And You Can Quote Me

Speaker of the State House and Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. House in the 5^th District Chris Donovan, with an assist from his fired finance director Robert Braddock, has slipped in blood.

The Donovan “Roll Your Own” politician scandal, dubbed “Speakergate” by Capitol Report founder Tom Dudchik , has produced some piquant quotes.

Here’s one from union boss Leo Canty, identified in a Capitol Watch piece by Christopher Keating as “one of the best-known union leaders in the state.” Mr. Canty, apparently unfamiliar with FBI sting operations, is trying his best to make a mole hill out of a mountain:

“There’s always people and events that will trip you up. This is just a slight trip in this race. … This is a hiccup and a glitch.”

The hiccup so far has resulted in the arrest of Mr. Donovan’s fired finance director on a charge that he conspired with other people – not to mention the FBI agent under Mr. Donovan’s bed – to hide the source of sizable campaign contributions, an offence that has sent lesser hiccups to jail for long periods of time.

“I have my head held high. No one bought my involvement or my influence on any legislation, period,” Mr. Donovan told union supporters gathered together at a rally in Hartford – just before he ducked into a car to avoid inconvenient questions from the media, according to a report in the RegisterCitizen:

“Donovan, too, chose to address the controversy only in passing. Instead, he said he wanted to talk about ‘fairness, dignity, respect.’
“’You take the first letter of each of them and what you get?’ Donovan asked the crowd. ‘FDR.’”

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