Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

In politics, there are two kinds of riches: personal riches – Democrat Dick Blumenthal, weighing in at $67 million, is among the eight richest Senators in Congress – and campaign riches . Democrat U.S Senator Chris Murphy, who complains often enough that hustling campaign dollars wastes time he might otherwise more profitably spend demonizing the NRA – which recently signaled its support of a bill championed by Murphy and fellow NRA demonizer Blumenthal, the “Fix NICS Act of 2017”, that would reinforce requirements that federal agencies report all infractions to  the National Instant Criminal Background Check System -- currently has about $6 million in his campaign kitty . Most people could not name Murphy’s likely Republican challenger. None of them have yet hit the $60,000 mark.

Governor Dannel Malloy uncorked himself when talking recently with BuzzFeed . “The only middle-aged white men who voted for me were myself and my brothers,” Mr. Malloy told BuzzFeed News. “So if we’re going to rely on middle-aged white men to win Democratic races again — you know, I mean I think we need to speak to a broader audience than middle-aged white men.” This is a page taken directly from the President Barrack Obama campaign playbook. Perceiving that the Democratic Party had been steadily losing votes among working class whites, Mr. Obama, during his first campaign, managed to form a new epicentric coalition that relied on “support among communities of color, educated whites, Millennials, single women, and seculars,” according to a review in the New York Times  of a report written by Ruy Teixeira and John Halpin .

Some people – the Kennedys are among them – consider rules and regulations merely as obstacles to be surmounted on the path to political glory. It is a well-worn path often trodden by the great and near great. In Connecticut, the path offers special immunities from criticism for incumbent Democrats. Gore Vidal , who left us more than two years ago, memorably described the Kennedy clan descending on Washington D.C. after John Kennedy had been sworn into office as president. He said it was like watching the Mafia descend on a small, northern Italian town, and his was a friendly voice. First Lady Jackie Kennedy and Mr. Vidal shared a stepfather, the stockbroker Hugh Auchincloss.

The Hillary papers have now surfaced in The Washington Free Beacon , a nonprofit online newspaper the senior editor of which is seasoned news reporter Bill Gertz. The Beacon, established in 2012, is a publication that is considerably more trustworthy than former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Just ask Stan Greenberg, the husband of 3 rd District U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.