A telling silence from the Democratic Caucus in Hartford

Governor Dannel P. Malloy called Thursday for reducing the number of state agencies by 30 percent - from 81 to 57 agencies. A great start to the much needed re-structuring and streamlining of state government. And so far Republicans are nodding in agreement and saying that it is about time and there are no strenuous objections coming from Democrats in the State Legislature. All is sweetness and light.


Wait…what?

Didn’t Governor M. Jodi Rell propose the exact same thing? And before her, didn’t Governor John G. Rowland propose the exact same thing? Why yes, yes they did. And both times the Democrat dominated legislature soundly rejected those proposals.

Please pardon me a moment dear reader as I walk myself through this as if I’m a third grader.

As far back as least 2004, when the state’s fiscal condition was not nearly as dire as it is today, The Governor of the state made the case that state government was too big, too inefficient, and sucked up far too much money, and need to be streamlined. Democrats in the Connecticut legislature said “That’s a horrible idea.” and dismissed it. Yet in 2011 that very same idea is meeting no such objection, why not? What has changed? Ah, I see, the Governor making the proposal this time is a fellow democrat.

Could it possibly be that elected representatives, pledged to uphold the people’s interests sat on their hands and let the state fall off a financial cliff for no other reason than partisan politics? When you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how unbelievable it may be to some, must be the truth.

If what I just outlined is the truth, it is the worst case of politics over people that I’ve seen in a long while and certainly a case with more disastrous consequences for the people those politicians are supposed to represent than I’ve seen in a long while.

But hey, don’t just take my word for it. Ask your Representatives and State Senators why they didn’t support this idea back when it would have really helped.

If they don’t have a good answer, remember that at the ballot box next time.