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May 9, 2008
Lawmakers Loathing Makes Lawn Signs Linger, Languish
Friday May 9, 2008
In the rubble of the recently departed legislative session, amid the posturing and preening, the arguing and subterfuge, the boulevard of broken laws, uncalled amendments and the cynical dismality of "technical" changes to state law, is an example of self-destruction.
Scroll through recent Blog-o-ramas to the last "lawn signs" posting to get the back story.
Be that as it may, the bill Rep. Chris Caruso attempted to amend, which would have allowed incumbent lawmakers to skate on 30 percent of the value of their lawn sign stock, died when the General Assembly finished work at midnight, or 12:04 in the Senate, or even later in the House, which didn't go "sine die" (pronounced SIN-ay DEE-ay) until House Majority Leader Chris Donovan got around to it at 12:14 a.m. on Thursday.
House members had openly groused about having to bill themselves for lawn signs they've already had, so Donovan "PTed" (passed temporarily) the bill into oblivion.
Since they lashed out at Caruso, the chairman of the ethics-minded Government Administration & Elections Committee, and disposed of the bill (out of sight, out of mind) in the last few days of the waning Legislature, it has now come back to bite them.
Because without a change in the new public-financing law, no matter how old the incumbents' lawn signs are, they'll have to subtract the FULL VALUE from their taxpayer-finance Citizens Elections Funds grants this summer. And if there's anything incumbents don't want to give up, is an edge on their opponents, particularly in the scared New World of public financing.
Yep, taxpayer-paid "information" mailers from the Capitol isn't enough, they want to keep their lawnsigns for free, too. So it's a true, if rare example, of the House's dissing of Caruso costing them serious coin, unless a crazy fix can be done in the upcoming special session. Maybe that's another way to kill ethics reform, if that gets tacked on to the special session too.
Posted by Ken on 6:58 PM
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May 7, 2008
Saddle Up The Pumpkins, The Legislature Is Almost Finished
May 7, 2008
And we're about 13 hours from the end of the session.
Finally, after 13 weeks during which a three-figure surplus turned into a double figure (in million$) deficit, we'll say goodbye to the rank and file of the General Assembly.
It's too bad the session ends in ignominy.
But the Democratic majority didn't feel like letting the lowly GOP minorities get free campaign face time on CTN to offer their "alternative" budget.
It was in the wee hours this morning that the Senate passed House Majority Leader Chris Donovan's plan to expand the state employee health-care plan, which seems an odds-on bet for Gov. Jodi Rell to please her buddies at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and state health insurers by vetoing it with a vengeance.
One does wonder, however, if the insurance industry is opposed to the bill, why isn't it doing something to provide affordable insurance for small businesses, who along with municipal governments and non-profits, would be allowed to join the state plan?
Blog-o-rama is counting down the hours before the chariots of Lexus, Saab and Suburban Assault Vehicles in the Capitol parking lot turn back into pumpkins, But fear not, they'll be back soon for some kind of special session or another.
Posted by Ken on 10:39 AM
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May 6, 2008
The House Has More Budget 'Vehicles' Than a Used-Car Lot
Tuesday May 6, 2008
It's 11 a.m. We're down to the last two days of (in)action in this year's legislative session.
House Minority Leader Larry Cafero, who had more "vehicles" than a used-car lot upon which to attach a budget amendment, briefly brought out his 110-page package late last night, only to be thwarted parliamentarily.
"I told the speaker we only wanted about an hour," Cafero said a little while ago. Seems like a small amount of time during a session where hours and hours have been wasted in meaningless floor debate or just standing around waiting. House Democrats seem content to NOT let this happen, because in an election year, they see no point in letting Republicans advertise themselves on CTN.
A similar amendment sits on various Senate bills, including Donovan's own bill that would open the state health-insurance plan to municipalities, non-profits and small business.
Posted by Ken on 10:44 AM
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May 5, 2008
Cappiello Hopes His White House Visit Isn't By The Book
Monday May 5, 2008
It's noonish and the state Senate is bidding adieu to Sen. David Cappiello, who's gambling that he can unseat U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5 after one term.
What the Senate does best is eat (actually it's what majority Democratic senators do best) and congratulate each other.
But it's a smaller group, 36, than the House, 151 and personal bonds may be a little closer there than in the rough-and-tumble lower chamber.
Be that as it may, "the circle" has just concluded a send-off of good wishes for Cappiello, R-Danbury, who had two terms in the House followed by five terms in the Senate.
Sen. Judi Freedman, R-Westport, who's leaving the Senate herself after 11 terms, was one of the last senators to offer praise a few minutes ago.
And unlike the mere words that filled the Senate chamber, Freedman also presented Cappiello with a coloring book called "A Visit to the White House." Murphy, anticipating another big Democratic wind in Washington this November, probably hopes that's as close as Cappiello ever gets.
Posted by Ken on 1:26 PM
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May 2, 2008
House Members Count The Ways They Love Lawn Signs, Loathe Chris Caruso
Friday May 2, 2008
It's late, hours after majority Democrats agreed to blow Dodge without messing around with the $18.4 billion budget crafted (THERE'S a verb) last year.
Before we get too far away from Thursday night, however, Blog-o-rama wants to go back to a wild debate that had lawmakers on both sides of the aisle lined up against Rep. Chris Caruso, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the Government Administration & Elections Committee.
The result was a 90-minute debate on a bill that was supposed to be quick, unanimous a technical fix to the elections-reform jive that editorial writers call taxpayer-financed elections.
Fill in your own reasons to loathe Caruso. Blog-o-rama has known him for a quarter century and likes him. There's a place for him in the Legislature, although apparently NOT as GAE co-chairman in the anticipated, imminent reign of Chris Donovan, D-Meriden, as speaker of the House.
Be that as it may, Caruso was put in the unenviable position of trying to fix a stupid section of the new election law that BANS incumbents from using their old lawn signs in the upcoming election.
The issue is a level playing field with the public financing. Lawn signs in the hand are an advantage.
Caruso tried to explain an amendment - the bill was ultimately suspended in time, "passed temporarily" for possible consideration later - that would have required incumbents to charge 30 percent of their sign stockpile off their 2008 cash from the Citizens Election Fund.
"It doesn't make sense not to reuse something you paid for," Rep. Themis Klarides, R-Derby, said. "It's only common sense. There was a large consensus in both chambers as to the use of lawn signs," she said. "At some point it's up to the chairman to take that into account. We think we should be able to use our signs."
"We're trying to make it as fair as we can," Caruso said Friday morning, when folks had cooled off a little.
"They love to beat up on him," said Caruso's deskmate in the House, Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, smiling.
"If we don't work out a compromise," Caruso said. "The lawmakers can't use their signs."
It's another cliffhanger for the waning few days of the 2008 General Assembly.
Here's an assessment of the scene by Rep. Jim O'Rourke, D-Cromwell, a former GAE chairman: "Leave it to Chris Caruso to turn a consent calendar into a filibuster," O'Rourke said in an interview.
Posted by Ken on 10:43 PM
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May 1, 2008
Newby Ambush Thinks Inside The Circle, Leads To The Lesson of Rule 2313
Thursday May Day, 2008
Wet-behind-the-ears Sen. Rob Russo, R-Bridgeport, the newest member of The Circle, over-reached last night as he sat next to Sen. Ed Gomes, D-Bridgeport. Russo learned the hard way that even when you're right, you can be wrong.
Russo, elected a couple minutes back in that special election to fill the vacancy left when Bill Finch decided to focus on being mayor of Bridgeport (how's THAT workin' out?), offered an amendment that would ban members of the City Council from having city jobs.
It seems like a good idea, although if it went through, there would probably be sharply reduced interest in serving on the council. Anyway, there's a Bridgeport ordinance banning city employees from the Council, but that's superceded by state law that allows it.
"No matter how you see it, it's a conflict of interest," Russo said, standing next to the seated Gomes. It would have amended state law to allow towns and cities to decide for themselves.
"This is the same body that receives hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding," Russo argued in that (Rep.) Chris Caruso kind of self-righteous way that provokes instant opposition in a certain wide strata of Capitol lawmaker.
"I believe it should be handled locally by the municipalities," Gomes responded, begging the question.
Sen. Dan Debicella, R-Shelton, probably didn't help Russo by standing up and weighing in.
Gomes got grumpy and Rule 2313 was invoked. The roll call vote, crushing Russo's amendment, was 23-13, with all Democrats voting against all the Republicans.
It was at this moment that Blog-o-rama realized why the Senate is less interesting than the House. Since they're in that circle, they can only see each other. They should think outside their circumference more often.
Posted by Ken on 11:26 AM
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April 30, 2008
Budget Bilgewater Masquerades As Mint Julips. The KY Derby, Special Legislative Session, Must Be Close
Wednesday April 30, 2008
With the budget meltdown living up to its potential and Capitol pols stumbling over each other to feign fiscal relevancy, Blog-o-rama notices today that the Kentuck Derby must be Saturday.
More evidence: everyone from Senate President Don Williams to Gov. Jodi Rell and beyond are on their high feakin' horses.
The early line is that Big Brown, with only three races under its feet, is the favorite for the Runnin' for the Roses, while the odds of a state budget agreement by midnight May 7 are 3-1 against.
Posted by Ken on 1:09 PM
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April 29, 2008
State Armory, Officer's Club, Dedicated to Gov. Bill O'Neill
Tuesday April 29, 2008
It's noonish and Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Nikki O'Neill, the widow of the late former Gov. William A. O'Neill, just unveiled a bronze plaque and a wooden sign designating the state armory as the Gov. William A. O'Neill Armory.
It's probably appropriate that the outdoor sign is located between the main entrance and the more-informal door that leads to the Officer's Club.
Nikki reminded everyone that her late husband, who might have made the U.S. Air Force a career if his father hadn't died and "Billy" came back to East Hampton to run the family saloon, liked the O Club very much.
"A lot of very-important decisions were made in the Officer's Club," Nikki told about 200 people gathered on the armory's second-floor gymnasium space. "Or at least, that's what he told me."
Nikki, appropriately enough, invited those present, including old loyalists like former Lt. Gov. Joe Fauliso, to repair to the O Club for "a light lunch and a few cocktails" after the event.
The 100 or so Connecticut National Guard troops - clad in desert camo - present at the ceremony seemed like they would have supported to idea, but they were on duty.
Nikki also said that former Speaker of the House Nelson Brown is recovering in a Groton assisted-living facility, waiting for a prosthetic leg, after a recent amputation.
Rell, who remembered O'Neill as governor when she was a freshman member of the House of Representatives, called him a "titan of Connecticut politics" and that he was "decent and fair."
"Bill O'Neill always made sure common sense prevailed when decisions were made," Rell said.
Maybe lawmakers currently embattled with the state budget, should take a page from the political playbook of the old timers and wander across from the Legislative Office Building, salute the new sign and plunge into the frfiendly darkness of the O Club to wet their whistles and talk some "common sense" with each other, for a change.j
Posted by Ken on 12:11 PM
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April 28, 2008
Lawmaker Can't Get Satisfaction, But Wants To Get What He Needs
Monday April 28, 2008
Rep. Don Clemons, D-Bridgeport, took a page fromr Ernie Newton's expertise in malaprops this morning, during a news conference on the need for more black and Latino judges.
Newton, currently serving five years in federal prison on corruption charges, was famous for butchering the language.
He was possibly best known for asking that a state budget be cut with "a scaffold, not a meat ax," when he meant scalpel.
Back when he was city council president in Bridgeport, Newton once proclaimed "I don't want to be no escape goat."
Anyway, Ernie's out of circulation for a while and Clemons, chairman of the Black and Latino Caucus, led a news conference this morning on the need for more minority judges.
"We the members of the Connecticut Black and Latino Caucus are here to express our DISSATISFICATION with Gov. Rell regarding nominees of judges to Connecticut's Superior Courts," he said, not exactly getting the news conference off on the most-coherent foot.
Posted by Ken on 1:23 PM
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April 25, 2008
Bush, Desperate For Applause, Finally Admits He Was Born in Connecticut
Friday April 25, 2008
President Bush's motorcade has paralyzed capital-area traffic this morning, on the way to in his flimsy "business" excuse to take a taxpayer-paid trip to Connecticut.
Late-morning traffic was frozen on I-91 south of Bradley International Airport, for his motorcade to a Boys & Girls Club function in Hartford, where he praised the club's campaign against malaria.
U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, R-4, came off Air Force One with the president.
Things are so bad for the unpopular president that he finally broke down and publicly admitted in that Texas drawl that he was born in Connecticut to trigger a smattering of applause.
This fluke of the map and calendar occurred back in New Haven just after WWII, when his father was at Yale.
But the president's main goal Friday was an early afternoon, $1,000-a-head function at Henry Kissinger's place in Kent, to benefit the congressional candidacy of state Sen. David Cappiello, R-Danbury, who's trying to unseat freshman U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5.
Kissinger, you'll recall, was the architect of the "Peace is at Hand" lie in Vietnam for President Richard Nixon in the runup to the 1972 election, when Hammerin' Henry was secretary of state.
THERE'S a guy who should live in a "compound," a term of art for an insulated multi-millionaire who's still considered a war criminal by many around the globe. Bush was getting there by helicopter after motorcading back up to Bradley
Chris Healy, GOP state chairman, told Blog-o-rama yesterday that there's going to be some kind of split between the state and national Republican parties over the revenue produced by the suddenly malaria-astute president.
It's $10,000 to have a photo taken with Bush, on top of the $1,000 entry fee.
Nancy DiNardo, the state Democratic chairwoman who still is in denial over the Democrats' potential for self-destruction in a presidential election year, cackled Friday:
"We hope that President Bush comes back often and continues to pose for pictures with David Cappiello and Chris Shays. With every visit to our state, he will remind the citizens of Connecticut that, if these two individuals are elected to the US Congress, they will carry on Mr.Bush's failed policies well after he moves out of the White House."
Posted by Ken on 12:04 PM
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