The Name Game

As many may know, next Wensday June 6th, the State Legislature session comes to an end with a budget in place. However, we are less than a week away and many don't know what to expect to see happen. It is really getting down to crunch time.

Democrats have their own plan, which happens to call for higher income taxes. Governor Rell has her plan which focuses a lot on education. And the Republicans have a plan, which calls for no more tax hikes. It is sort of an odd twist because the Republicans have not put out their own budget plan in a very long time. In fact they are actually getting a lot of positive feedback for their plan.

The question now is, what is going to happen? The Democrats have a super majority which pretty much throws away the Republican plan, but they will still fight right up until the end. The Governor has recently said that she will veto a plan made by the Democrats to increase the income tax even more than what they wanted to do. She has now mainly sided with the rest of the Republican lawmakers in saying that no new taxes are necessary. Governor Rell does say that she would like her bold education proposal carried through.

So, the name game has started and because everyone is accusing everyone else, nothing is really getting accomplished. The future of all of this is really unknown. We will definitely have an interesting week to watch all of this develop. Stay tuned.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today, I would like to take this time to remember all the brave men and women who put their lives in danger for the benefit of ours. They showed the pride of being an American, and served their country proud.

We should all take this time to reflect on our country's history, and honor the people who made the American Dream possible.

Remember to attend the parade today, starting at 9:30. God Bless America!

Abrantes Speaks Out

Democratic Mayoral Candidate, Helena Abrantes, wrote a letter to the editor about the location of the new restaurant, Elmer's Diner. In it, she took a direct shot at Mayor Boughton, and also talked about why she doesn't approve of where it is located. You can read the entire letter here from the News-Times.

The following are a couple of points that Abrantes brought up:

"This situation is unsafe and the city was irresponsible in allowing this type of business to be placed at this location."

"Mayor Boughton, please don't blame the prior administration. The zoning requirements were changed during your administration in the last six years."

This is now one of the first public statements made by Abrantes as the race for mayor is starting to heat up.

Murphy Votes NO

Our Congressman, Chris Murphy (D-5), voted against the troop funding bill. His main reason was because there was no timetable or benchmarks in the bill. However it did pass the House with a final vote of 280-142, and passed the Senate with a vote of 80-14. The President has signed the bill.


The following is how the Presidential Candidates voted on the bill:

Democrats:
Rep. Denise Kucinich -- NO
Sen. Joe Biden -- YES
Sen. Chris Dodd -- NO
Sen. Barack Obama -- NO
Sen. Hillary Clinton -- NO

Republicans:
Rep. Duncan Hunter --YES
Rep. Tom Tancredo -- YES
Rep. Ron Paul -- NO
Sen. Sam Bownback -- DID NOT VOTE
Sen. John McCain -- YES

Just for the record Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) voted yes. This issue isn't over, but at least our troops now have the funding they need.

An Endorsement?

The Danbury Democrats had their annual Jefferson-Jackson-Bailey Dinner the other day. On their website are pictures from the event. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal spoke at the event, and the following is exactly what it said next to his picture on the website (Note that they spelt his last name wrong):
_______________________________

Attorney General Richard Blumanthal enjoys visiting with the Danbury Dems.

Are we listening to our next Governor?

_______________________________

So, the election for Governor isn't until 2010, but yet are the local Democrats already showing that they would like to see Blumenthal run? We'll wait and see what happens ... we have plenty of time.

In-State Tuition For Illegals?

The State House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday which would allow illegal immigrants to pay the in-state tuition rate at colleges. It has become a very controversial bill which passed by only nine votes, 76-67. You can read the story here from the News-Times.

Here is a look at how Danbury's four State Representatives voted on the bill:

Jason Bartlett (D-2) -- YES
Joe Taborsak (D-109) -- YES
Bob Godfrey (D-110) -- NO
Jan Giegler (R-138) -- NO

The bill will now move to the Senate where the future is said to be unknown. It should be interesting to see the outcome.

Illegal Immigration

This week has been a very productive one for members of the U.S. Senate. In a very bi-partisan way, a proposal on illegal immigration has been announced. You can read the article here from the News-Times. This is a very interesting proposal, and will most likely affect Danbury. What do you think about it?

Gas Tax

On Monday, lawmakers joined other Republicans in calling for a temporary suspension of the gas tax. The plan already has the support of the Governor. You can read the whole story here from the News-Times.

The following are quotes from the article.

Governor Jodi Rell (R-CT) :

"Connecticut residents are fed up, they've had it with soaring costs
of gasoline and rightfully so. The time to act is now."

State Representative Jan Giegler (R-138):

"This moratorium will help businesses and ultimately help families
as well."

This is ultimately probably a pretty good idea. Until they are able to pass thorough legislation on this issue, this will definitely help solve the problem.

Sixth Poll Results

The latest poll question was if you supported State Senator David Cappiello's campaign for Congress. As many know, Cappiello announced his intention to face Congressman Chris Murphy about three weeks ago. The following are the results:

Yes-He'd be great: 7 (35%)
No-I'd rather another candidate emerge: 6 (30%)
No-I support Congressman Chris Murphy: 7 (35%)

Well, this will definitely be a good race to watch. Thanks for taking the poll, a new one is up!

Flashback: The 2005 Election

I have decided that since the local election is approaching, I would go back in time to the last election in 2005. I have taken a few quotes from the newspaper from the day after Election Day 2005 so that you can see what some of our elected officials said, and you can make a decision of whether you approve of them or not. Now, there are many quotes from throughout the election, but I thought the ones I picked were the most interesting.

In 2005, the Republicans held the Mayor's office for the past four years, and the City Treasurer's, City Clerk's, and Town Clerk's office for two years. They also had a 17-4 majority on the Common Council. Their slogan, which was often found on handouts, were that they were "Danbury's Team". Mayor Boughton claimed that success is occurring in our city when he said, "We are headed in the right direction! Together, we can't lose." For the most part things worked out okay as they only lost the Town Clerk's office, and three Council seats.

The Democrats, who needed to recover from a terrible showing in the 2003 election, went with a slogan that said they were the party that had "Good Judgement and Strong Leadership". Mayoral candidate, Dean Esposito, said that "While the city certainly faces challenges, I believe that we can do better." Now, things didn't go as bad for them as 2003. They grabbed the Town Clerk's office, and made the Republican majority on the Council 14-7 instead of the 17-4 majority that it was.

Right after Mayor Boughton claimed victory, with 58% of the vote, he said the following:

"We have to continue to work on building a new police headquarters. We have to finish the school work we started, and that's what the voters asked us to do."

Lynn Taborsak, who was the only Democrat elected to the Council-At-Large, said the following statement on what she promised to do:

"My issue with the council is that they have been a rubber stamp for Mayor Mark Boughton. That's over."

Ben Chianese, who was one of the three new Democrats that won, said the following on the fact that he felt footwork was probably a big reason on why he was elected:

"It was really my father knocking on doors, knocking on doors, knocking on doors."

Well, that's going to wrap this up, at least for now. One thing is certain, with about six months until Election Day, we should all know the facts before picking who we support. This is just the beginning.

Some New Polls

Today, Quinnipiac University released polls regarding the Presidential Election, and how people in Connecticut may vote. Here are most of the polls:

Democratic Primary

Clinton -- 28%
Obama -- 20%
Gore -- 13%
Edwards -- 8%
Dodd -- 6%

Republican Primary

Giuliani -- 36%
McCain -- 15%
Romney -- 9%
Thompson, F. -- 7%
Gingrich -- 5%

Hillary Clinton vs. Rudy Giuliani

Clinton -- 42%
Giuliani -- 48%

Barack Obama vs. Rudy Giuliani

Obama -- 42%
Giuliani -- 44%

Hillary Clinton vs. John McCain

Clinton -- 47%
McCain -- 40%

Barack Obama vs. John McCain

Obama -- 46%
McCain -- 38%

Now, jump to your own conclusions, but McCain is slipping in Connecticut, while Giuliani is doing well. Clinton does not have as big of a lead, but may manage to get by. We still have a long time to go, and the unpredictable likes to happen sometimes.

Cappiello Comments on Iraq War

Our State Senator, and Congressional candidate, David Cappiello (R-24), was on FOX 61's "Beyond The Headlines" the other day. He talked about why he has chosen to run for Congress, and his views on a few issues. The one comment that has stuck out in my head was Cappiello's comment on the Iraq War. We have never really heard his view on the war, so this was a good opportunity to find out how he feels. The following is a transcript of what he said:

Reporter Shelly Sindland: What do you think of President Bush, and the way he has handled the War in Iraq? Do you think that he has been not flexible, has not been willing to listen to the other side?

Sen. David Cappiello: I may be with disagreement with most Republicans on this issue, understand I believe what President Bush said when he was running for President the first time, that we are not nation builders, and I think we have gotten into this war for the wrong reasons, and I think the war has been managed horribly ever since we've been in the war. So, I am kind of on the outs with my party with this issue, but I think it was a mistake from day one, and I think the President is wrong.

Reporter Shelly Sindland: What would you do as a freshman Congressman in Washington?

Sen. David Cappiello: I would vote to have the troops come home, but I wouldn't do it by putting billions of dollars of pork into that bill.

What Cappiello was talking about was that the Iraq bill had parts to it that would attract people from the south to vote for it because it would help give their states money.

Now, Sen. Cappiello did not sound like most of the hardcore Republicans that have been vocal on the Iraq War. As many know, Congressman Murphy is against the war. Cappiello's position puts him really in the same area that Murphy is in, which will be very interesting to see how it could play out. Don't forget to take the latest poll!

Danbury & John Edwards

John Edwards has been considered the most anti-war candidate of the leading Democratic candidates. He was the Senator of North Carolina from 1999-2005, and was John Kerry's running mate in 2004. He has continued to rank around third in most polls, and hasn't really been able to close the gap. He came closest to doing that when his wife announced that her cancer has returned. The following is the latest poll from Polling Report:

Hillary Clinton -- 32%
Barack Obama -- 18%
John Edwards -- 12%

Now, Danbury Democrats have many options for who they would like to go with. Edwards is very anti-war, but he is also big on health care, and many other domestic issues. If that is what voters are looking for, then Edwards has a very good chance at winning Danbury. The latest Quinnipiac Poll has him not doing so well in Connecticut. The results are:

Hillary Clinton -- 33%
Barack Obama -- 21%
Chris Dodd -- 8%
John Edwards -- 5%

If Edwards were to get the Democratic nomination, he would have a decent chance at winning Connecticut. He does trail Senator John McCain in the recent Quinnipiac Poll:

John Edwards -- 40%
John McCain -- 44 %

In Fairfield County he actually does worse. Here are the results from that poll:

John Edwards -- 36%
John McCain -- 48%

Now, John Edwards has shown that he is a top tier candidate. In my opinion he has not been as good as he could be, and was not impressive in the recent debate. Edwards could be the one that sneaks between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and does in fact get nominated. It will be difficult for him to do, though. Edwards does have a chance at possibly running for Vice President again depending on who could get nominated for President. Don't under-estimate Edwards, there is still a long way to go.

This is going to conclude the posts analyzing the top presidential candidates, and seeing how they would do in our city. However, I will continue to post on the election, as this could be the most interesting election of all time.

Danbury & Presidential Debates

Well, now that the first 2008 Presidential Debates have ended, it is time to analyze them. Who won, who did well, who didn't, and who was just okay?

Now, I don't think that Danbury voters who watched the debates probably changed their view on certain candidates, but they might have been impressed with some of the second tier candidates.

The Democrats:

In my opinion, Barack Obama won because though he may not have given the best answers to some questions, he looked, acted, and sounded like a President. Hillary Clinton did fine too. She wasn't extremely impressive, but when she spoke you could see that she spoke very passionate about various issues. John Edwards didn't do well. He seemed as if he wasn't that into even being there. Candidates such as Dodd and Biden didn't speak enough, whereas Bill Richardson was not that impressive. And Mike Gravel........what an interesting person! Clinton and Obama are still definitely the top two candidates. However, Obama is closing the gap between him and Hillary.

The Republicans:

All the candidates must have mentioned Ronald Reagan at least once, which towards the end got to be irritating. But, if I had to pick a winner, I would have to go with John McCain because he spoke very forceful and answered his questions in a very powerful way. Rudy Giuliani was not that impressive, and his views on certain social issues could really come back to hurt him. Mitt Romney looked like the President, and overall did well. The others were sort of lost in the crowd. Brownback, Huckabee, and Hunter could be interesting candidates, but they didn't talk that much, and people aren't focusing on them. It was well managed debate, but not very enjoyable when you are trying to keep track of ten people. McCain, Giuliani, and Romney are still definitely the top tier candidates. McCain may pick up some points against Giuliani.

So, what did you think? Whatever the case, we still have a very long and interesting road ahead!