Connecticut Politics At The Zero

But never met this Fellow

Attended or alone

Without a tighter Breathing

And zero at the bone.

—Emily Dickinson

Connecticut’s far left – Governor Dannel Malloy and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy – have offered public endorsements to New Haven mayoralty candidate Toni Harp, not the brightest thing to do during a Democratic primary campaign. The endorsements have disappointed Hartford Courant commentator Colin McEnroe. The irritant in his shell has produced the following pearl of wisdom:

“Meanwhile, Murphy endorsed Harp. I have no idea why anybody thought this was wise or necessary. It could be an act of solidarity among people who have had difficulty paying their taxes on time, although in this arena Murphy is kind of a penny ante player, with a history of chronic sloppiness about paying his property taxes, but we're talking just a few months late on a few thousand dollars. Meh.”

Columnists live for these moments.

In the meantime, former State Senator Edith Prague has thrown a pitchfork at Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie. Mr. Rennie earlier harpooned Ms. Harp, and Ms. Prague rushed to her defense, berating Mr.Rennie as a “character assassin” and calling upon him to retire. Ms. Prague, the senator from AFSCME , retired from her labors at the General Assembly after about three decades and was rewarded with a $100,000 a year position as the Commissioner of The Department of Aging.

Mr. Rennie’s response to Ms. Prague’s scurrilous attack on journalism may be found here: Never one to hold back i8n a barroom brawl, Mr. Rennie retorted:

“The holder of a make-work commissionership and former legislator, Prague has dipped into her barrel of bile before when I've pointed out Harp’s shortcomings as a guardian of the public trust…”

The 2014 campaign is now officially opened.

The Blumenthal Burisma Connection

Steve Hilton , a Fox News commentator who over the weekend had connected some Burisma corruption dots, had this to say about Connecticut U.S. Senator Dick Blumenthal’s association with the tangled knot of corruption in Ukraine: “We cross-referenced the Senate co-sponsors of Ed Markey's Ukraine gas bill with the list of Democrats whom Burisma lobbyist, David Leiter, routinely gave money to and found another one -- one of the most sanctimonious of them all, actually -- Sen. Richard Blumenthal."

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...

Murphy on Democrat Party Losses

Murphy -- Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, usually cited by the nation’s left-leaning media as the new voice of the new-model neo-progressive Democrat Party, submitted to an interview by National Public Radio’s (NPR) Steve Inskeep following catastrophic party losses in the recently concluded national presidential election. Former President, now President-Elect Donald Trump won the popular vote, the Electoral College vote, and Republicans seized the U.S. Senate and maintained control of the U.S. House of Representatives – an unquestionable rout. Inskeep was better at asking follow-up questions than were the few media interrogators privileged to interview Vice President Kamala Harris. NPR noted that “Democrats,” Murphy among them, “are undergoing some introspection.” Democrats, Murphy advised, “need to listen to working Americans.” Asked, “What do you think is wrong with your party?” Murphy replied, “Right now, people are feeling o...

Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

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