Connecticut

The mores of the Nutmeg State are somewhat changed since Colonial days when New Haven’s famous “blue laws” provided the death penalty for adultery and imposed heavy fines for “concealing or entertaining Quaker or other blasphemous here ticks.” Time has shattered the political and social concepts of the early settlers; but it does not follow, as some critics aver, that Connecticut thinking is now dominated by left-wing intellectuals. Few native sons are included in the tiny minority of the articulate elite, including New York commuters and refugees from Europe, Los Angeles and the Middle West, whose collective voice enunciates the dogma of Liberal conformity. At the national level the influence of this Liberal coterie is considerable; but back home it seems to have encountered the law of diminishing returns.

Such titans of the Liberal hierarchy as former Governor Chester Bowles, former Senator William Benton and former Governor John Lodge have been ousted from public office by the voters since 1950. They have received consolation from Washington, but the record of rejection at home remains. The over-all record suggests that Connecticut’s highly publicized dedication to the Liberal conformity is an illusion.

SJ

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Sam M. Jones

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The mores of the Nutmeg State are somewhat changed since Colonial days when New Haven’s famous “blue laws” provided the death penalty for adultery and imposed heavy fines for “concealing or entertaining Quaker or other blasphemous here ticks.” Time has shattered the political and social concepts of the early settlers; but it does not follow, as some critics aver, that Connecticut thinking is now dominated by left-wing intellectuals. Few native sons are included in the tiny minority of the articulate elite, including New York commuters and refugees from Europe, Los Angeles and the Middle West, whose collective voice enunciates the dogma of Liberal conformity. At the national level the influence of this Liberal coterie is considerable; but back home it seems to have encountered the law of diminishing returns.

Such titans of the Liberal hierarchy as former Governor Chester Bowles, former Senator William Benton and former Governor John Lodge have been ousted from public office by the voters since 1950. They have received consolation from Washington, but the record of rejection at home remains. The over-all record suggests that Connecticut’s highly publicized dedication to the Liberal conformity is an illusion.