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Jacklin Rises

The one question reporters and commentators seem not to want to touch – for pretty much the same reason most of us stay clear of downed power lines – is this: When the chief political writer for a prominent newspaper leaves the paper and is hired for pay by a politician either in office or running for office, is the person’s future contributions to the paper tainted in any way by small-“c” corruption? After all, the returning scrivener is in a perfect position to provide journalistic favors for favored political parties, the downed power line.

The question hangs over the head of Michele Jacklin, who has written a Democrat paint by the numbers opinion piece for the Hartford Courant, “Rell Evokes Regan, But Counting on Obamabucks.”

In a Manichean world in which the universe is divided between the forces of good and evil, there are good ideas, those proposed by President Barack Obama, and bad ideas, the operative ideas of the Reagan era: small government, manageable taxes and a vigorous private market place uncompromised by the destructive programs championed by Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep Barney Frank, which have destroyed the private market place in mortgage lending.

This is the progressive “real world” of Jacklin and others like her.

Gov. Jodi Rell’s budget, she avers, contains the stain of some Reganite ideas, uniformly bad, along with a smattering of brilliant Obama ideas: free manna from heaven and public works projects a la FDR.

We can depend on the forces of light, Democrats who control the legislature, to purify the budget and restore painful cuts and departmental concisions. Do not despair. There are angels among us.

Change and hope are on the way.

Jacklin was the chief political writer for the Hartford Courant for many years. She left the paper and was hired to work on Bridgeport Mayor John DeStefano's ill fated gubernatorial campaign. The identifier that appears below the byline of Jacklin’s commentary reads: “Michele Jacklin is a former political columnist for the Courant and now works at a local college.” The writer's connection with a prior Democrat campaign is not mentioned in the ID blurb, perhaps an oversight.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That would be because she worked for John DeStefano.
Don Pesci said…
Anon,

Thanks. I plead fatigue. Got it right the first time, see link. Michele has never been one to hide her political prejudices under a bushel basket, and this one is typical. I wouldn't surprise me if she ended up in the leftward most Democrat gubernatorial campaign. Academia is awfully boring, and she’s a better Democrat propagandist than Roy Occhiogrosso.
Unknown said…
The Courant only recently stopped referring to Laurence Cohen's past Rowland affiliation.

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