Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

A letter written by a host of progressive Democrats – among them U.S. Representatives Hank Johnson, D-GA, Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., Jared Huffman, D-Calif., Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and five other progressive Democrats — marks the beginning of a concerted attack on U.S. Attorney from the District of Connecticut John Durham, appointed by Attorney General William Barr to investigate events surrounding what might be called the prelude and aftermath of the completed Robert Mueller report which, much to the disappointment of Democrats leading the charge against President Donald Trump, did not find prosecutable instances of collusion between Russia and the President.

By Don Pesci The snow seemed deeper in those days because you had to shovel it in preparation for Christmas, when the guests would be coming. The Pertusi boys, John and Anthony, generally arrived early, full of smiles and hellos, and the winter of '57 was obliging. We hadn’t had much snow prior to Christmas. There was always lots of glad-handing and, if I may say so, just plain glad-handling within our family because we were Italians, and Italians never really know a thing until they have handled it. Well, think of it: When you hug a person, you’re drawing him or her into your open heart. Now, this never presented a problem if the two huggers were male, though some people frown on that sort of thing. And for us, there was no problem hugging or bussing an aunt on the cheek, provided you were really happy to see her, which was nearly all the time. But we drew a line with female cousins. I won’t say we were stand-offish – not at all. But we were cautious. In 1957, we we...

Matt Buckler of the Journal Inquirer wrote a fine piece on Jim Vicevich’s last day on the job with WTIC AM 1080, “ Vicevich never lost his skill to relate .” He touched all the bases. “Vicevich had battled Lupus for 27 years and suffered a stroke,” Buckler wrote. “Despite those brutal setbacks, there is one quality that he never lost — his ability to relate with an audience. It didn’t matter if it was TV or radio — Vicevich had the rare ability to turn viewers or listeners into friends.”

Nancy Pelosi Ever since she did a 180 degree turnabout on impeachment, Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been wrapping herself in the warm folds of the U.S. Constitution. The day after the House impeached Trump, Pelosi declared the partisan vote, “A great day for the Constitution of the United States, a sad day for America that the president’s reckless activities,” only two of which are mentioned in the indictment brought by the Democrat dominated House, “necessitated us having to introduce articles of impeachment.” Even Genghis Khan was more real – “woke” in the language of millennials.   “The greatest joy a man can have,” said the great Khan, “is to dance on the chest of his enemy.” Moving inexorably towards impeachment during much of President Donald Trump’s first term in office, Democrats have been dancing “somberly” while the cameras have been rolling. But, when they are together far from live mics, is it not possible to imagine them greeting joyousl...

Schumer, Blumenthal, Murphy A day prior to the “somber” vote in the U.S. House of Representatives, now controlled by Democrats, National Review reported, “The level of support for Trump’s impeachment and removal dipped below the level of opposition for the first time since the inquiry was formalized in October, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average updated just two days before the impending House vote on impeachment. RCP’s average tipped in Trump’s favor, 47.3 to 46.7 percent on Monday following the addition of two new national polls, NPR/PBS/Marist and  USA Today /Suffolk, which found that opposition to impeachment outweighed support by three and five percentage points, respectively.” What we have here is censure parading as impeachment. The nearly three year effort by Democrats to slather President Donald Trump with pitch and set his pants on fire might have succeeded as a censure, but impeachment, always a gaudy show, is a bridge too far.

Shiff, Nadler, Pelosi President Donald Trump likely will survive his impeachment in the Democrat ruled U.S. House for the simple reason that impeachment – really, removal from office – always occurs in two steps; an impeachment hearing in the House, and a trial in the Senate. The House returns a bill of impeachment to the Senate where the offender is tried and, if the Senate affirms the impeachment charges, the target is removed from office. No one expects the Senate to toss Trump to the wolves, not even sainted anti-Trumpers such as U.S. Senator Dick Blumenthal, whose Trump vendetta began long ago when Trump attempted to wrest the Empire State building from his father-in-law, New York real estate tycoon Peter Malkin.

Ned Lamont There are both advantages and disadvantages to chief executives elected to office from outside the political box. One of the greatest disadvantages relates to political navigation. Asked about Governor Ned Lamont’s first year in office, Republican leader in the State Senate Len Fasano said, “It’s a lack of understanding in that building that has been an impediment to the governor closing the deal” on transportation. “I think the business principles and brains are of value, but they are nullified if you can’t navigate the building.” On the matter of transportation, Lamont’s two pilot fishes in the General Assembly are President of the State Senate Martin Looney and House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz. The Democrat majority in the General Assembly is headed by Looney, a fixture in the General Assembly for 26 years, and Aresimowicz, a union employee fearful of fouling his own nest.

Blumenthal and Schumer The papers are full of news reports concerning Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s long awaited investigation. Both Republican and Democrat antagonists in the apparently never ending President Donald Trump soap opera are claiming vindication. Briefly, the Horowitz report makes and defends two primary claims: 1) that the OPENING of the Trump investigation was justified, and 2) that the prosecution of the investigation on the part of the FBI had been mishandled. Attorney General William Barr and the State Attorney from the District of Connecticut, John Durham, have been roundly criticized by U.S. Senator Dick Blumenthal, who has praised the Horowitz report in extravagant terms as an “authoritative objective report [that] completely demolishes President Trump’s false claims and right wing conspiracy theories that the Russian investigation involved political bias or other improper motive[s]. It explodes President Trump’s fictitious narrative about a ‘wit...

Themis Klarides "Nice guy Lamont" – Malloy without the porcupine quills, some say – is now taking hostages until January, after which his temporary “trucks only” toll proposal, with the assistance of the two gatekeepers of the General Assembly, President of the Senate Martin Looney and Speaker of the House Joe Arsimowicz, will have been forced through the Democrat dominated General Assembly in a proposal packed session that, some think, may last through Christmas. The Christmas calendar, it is hoped, will weaken the resistance of the toll opposition in the General Assembly, mostly Republicans with a scattering of Democrats holding politically shaky seats in both chambers. Republicans are stoutly opposed to tolls for all the right reasons but, in the end, it is numbers, not right reason, that will win the day, and Democrats, easily herdable, have larger numbers than Republicans.

Wooden and Lamont What do State Treasurer Shawn Wooden and State Attorney General William Tong have in common? Both are Democrats, and both have politicized the offices to which they have been elected. Of the two, Wooden at least has a relevant and strong background in functions relating to the State Treasurer’s office.