By Chris Powell
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign rally last week in New Britain for the re-election of U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes may be considered a success, since the vice president didn’t perform as she has done elsewhere recently, as by declaring the southern border “secure” and proclaiming an alliance with [ITALICS] North [END ITALICS] Korea.
But Harris would not have come if Hayes wasn’t vulnerable to the Republican nominee, George Logan, a former state senator who is making a good impression in the 5th District, the state’s least liberal congressional district.
Reinforcing the impression of Hayes’ vulnerability was the rally’s obsession with the abortion issue, which seems like the only issue Connecticut Democrats want to discuss amid soaring inflation, uncontrolled immigration, and deteriorating social conditions under the national Democratic administration.
Yes, some Republicans in Congress say they would outlaw or sharply restrict abortion nationally with federal legislation. But with many Republican congressmen and nearly all Democratic congressmen opposed, there is no chance of that happening even if Republicans win majorities in both houses. Besides, since Logan supports abortion rights, the election in the 5th District will have little impact on the issue.
Indeed, in Connecticut the abortion issue serves only to excite the Democratic left, which may be why it is being pressed — to keep those partisans enthused.
While the Republican nominee for U.S. senator, Leora Levy, purports to want to legislate against abortion (after having supported abortion rights and having changed her position to win the sparsely attended Republican primary), she is already waffling and evading on the issue, has little campaign money, and is hard to take seriously.
Ironically, the prevailing position on abortion among Connecticut Republicans, including the opinion of the party’s candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, is actually what polls say is the majority opinion in the state and nationally, the moderate position. That is the policy articulated by the Supreme Court’s now-overthrown decision in Roe v. Wade and by the policy established by Connecticut law — unrestricted abortion prior to fetal viability and government regulation afterward. Connecticut Republicans also tend to support requiring parental notification for abortions for minors.
While Connecticut news organizations, most leaning Democratic, don’t pursue the irony, in Connecticut the prevailing Democratic position on abortion is the extreme position: all abortion all the time. That is, unrestricted abortion right up to the moment of birth, including the abortion of viable fetuses, even babies emerging crying from the womb. The Democrats also oppose requiring parental notification of abortion for minors, so that sex offenses against minors can be hidden.
Governor Lamont and all members of the state’s congressional delegation, all Democrats, profess to support the Democratic congressional legislation called the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would require states to allow late-term abortion. That legislation is the Democratic Party’s own overthrow of Roe v. Wade.
But while they take the moderate and majority position on abortion, Connecticut Republicans fear Democratic demagoguery so much that they don’t want to talk about the issue at all. The Republicans seem to think that voters are not smart enough to make distinctions, and they may be cowed by the political maxim that if you’re explaining, you’re losing.
But if, as polls in the race for governor suggest, the Republicans are losing anyway, there may be nothing to lose by trying to turn the tables. For in supporting late-term abortion and opposing parental notification, the Democrats are the extremists and the Republicans are letting them get away with it.
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TOO LATE ON BANKS: Last week Governor Lamont and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal followed Attorney General William Tong in pledging to hold M&T Bank accountable for the malfunctions and layoffs resulting from its acquisition of People’s United Bank. It’s as if nobody could have imagined that combining two big banks would slash competition and employment.
Enforcement of antitrust law might have prevented the disaster, but the governor, senator, and attorney general didn’t protect Connecticut when the state most needed it. [ITALICS] They [END ITALICS] should be held accountable too.
Chris Powell has been writing about Connecticut government and politics for many years.
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Chris Powell column 