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1. @bobforgovernor OP-ED for @WSJ about Hartford clearly struck a nerve as members of the democrat establishment have come out of the woodwork to criticize him. Thus far, the criticisms have all been political and no one has provided a counterfactual.
1. @bobforgovernor OP-ED for @WSJ about Hartford clearly struck a nerve as members of the democrat establishment have come out of the woodwork to criticize him. Thus far, the criticisms have all been political and no one has provided a counterfactual.
2. Hartford, like many other Connecticut cities, is a financial mess. The city has not had a Republican Mayor for 50 years since Antonina Uccello, the city’s first female mayor, resigned in 1971 for a Federal Appointment. Before that, the last Republican mayor served in 1948.
3. The history of the common council is similar. E.g. Democrats have controlled the state’s capital for over 50 years and implemented their policies accordingly. You can try to spin it how you want but the results are clear from the economy to crime to education.
4. More recently, the current Mayor of Hartford, Luke Bronin, sought a $550 million dollar bailout from the state. That is not exactly indicative of a city that has been managed effectively. The mill rate and debt are out of control.
5. Are there examples of cities in CT that are run well? Yes. The best run cities in Connecticut are run by Republicans - @erinstewartct in New Britain, Mark Lauretti in Shelton, & until recently Danbury by Mark Boutghton. You can debate policies, you cannot debate the outcomes.
6. The democrats who offer criticism claim there is no alternative plan but they know that isn't true. Watching them spin what their plan is would be funny if the outcomes haven't been so bad for the people who live there.
7. Democrat's "plan" to fix Hartford is akin to an arsonist showing up as the fireman trying to put out the ragging house fire that they started and expecting no one to remember that they poured the gasoline and lit the match.
8. This is a sad, similar story that can be told of most democrat-controlled cities in Connecticut. This isn't a subjective opinion. Just look at the facts. Apply this to New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, Stamford, Norwalk, and Bridgeport.
9. If you don't like being held accountable for the outcomes of your policies then perhaps politics isn't for you. For 50 years, one party stranglehold on Connecticut's largest cities hasn't produced the outcomes promised.
10. This also says nothing of the corrupt political machines that have been in place & backroom sweetheart deals designed to ensure reelection or labor leaders and politicians alike that can never be paid for. Who gets screwed in the end? The constituents and those who work hard.
11. This is why we have all been treated to BS political spin in response to this piece as opposed to a defense of the record because the record is atrocious. Americas longest war is the one on poverty and we are losing it, badly.
12. This also applies to use of force and policing policies. Democrats Mayors have appointed Police Commissioners and Chiefs who have implemented the policies decried as racist in Connecticut cities and in America writ large. Take a look in the mirror before blaming republicans.
13. From poverty to taxes to policing to education to unfunded local mandates -- the same party telling you they have the answers is the same one that got you to where you are. Its one giant self-licking ice cream cone.
14. We have literally gotten to the point where they have been in office for so long that they are trying to take credit for fixing the problems they created beginning a half century ago. Talk about a ridiculous cycle.
15. The day of reckoning will eventually come but hopefully it wont be too late. Margaret Thatcher said that "the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money." When you cant borrow anymore and services get cut, people are going to vote accordingly
16. There are approximately 500K registered Republicans and 1 million registered Democrats in the state. Yet Bob only lost by 44k votes with 54k going to an Independent candidate. That tells you that a majority of independent voters voters see right through the BS. Its only time.
17. You may be unhappy with politics in Washington but if you are not as equally unhappy with the state of affairs here at the state level, then you are either uninformed or lying to yourself. The outcomes are clear. All you will get in response is spin.
18. Want to call my bluff? Please remind the 1/3 of city residents in Hartford who live below the poverty line that Democrats have controlled that city for 50 years and ask them if they feel government policies are working? I don't think you're going to get the response you want.
