By CHRIS POWELL
Will former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin ever come up with a reason for his challenge to U.S. Rep. John B. Larson’s renomination by the Democratic Party besides the claim that Larson, at 77, is too old?
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Bronin, 46, has $1.5 million in campaign money, so publicizing his ideas should be easy if he ever wants to offer any. It would be particularly worthwhile if he could outline any differences with Larson on policy. But Larson is very liberal and while volunteering an un-liberal idea or two might show that Bronin is capable of original thought, original thought might be fatal to candidates in a Democratic primary in Connecticut.
If Larson is too old, he still keeps turning up in public appearances or news reports nearly every day without spending his own campaign money, almost $1 million, on paid advertising. When the Democratic minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, came to Hartford last week to endorse Larson, the best Bronin could do was grouse. “The Democratic Party,” Bronin said, “would be stronger if our leadership spent less time protecting people who have been in Congress for decades and more time working to lift up a new generation of Democrats to help us build a stronger, more energetic, more effective Democratic Party.”
More effective how exactly? Bronin didn’t say, though opportunities abound.
Last week the Democrats in Congress decided to suspend, among other things, the salaries of airport security employees to punish President Trump and his administration for what Democrats see as excessively rough enforcement of immigration law. Larson and the rest of Connecticut’s congressional delegation, all Democrats, think suspending the salaries of airport security employees is a great tactic, and Bronin hasn’t objected, though the many residents of the 1st Congressional District who travel by air might disagree if their flights start getting delayed or canceled as happened during the government shutdown engineered by congressional Democrats last year.
Opposing immigration law enforcement seems to be the biggest part of Democratic campaigns and Larson is going along with it. Last week he condemned the Trump administration for trying to “infiltrate” field offices of the Social Security Administration to apprehend illegal immigrants. This complaint was nonsensical.
For illegal immigrants don’t qualify for Social Security and if they are receiving such benefits it would be properly a matter for law enforcement. So why should illegal immigrants be exempt from apprehension at Social Security offices, or exempt anywhere for that matter? Larson didn’t explain but Bronin won’t call him on it because in a Democratic primary he’ll support illegal immigration as much as Larson will.
And why is Larson Bronin’s only target for trying to remain in office in a vigorous old age? Among Connecticut’s other members of Congress, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro is also seeking re-election this year though, at 82, she is five years older than Larson. U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney is seeking re-election at 72. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is in his third term at age 80. Does Bronin think any of them should retire for the sake of “a stronger, more energetic, more effective Democratic Party”?
Bronin needn’t worry. Most Connecticut journalists are partisan Democrats and won’t ask.
Like most Democrats, Larson seems to think that the best reason for renominating and re-electing him is his bloviating against Trump. But this comes at the expense of serious policy issues, even as Larson has a strong claim on the best issue — strengthening the Social Security system, for which he long has been the primary advocate of crucial legislation.
Bronin has faulted Larson for not getting the legislation passed, but the party’s congressional leadership was too timid about it. In Jeffries the House Democrats have a new leader who supports Larson’s legislation enthusiastically. With the Democrats likely to win a majority in the House in November, the bill could pass there and a weakened national Republican Party might find it hard to oppose.
Bloviating against Trump won’t help get his signature on the bill.
Chris Powell has written about Connecticut government and politics for many years. (CPowell@cox.net)
Chris Powell column 