state constitutional requirement that it be balanced. A hearing is set for June.
There’s tons to do in Connecticut. Tons. Again, the actions of the Senate Republicans – led by Senator John McKinney, standing united in opposition to raising taxes – is at least noteworthy (a few years back, the former Republican Governor, Jodi Rell, even while sitting on a billion-plus dollars in a “Rainy Day” fund, proposed a budget that would increase the income tax by over a billion bucks). We find the adherence to conservative economic principles by a majority of the electorate (as evidenced by the YI poll) to be a sign that much ground can indeed be gained. We find the recent elections of three freshmen conservative senators, Joe Markley, Len Suzio, and Jason Welch, to be an early clue to the new direction.
So Rush, you are right. We are very battered and bruised and if we were taxed any more we would indeed be in Stockholm. Yep, lots of folks are depressed. But here’s where you’re wrong: It’s not over. Your mentor and mine, WFB, said despair is a sin, and he was right, and if there was ever a time for conservatives to be low, it was in 1965, after the Goldwater debacle. And then along came a fantastic and improbable campaign for NYC mayor by a funny-talking conservative: It jump-started what would end up as the Reagan Revolution. In Connecticut people are mad as heck, and we’re sticking a Roger Sherman flag in the ground and yelling rally round, yelling join us as we fight to save our economy, yelling about conservative economic principles in a place that hasn’t heard them for years, sticking up for the small businesses and taxpayers, and castigating the aggrandizing state and professional liberals who for the time being run it. If you are a Democrat who wants to join our cause, great. If you are a RINO who carries a wallet photo of Lowell Weicker, get out of our way. The blood is up, we want to fight, we will fight, we are fighting, we will prevail.
You are smart enough to focus on economic issues that is good, that is where you can make progress.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseKeep an eye on Daria Novak in CT-2. She is changing the discussion in CT politics.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseConsidering that Republicans currently control (Mayor, 1st Selectman, majority on Town Council, etc.) over half of Connecticut's 169 cities and towns; to quote Mark Twain - The rumors of our death are greatly exaggerated.
Our Town Committees do their job; it's only the state party that desperately needs to change and maybe *answer* to it's constituent Republican base.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJack, do you have a preferred conservative fighter in the race for state GOP chair?
I'm leaning toward Rick Torres ...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMy Message to Rush: Come visit my campaign and watch the massive support a fiscally conservative candidate for US Congress has in Eastern CT!
We are not dead or dying here in NE. We are rising and will flip this state in 2012. I am fightin' mad the Democrats are voting to bankrupt our citizens with outrageous increases in spending and taxation. It doesn't mean that we, the voters, accept it. People are standing up and opposing the liberal regime. We have good candidates, are rebuilding the Party, and like the Phoenix, will rise again in the land of William F. Buckley.
I invite you to join me. I am not afraid to stand up to those in Hartford or Washington when they seek power for their own aggrandizement over the interests of we the people. Are you In? Contact me at: www.novakforcongress.com
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe last person the Connecticut Republicans need leading the party is Doug Hageman, that's for sure, he doesn't have the first clue about how to raise money. He also criticizes Chris Healy but never objected to any of the expenditures the state party made. Doug can't have it both ways. I suppose it doesn't really matter, no one is taking him seriously anyway, he's good for comic relief and that's about it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe last person the Connecticut Republicans need leading the party is Doug Hageman, that's for sure, he doesn't have the first clue about how to raise money. He also criticizes Chris Healy but never objected to any of the expenditures the state party made. Doug can't have it both ways. I suppose it doesn't really matter, no one is taking him seriously anyway, he's good for comic relief and that's about it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe neglect of the Republican apparatus at the state level borders on criminal. States that are reliably red in presidential elections... like Arkansas and West Virginia... still send largely Democrat delegations to Congress because the state Republican Party is so weak; much less the Republican Party in New York which seems to be terminally dysfunctional. And in North Carolina, even during the watershed election of 2010, only one Democrat congressional seat went from blue-to-red and that because the Democrat slapped around some college kids on video. And even that was a narrow victory. All of this speaks to weak party apparatuses at the state level. Wisconsin really showed us how a well-organized state Republican machine can be a game-changer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAmen. There are many more conservatives in CT than people think. Thanks for leading the fight. We will get rid of the liberal entitlement mentality in CT....it's just taking longer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI'm a conservative working in CT and thinking of settling here next year when I retire. The thing that gives me pause is how the Democrats have run rough shod over the Republicans in recent times. Gov. Malloy's plan, endorsed by state Democrats, will continue to take the wrecking ball to the state's economy - and frankly, the Republicans have done little to stop them.
Mr. Fowler, I wish you well and will check out the Liberty Center, but you've got a long way to go if you want to get CT off of life support. I met a lot of lifelong residents this spring for whom these new taxes are the last straw; they are planning their exit strategies to more business and retiree friendly states while they can still afford to move.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIn some ways I think the very blue states are the best opportunities to return the repubican party to conservatism. What is there left to lose? The damage of liberalism is apparent? Peolple may be looking for an alternative.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseJack, every Republican is a "Republican In Name Only" because all it takes to join the Republican party is to enroll in it. You do realize that Joe Markley won because of three main reasons 1) Open seat formerly held by a Republican 2) Fairly weak Democrat opponent 3) Very good year for Republicans none of those reasons were because he was a "true conservative." If the extremists think that the way to win in Connecticut is with right wing candidates then you've got a whole lot to learn.
Also, don't get too excited about Suzio either, he won mostly because his opponent was weak and old and because Suzio had run for that seat at least twice before. And let's face it, Jason Welch beat a guy who had been there for just a little too long and who almost got beat by Bev Bobroske in 2004 so it's not like these guy won because they were "true conservatives" or anything like that.
If guys like Doug Hageman would run REAL candidates against people like Joe Aresimowicz and Vicky Nardello, we'd pick up some seats in the House. But no, Hageman trots out former Democrat councilman James Sargeant to run against Joe AtoZ who lost miserably and then he backs the Tea Party extremist Kathy Brown against Vicky Nardello who also got creamed. Nardello is the Democrat who sits in one of the most Republican districts in the state and she's not going to be defeated with a candidate who suffers from Tea Party disease. Now Hageman wants to be party chairman? What a complete joke. Hageman is lucky that Markley and Sampson stepped forward to run all on their own with no help from Hageman.
Now we've got Daria Novak chiming in, the only endorsed candidate to lose in last year's primaries. Daria, you may as well just hang it up now since Coutu is in the race, your supporters are abandoning you left and right.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusehrh, so you're "leaning towards Rick Torres" huh? It doesn't matter who you're "leaning towards" because you have to be on the State Central Committee to vote for State Party Chairman. At the present moment, the number of votes Torres has can be counted on one hand with two fingers missing and that's giving him a huge benefit of the doubt.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe trouble with leaving a state for any reason is that you need somewhere to go, typically somewhere with a job.
I doubt 58% of the residents of CT will be able to find jobs elsewhere. I wish us all luck in our job hunts.
Now, about the increasing taxes in the United States ... where could we go, and still have the same cultural freedoms as we have here?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI told you so....
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAfter living in Ct for 45 years, I left when wicked weiker was elected governor. I saved the nearly $50,000/year tax increase weiker would have forced me to pay, by heading to Florida with their 0% state income tax. All six of my employees came with me.
My small business thrived in Florida. It would have struggled in Ct with the HUGE additional tax burden.
Smarten up folks. You're on the edge of a cliff. Vote with your feet since many too many there are voting with their hand out.
I told you so....
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAfter living in Ct for 45 years, I left when wicked weiker was elected governor. I saved the nearly $50,000/year tax increase weiker would have forced me to pay, by heading to Florida with their 0% state income tax. All six of my employees came with me.
My small business thrived in Florida. It would have struggled in Ct with the HUGE additional tax burden.
Smarten up folks. You're on the edge of a cliff. Vote with your feet since many too many there are voting with their hand out.
Go Jack!
May your efforts meet with the success of BuckPac!
Frank
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