Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

Hillary Clinton, the present Secretary of State and ex-President Bill Clinton’s better half by far, spent Election Day a safe distance from the epicenter of what appears to be a Republican Party awakening. In a massive shrug, the nation shucked off the Democratic Party control of congress, taking back the U.S. House of Representatives and putting a large dent in the U.S. Senate. The seismic event bypassed Connecticut. The day after the political earthquake in Washington, President Barack Obama traveled with his retinue to India, where he gave a few stirring speeches that appeared to be fatally off-message. Harley Davidson, the American maker of the iconic motorcycle, is building a plant in India. Ordinarily, the un-American drift of jobs and business offshore would excite the interests of senator-elect Dick Blumenthal and other members of Connecticut’s Democratic congressional delegation, all of whom made much ado in their campaigns over the leeching of jobs to foreign countries. ...

The partisan vote on the Obama-Pelosi healthcare bill was, to borrow an out of space analogy, one small step for health care, one giant step for universal health care coverage. Two of Connecticut’s U.S. House Reps. secure in their sinecures -- John Larson of the impregnable 1st District and Rosa DeLauro of the 3rd District, both Democratic bastions -- sensed as much as the vote drew to a close. DeLauro was especially ebullient, jumping up and down, flashing that world conquering smile of her’s, her noggin spinning with the heady perfume of victory. Larson, about to burst into song – Happy Days Are Hear Again – contended himself with “We are happy warriors!” President Barrack Obama and his Chicago gang – one of whom is shown above in a suggestive pose – watched the vote countdown from the Roosevelt Room in the White House. When the vote total hit 216, there were, according to propaganda chief Robert Gibbs, "cheers and clapping ... high five for Rahm, hugs all around." ...