“Remember, you are judged by the company you keep” -- Rose Pesci to her son Don, 1950
All the encomiums let loose by twinkling Democrat Party
stars following the death of political icon John Droney were appropriate and –
dare I say it – understated.
“Droney was known as
a pro-gun, conservative Irish Democrat who owned guns and enjoyed hunting,”
Chris Keating tells us in a front page, top of the fold Hartford Courant story –
“CT leaders mourn a Democratic insider and
mentor who once represented Trump. ‘His impact was generational.’” In addition,
Droney “once represented Trump.” We shall not see his like again; at least
those of us who are advancing toward old age and the yawning grave at warp
speed.
“Droney was a key player in multiple Democratic campaigns
over a span of more than 50 years,”
Keating tells us, “including the stunning upset in 1988 by then-state
attorney general Joe Lieberman over three-term Sen. Lowell P. Weicker Jr.”
A book or even a political pamphlet accurately portraying
the ouster of U.S. Senator Weicker, beloved among
Democrats and left of center political writers in Connecticut, has yet to be
written , but we are all familiar with the broad outline of the tale:
Prominent, multi-term Republican U.S. Senator Lowell P. Weicker Jr., who boastfully
self-identified as “the turd in the Republican Party punchbowl,” was dethroned
by an odd assortment of right of center
Democrats, fiscally conservative, socially conservative, wounded Republicans,
Bill Buckley among them, former Attorney General Joe Lieberman and, perhaps most importantly, Lowell P.
Weicker Jr. himself. Somewhere in the mix was John Droney, whose political
jeweler’s eye could spot noxious frauds miles off.
In their remarks concerning Droney’s passing, both U.S.
Senator Dick Blumenthal, for 20 years Connecticut’s Attorney General, and
current Attorney General William Tong pay tribute to Droney as a political
tutor. Tong was especially effusive. “’It is hardly enough to say that he was a
giant,’ Tong said. ‘His impact was generational. Decades of leadership and
progress that followed were because of John Droney. And Droney opened doors for
so many who likely would not have had the chance to serve – from an Orthodox
Jewish kid from Stamford who became attorney general [Dick Blumenthal] and a U.S.
Senator to this Chinese son of immigrants honored to serve as attorney general
today [William Tong.] … Tong added, ‘I would say I don’t know what I will do
without John Droney. But I know he would never suffer me saying such a thing,
and would tell me only to fight on. Thank you for teaching me so much, John.’”
The trick in casting glory on the
admired deceased, if you are a politician, is to position yourself towards the dearly
departed in such a way that the praise you shower upon him makes you glow with
reflected glory. Thus Droney is credited with helping an orthodox Jew –
Blumenthal – to achieve political office. And the Chinese son of immigrants –
Tong -- is today honored to serve as attorney general. There are some problems
with Tong’s formulation. Is Dick Blumenthal an Orthodox Jew? And did Droney directly
assist Tong in becoming attorney general? The following sentiment would seem to
point to an intimate connection with Droney: “I would say I don’t know what I
will do without John Droney. But I know he would never suffer me saying such a
thing, and would tell me only to fight on. Thank you for teaching me so much,
John.”
There are a few lessons left of
center Democrats such as Tong did not learn from Droney.
In the Courant interview, Droney
rose to the defense of his good friend “Tom Tyler, who attended both Holy Cross
in Worcester and UConn law school with Droney… Tyler is currently running in
Enfield for the state legislature against state Rep. John Santanella,” who
charged that Tyler was a MAGA Republican.
Droney answered the charge this way, according to Keating: “’He
[Tyler] is a JFK Democrat,’ Droney said of Tyler. ‘He’s a Scoop Jackson
Democrat. He’s a centrist Democrat like I am, and we’re just appalled by what’s
been happening to the party. If the socialist Democrats want to have their own
party, why don’t they form their own party and leave us alone? [emphasis mine]’”
And here we come to a sundering
parting of the ways between Droney and other progressive Democrats such as Tong
and Blumenthal.
Like Blumenthal, Droney was more orthodox (pun intended) in
his political orientation than, say, Mayor of New York City (and Wall Street) –
Zohran Kwame Mamdani. Droney did align with the John F. Kennedy who authored Profiles in Courage, whereas Mamdani aligns
with the Karl Marx who wrote The Communist Manifesto.
Tong will not likely rebuke with the same fervor as Droney
the socialists that have found their way into the Democrat Party’s Big Tent-- nor
will Blumenthal, nor will Chuck Schumer of New York, U.S. Senate Minority
Leader since 1999. “If the socialist Democrats want to have their own party,
why don’t they form their own party and leave us alone?” Droney asked days before
he died.
Comments