Political campaigns are narrow spaces; there is not a lot of
elbow room in them to explain in fulsome detail proposed public programs and
their consequences. But a good campaign must represent more than a string of
feel-good bumper sticker sentiments.
Republicans vying for the gubernatorial race this year
climbed out on a conservative limb and dedicated themselves to specific policy
changes: no more tax increases; permanent reductions in spending; and, most
alarming to progressive Democrats, the wresting of democratic government from
powerful special interests -- i.e. union representatives.
During his primary acceptance speech, Republican gubernatorial contender Bob Stefanowski, publicly and unabashedly announced that he was more than pleased to run side by side with prospective Republican Lieutenant Governor State Senator Joe Markley, whose conservative bona fides few will question. Stefanowski is himself a fiscal conservative and favors the elimination of the income tax over a ten year period
That measure is a flag flown at full staff to convince
conservatives and businesses in and outside the state that Governor
Stefanowski, should he be elected, will seriously tackle spending and cut the
Gorgon’s knot that other Connecticut politicians have winkingly passed by.
During his first gubernatorial campaign, it will be remembered, John Rowland
pledged to eliminate the Lowell Weicker income tax, but once in office, he
succumbed to the usual siren’s song and shelved his pledge for the duration of
his administration, in the course of which he bullied conservative General
Assembly members to accede to the demands of Democrat progressives. Stefanowski
may be made of sterner stuff. If Republicans can hold the line on taxes, they
will be able to hold the line on spending, and it is ungovernable spending that
is driving Connecticut to the poor house. Stefanowski promises to prune the administrative
state.
In politics, authenticity and seriousness are sometimes
miscast. It is not
demeanor that is important in determining authenticity or political seriousness. A
politician who prowls the political precincts with an irremovable scowl painted
on his face is not necessarily authentic or serious; he or she may be a cynical
fraud.
An authentic cynic would be perpetually amused by the
delinquencies of the average prole or college professor. His face would be hourly
wreathed in smiles. Seriousness is a quality that attaches to acts and the
logically necessary correspondence between the word and the deed. President
Donald Trump, whatever his failings -- Bill Buckley, who disposed of a sharp
sense of humor, typed Trump as a
vulgarian – must laugh himself to sleep every night and wake in the
morning ready, as Genghis Khan once said, to “dance on the chests of his
enemies,” the greatest joy, said the Khan, a man may have. Trump is rumored to
have a sense of humor gaudily tricked out as spite.
Not at all like Trump, Stefanowski is a gentle giant who
wears his humility easily and without effort. His tribute to his father after
Republican primary votes vaulted him to the winner’s circle was both sincere
and suffused with gratitude, the hallmark of humility: “Finally, I want to
thank my dad, Bob Sr. He is 88 years old and still lives in the house [where] I
grew up in North Haven. He is an example of what CT used to offer.
After graduating from Hillhouse High School in New Haven in 1948 as a
basketball star he married my mom and they were together for 70 years before
she passed away a year ago. They worked incredibly hard, created a safe
and happy home for my 3 sisters and me and saved enough money to send us to
college. My mom and dad are the perfect example of what CT used to offer its
young people, and what we can absolutely bring back to our state with the right
leadership, integrity and hard work."
Stefanowski has backed Trump’s tax cuts and deregulation.
Malloy, along with Connecticut's two U.S. Senators, Dick Blumenthal and Chris
Murphy, already are bruising their knuckles on Trump’s iron jaw. That assault may backfire sometime in the future as jobs produced by
Trump policies – i.e. Malloy’s policies in reverse – begin trickling down to
Connecticut. According to a recent study by the Tax Foundation, the tax cuts passed by Trump and the Republican dominated congress in late 2017 will produce 13,821 jobs IN
CONNECTICUT between 2018 and 2027.
The members of Connecticut’s U.S. Congressional Delegation,
Democrats all, voted as a bloc against Trump’s regulatory and tax reforms.
Murphy, up for re-election in November, offered the following sunburst on
Twitter: “The bill that just passed the Senate and House isn't tax reform -
it's a giant handout for the rich and powerful. There is no shame left in
Washington when the biggest piece of legislation passed by this Republican
Congress is literally a windfall for their wealthy donors.”
By the end of the year, according to Tax foundation figures,
Connecticut’s economy, flat on its back during the Malloy administration, will
have produced 2,444 jobs, a modest infusion of economic new blood in an
anemic body politic. As we say in the news business – We’ll see.
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