What is important?

A great deal of controversy has sprung up over the announcement made earlier this week by Dwight Blint and Jamie Giantonio. Dwight is intending to run for Chairman of the New Britain Republican Town Committee and Jamie Giantonio is planning on seeking the office of Vice Chairman. Central to this controversy is the fact that Dwight Blint was a registered Independent when he ran for Alderman at Large in the most recent election. Other criticism has been lobbed at Jamie, but Dwight has borne the brunt of the assault, having his character, his ability, and his integrity called into question.

What does it matter if Dwight has been a registered Republican for 20 minutes or 20 years?

I was unaware that there was some magical transformation that took place when you registered a party and that slowly over time as a registered Democrat or Republican you slowly morphed into a greater member of that party with stronger beliefs and convictions. I have been a Republican ever since I could register, my wife is an Independent. We both are fiscal conservatives and also socially moderate conservatives. Does party affiliation really change the substance of my character or that of my wife's?

Now, there are several valid criticisms that could be made against Dwight:

• He has not been a member of many Commissions or Committees within the town.
• He has not served in the capacity of Chairperson for any other body to my knowledge.
• His political platform, while compelling, is unproven

These are criticisms that could be held against any newcomer to the City, and perhaps these criticisms are reason enough for some members to vote against Dwight. However, there are several skills that Dwight has that are very positive as well.

• He is rather articulate and well spoken, he also has a good command of the written media
• He has contributed a great deal to political commentary and discourse over the past year
• His wife has ties to New Britain and he is looking to make this a home for him and his family
• He is actively involved in the community, and while he may be a "newcomer" to politics he is more actively involved than some veterans

While some people may want to dismiss Dwight Blint out of hand I think he deserves consideration. I am not sure who I will vote for when the matter comes before the NBRTC. I plan on seeing who else is interested in seeking the position of Chairperson. I will not, however, treat Dwight's candidacy as a joke, he could serve rather well in the capacity of Chairperson. It will be interesting to see what happens at the election.

What's good for the goose...

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has begun yet another campaign. This time his target is the credit card industry. He has alleged, and the industry has admitted, that creditors are increasing rates and fees on credit worthy customers. The credit companies have alleged they are raising these rates and fees to help offset the risk incurred by less credit worthy borrowers and to recoup losses faced after increases in defaults during the down economy. Blumenthal alleges that it is not fair for the credit worthy borrowers to have to face additional burdens to help credit card companies deal with the problems of less credit worthy customers.

But isn't that exactly what the progressive tax system used by the United States does? The whole justification for taxing the rich at rates that are grossly disproportionate to the poor is that they can afford the burden. The House certainly thinks so, the healthcare bill that passed the House imposes new taxes on the super rich to help buy insurance for those who don't have it. And even here in Connecticut there was a move recently made by Democrats, including our favorite former candidate for Mayor Tim O'Brien, to make our income taxes far more progressive so that the more wealthy would be stuck with a higher tax bill.

If it is fair for the government to disproportionately rely on the more successful and more economically stable citizens to fund all of its social programs then it should be just as fair for a corporation to do the same. Perhaps after he is finished posturing as the champion of the common man Attorney General Blumenthal can take some time to explain to the voters who are about to pay the bill for the healthcare overhaul why we should be so glad that now our 18% interest rate on our credit card is back down to 12.5%.

NOMD the friend of NIMBY

The CEA recently sent around a petition asking the membership to oppose the healthcare reform that has now just barely cleared the Senate. Why the sudden opposition from an organization whose agende, to be generous, is fairly liberal? It is pretty clear if you read what they are saying at www.cea.org. Teachers are opposed to the excise tax that is present in the Senate version of the bill. Why? Because the health care policies of teachers would fall under the definition of "Cadillac" plans and be subject to heavy taxation which would mean more money out of the teachers' pockets. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind any group opposing the current healthcare legislation that will, in my opinion, severely cripple our nation. But the selective opposition of the CEA speaks to a much bigger problem with liberal groups as a whole.

Why are the CEA and other groups lining up now to oppose the Senate bill when they were quite content to allow the House version of the bill to pass? It isn't over the lack of a public option, but merely over the fact that they will be expected to pick up a large portion of the tab. The House version of the bill generates much of it's revenue by adding to the tax burden of the 'super wealthy' while the Senate actually would expect a large majority of Americans to help pay for the new costs of healthcare. It is similar to the notion that has stalled the expansion of nuclear power and killed projects like the Long Island Sound Natural Gas Terminal. The notion of "Not in my backyard" or NIMBY has a vicious friend called "Not on my dime" or NOMD. I will admit that NOMD does not have quite same ring as NIMBY, but is very alluring.

Some people would argue that people who oppose the Health Care overhaul all suffer from NOMD, but that is an oversimplification of the matter. My opposition comes from several factors, even setting the cost aside I have gross reservations as to whether the proposed changes will even work. I believe that there are several smaller steps the government could take to gradually take to reform the healthcare system. Even on a more fundamental level I do not feel the government has the right, let alone the duty, to force healthcare on everyone  nor should people be given a free ride in yet another area of life.

In the end NOMD, like NIMBY, reveals peoples true concerns and beliefs. It is easy for people of a liberal agenda to proselytize about the plight of the down-trodden. It is easy to talk about how we need healthcare reform and how we need a public option, and how the government should provide us with yet another service that the public sector is capable of providing. Yet when it comes time to pick up the check those same people always bicker over who should pick up the tab. Clearly these things are only important as long as we can get someone else to pay for them.

Inaugaration Today

So Mayor Stewart is being sworn into his 4th term today. Governor Rell is coming down to do the honors. Would have been nice to be able to go and see the event, sadly work being what it is I have somewhere else that I need to be. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months as the new Council gets down to business. I hope to attend a fair number of the meetings so I can stay abreast of the issues.

Sour grapes and astute observations...

In the New Britain Herald there was this article. Which contained some really good quotes from Democrat and former Mayor William McNamara that I wanted to share.

"[O'Brien] is a very good man and an experienced legislator, there’s no doubt about that,” McNamara said. “Unfortunately, there was a perception by people on the street that he had aligned himself with ACORN and that cost him.”

“With that connection and the fact that he is a good legislator but doesn’t have any executive experience he found himself in trouble,” McNamara said. “Stewart played it very smart and ran on his record. Taxes are stable, the city is improving and people that I spoke with didn’t see any reason to change horses in mid-stream."

There were two other quotes that also struck me as very interesting. and with these I'm quoting the article's author James Craven.

"O’Brien was contacted for his comments for this article but did not return calls."
"John McNamara, chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, also did not return a call Wednesday."

Makes one wonder where they were and what they were doing...

Like a bad movie character...

Tim O'Brien tweeted last night at 10:54 "thanks the thousands of people who voted for me today. We came a little short... this year." (view his feed here.) This year? He sounds like Dr. Claw from the old Inspector Gadget Cartoons.






Does he honestly think people are going to take him seriously with that type of rhetoric? He wasn't able to buy and scam his way into the Mayor's office this time he won't be able to do it next time.

I'm a bit late to the posting blitz, but with the flu and all I crashed before the absentee votes could be tallied and the results read. I'm very happy that despite his shady tactics, his PAC funding, his deceptive mailers, and his ACORN goons Tim O'Brien was unable to secure a victory for himself. Considering the Republicans looked to have also picked up two seats on the Council, that is a big change, and a change that could mean good things for this city.