Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

Posts

War, Woodward, Biden-Harris, Netanyahu

Netanyahu and Biden - Fox News Bob Woodward’s latest political Grand Guignol, War , will be available to the general public on October 15. In the meantime, we have reviews by select news organizations that have received advanced copies of the book full of horrific and devilish details. According to CNN, “Woodward’s new book, which was obtained by CNN ahead of its October 15 release, gives an unvarnished, in-the-room account of key moments as Biden and his national security team navigates international crises, from the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal to confronting Putin before he invaded Ukraine to private battles with Netanyahu. “Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with firsthand participants, War is filled with newly reported details of high-stakes showdowns. The book explores the political and personal wars that Biden has fought during his presidency, including details about his decision to step aside from the 2024 campaign and conversations about his son Hunter Biden’s

A Brief Political Primer for Voters in Connecticut, 2024

John F. Kennedy-- the last liberal? When we say “Throw the bums out!” -- a common expression in politics -- by “bums” we generally mean incumbent politicians. Politically neutered minority politicians warming their backside on the backbenches are no threat to the state or voters. A politician unplugged is like a lamp disconnected, powerless and incapable of shedding light or producing active policy prescriptions. In Connecticut, during the last few decades, Republicans in the state have been unplugged. We may leave it to academics to tell us when this political mudslide began. Presently all the constitutional offices in Connecticut are occupied by Democrats; all the members of Connecticut’s US Congressional Delegation are Democrats; in the General Assembly, Democrats enjoy a nearly veto-proof majority, and Connecticut’s media appears to be suffering from a severe leftward-ho tropism. As is the case with the national media, Connecticut’s corporate media, less independent every day,

Blumenthal on Democracy and the Supreme Court

Blumenthal Ever since the elevation to the presidency of Donald Trump on November 8, 2016, the Democrat Party, national and state, has been trumpeting itself as the principal defender of democracy. For eight years, the Democrat Party has energetically pointed to Trump’s imagined disposition to bring the American Republic to an ignominious end in favor of a Stalinist authoritarianism. When the Supreme Court ruled, largely for administrative reasons, that partial immunity must be extended to presidents – all presidents, Republican and Democrat -- if a president is acting within his official capacity as president, U.S. Senator Dick Blumenthal of Connecticut erupted in a following July 2024 press release: “The Supreme Court has put lawbreaking presidents like Donald Trump above the law. This cravenly political decision to shield President Trump grants him a legal armor that no other citizen enjoys [emphasis mine]. The net effect is not only to delay Trump’s criminal trial, but bestow an

Did Chris Murphy Engage in Private Diplomacy?

Murphy after Zarif blowup -- Getty Images Connecticut U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, up for reelection this year, had “a secret meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during the Munich Security Conference” in February 2020, according to a posting written by Mollie Hemingway , the Editor-in-Chief of The Federalist. Was Murphy commissioned by proper authorities to participate in the meeting, or was he freelancing? If the former, there is no problem. If the latter, Murphy was courting political disaster. “Such a meeting,” Hemingway wrote at the time, “would mean Murphy had done the type of secret coordination with foreign leaders to potentially undermine the U.S. government that he accused Trump officials of doing as they prepared for Trump’s administration. In February 2017, Murphy demanded investigations of National Security Advisor Mike Flynn because he had a phone call with his counterpart-to-be in Russia. “’Any effort to undermine our nation’s foreign policy – e

Defending the Indefensible, Hayes vs. Logan

Hayes and Logan -- Brian A. Pounds/ Hearst Connecticut Media The first rule in the political handbook is – never attempt to defend the indefensible. The attempt failed spectacularly during the Watergate imbroglio, the dreadful Dred Scott decision that found African American slaves were property rather than persons, and on many other occasions during America’s sometimes checkered history. On October 2 nd , the Hartford Courant carried on its front page an above the fold story – “ GOP commercial blasts U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes for her vote on fentanyl. Why she defends her stance ” that should serve as a textbook example of the rule cited above. The 30 second Republican commercial blasts Hayes as having voted against a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, the “HALT Fentanyl Act”, a priority of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that, according to the Courant, “classified fentanyl in the most dangerous category of drugs… The measure called for classifying fentanyl as a Sche

The Israeli Peace Plan

Netanyahu and Biden -- Avi Ohayon, Israeli Government, via Associated Press It has been plain for sometime – even for those who have eyes but see not, ears but hear not – that Israel’s peace plan is to rid the Middle East of terrorist groups supported by Iran that have pledged to destroy Israel. When news hit the airwaves that Israel had in an airstrike degraded much of Hezbollah’s strike capacity and rid the Middle East of Hassan Nasrullah, Hezbollah’s Secretary General, tears did not flow from Western eyes. The Telegraph In a lead piece, “ Israel has exposed the lie at the heart of Starmer and Biden’s foreign policy ,” noted, “Jerusalem has already nearly destroyed Hamas’s organized military capabilities in Gaza and, combined with “Operation Grim Beeper” just over a week ago, has repeatedly imposed shock and awe on Hezbollah’s top cadres and infrastructure.” The fearless Telegraph pointedly noted the obvious: “Britain and America once understood what it meant to fight a multi-f