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Total entries in this category: Published On: May 21, 2004 07:57 AM |
Thu - May 20, 2004OUT OF THE CLOSETBREAKING NEWS
IN MY
OPINION
I recently talked to a Rowland insider on deep, deep, deep, deep did I say deep background. This person says despite the outward display of confidence that the guv tries to portray in public, this entire impeachment thing is "killing him." But at the same time this person says Row-Dog (that's my friend Stan Simpson's nickname for Rowland) he isn't going to resign...and further, he absolutely, positively doesn't believe he did anything wrong serious enough that warrants his removal from office. I say for the first time for all the world to read I believe the guv doesn't get impeached.....I'm not ready to stick my neck out yet on the federal investigation yet, but impeachment. I think the governor beats it. THERE, I SAID IT! BEYOND THE HEADLINES Speaking of insiders, Rowland in-house lawyer Ross Garber is a guest on BTH. http://wb20.trb.com/news/wtxx-news-beyondtheheadlines.storygallery Posted at 11:42 PM Read More Thu - May 13, 2004IT'S BEEN AWHILEWHY I HAVE BEEN
AWAY
LONG TIME NO
SEE
This is for those that still check to see if I'm still in business. Basically I got tired of "bloging" about the Rowland scandal everyday. I personally have come to my own conclusions about this impeachment thing, and in the interest of trying to maintain my objectivity as a reporter it was time for me to pull back on sharing my own thoughts on my blog. But I'm beginning to get the itch again to say a few things so I'll be posting again on a regular basis. Plus, the congressional campaigns will be heating up soon and I'll definitely have a lot to say about those races. But a blog is nothing without group participation, so please share, share, share. BEYOND THE HEADLINES Thanks for all the wonderful feedback http://wb20.trb.com/news/wtxx-news-beyondtheheadlines.storygallery Posted at 12:05 AM Read More Sat - March 6, 2004THIS SHOULD BE INTERESTINGSENATE TO VOTE ON
JUDGE
THE WEEK
AHEAD
Two significant political events this week. But from my seat one is much bigger politically than the other. First, on Monday lawyers for the impeachment panel and the governor will argue what an impeachable offense is. The guv's peeps say he should only be removed for serious, criminal offenses, the impeachment lawyer say his removal can be for non-criminal activities. While this particular debate is an important step in the process, I'm keeping my eye on what is going to happen on Wednesday. That's when the State Senate will vote on whether Judge James Robertson should be confirmed. When the Senate vote was postponed last week no new date was immediately scheduled. But late Friday word broke that the vote will be held this Wednesday. So what happened? Me think that backroom efforts to get Robertson to voluntarily step away failed. And Senate President Kevin Sullivan said the hell with it, let's not prolong this thing, let's have a vote and let whatever happens happens. I'm not ready to make a prediction on what the outcome will be, but as I have been lamenting lately, if Robertson is confirmed, I think it will be incredibly difficult for legislators to justify impeaching and then removing Rowland from office. AND WHAT SAY YOU? This blog is intended to be somewhat interactive. And I don't ask much of the people that say they read the Potpourri (and give me grief when I don't post something new as often as they want me too!) But I am looking for feedback on my theory about Judge Robertson's appointment having a direct impact on Rowland's impeachment. Whether you share my view or not let me know what you think. Thanks. Posted at 12:29 AM Read More Thu - March 4, 2004JUDGEMENT DAYPOLITICAL COURAGE LACKING
MY
PREDICTION
Quite a few people are predicting that Judge James Robertson will step aside and not continue to move forward in his legislative confirmation process. WRONG! I believe the governor is loving this. He doesn't want Robertson to walk away, he wants, say I, to put lawmakers on the political hot seat to vote the judge up or down. Lawmakers on the other hand would prefer for Robertson to walk away on his own. But just as the governor has resisted all calls for him to resign, you can bet Robertson, at the direction of Rowland, will not, I repeat will not drop out. And if, again this is my prediction, if the Robertson confirmation is eventually voted on and he is approved, I don't see how there is anyway Rowland gets impeached. Loophole or not, if legislators can't say no to a man that provided a hundred thousand dollars in free legal services to the guv , his law firm gets 6 million in state work and then the guv appoints him to a judgeship, then I believe making a legitimate case to REMOVE the governor from office will be politically impossible. Posted at 12:05 AM Read More Tue - February 24, 2004CT PRIMARY IS A WEEK AWAYSUPER TUESDAY -- A BIG
YAWN
HEADS
UP
Please let me know if you happen to run across ANY of the Democratic candidates in Connecticut. It's unlikely we will see Kerry, Edwards or for that matter Sharpton in the Nutmeg State before Tuesday. But I bet whoever the dems nominate that candidate will find their way to CT before the general election. But don't expect to see them in Hartford, or Waterbury. No, the democratic nominee will spend what little time they may in money rich Fairfield County hands outstretched looking for much needed campaign cash. New Haven might be the only exception: Out of respect to Joe Lieberman the eventual candidate (and I still haven't ruled out Senator Edwards winning the nomination) may make a quick pit stop in the Elm City. Posted at 11:33 PM Read More Sat - February 21, 2004HERE COMES THE JUDGEWHAT WILL LAWMAKERS
DO?
HELP
WANTED
A few of you folks have been letting me have it for not updating the blog as frequently as you would like. If anybody would like to help me out, I'm open for guest bloggers. Send me some of your stuff and I'll be more than happy to put your political thoughts up for all the world to see. THE JUDGE AND THE VOTE I'm going to be keeping my eye on how the House and Senate vote on whether to confirm James K. Robertson to the Superior Court bench. Robertson as most know was Governor Rowland's longtime personal lawyer. Robertson and his law firm are still owed over 125 thousand dollars for legal work done for Rowland. But at the same time Robertson's former law firm Carmody & Torrance, was receiving millions in fees for state legal work, close to six million dollars in fact. Last week in a near unanimous decision the Judiciary Committee citing a "loophole" affirmed Robertson's judgeship (Robertson is already serving on the bench, but his appointment by Rowland has to be approved by the legislature) According to committee members current ethics laws allowed public officials to accept free services from people doing business with the State. Apparently some believe the loophole is the distinction between services and gifts. Nonetheless, the matter of Robertson's confirmation is headed to the entire legislature for a vote. I believe the result of that vote will give a clear signal on how an impeachment vote on the guv may go down. Here's my thinking: Loophole or not, if the Judiciary committee and the entire legislative body can't take a stand and say no to a judge who has provided over a hundred thousand dollars in free legal work and then his law firm is awarded (rewarded) millions of dollars in state contracts; then don't expect them to vote yes to impeach the governor for accepting a hot tub and kitchen cabinets. If lawmakers are as outraged as they say they are about the Governor's pattern of ethical lapses, they should use the Robertson appointment as proof. If they were the least bit serious the judiciary committee should have said no to Robertson. But since they didn't then the General Assembly should vote Robertson's appointment down. And despite new questions coming out of the ethics office that this so-called loophole may not have existed in the first place, I say the Democratic majority will ultimately confirm Robertson, offering up a bunch of political excuses why their hands are tied and they had no choice but to vote yes on Robertson. But they do have a choice. And if they can't say no to Roberston's appointment, it will be very hard to justify voting Rowland out of office. CT JOE IS BACK After taking last week off to go on vacation, Senator Joe Lieberman is back at work. He'll be in CT on Monday making the rounds at....surprise, surprise....local diners. It will be interesting to see if he has the same passion for his US Senate job as he had before his White House run. Posted at 01:27 AM Read More Tue - February 10, 2004THE GUV IS FEELING BETTER THAN IHAVE A
TISSUE?
MIXED POLL
BAG
I've been slow to post because I've been battling a really bad cold.....The guv had to be ecstatic about yesterday's UConn poll. Yes 61 percent still want him to resign, but a majority of respondents say they think criminal and not ethical misdeeds should be the standard for impeachment. It's going to be tough for lawmakers to toss him out of office based only on the guv having his hand out MAD SULLY This one has been brewing for at least a week or more. But Senate President Kevin Sullivan has been gunning for Public Safety Commissioner Art Spada for awhile now. Sullivan has been especially salty about the Vinny DeRosa saga involving overtime at Homeland Security and Vinny D's overall qualifications to be agency director and that little matter of DeRosa's side biz as a used car salesman. On Tuesday during a public hearing where Sullivan made a rare committee appearance he and Spada went toe-to-toe. (you may need to have a CTNOW account to read this) http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/statewire/hc-10201956.apds.m0615.bc-ct--homefeb10,1,7891659.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire Some think Kevin is going a little bit over the top on this one, but former judge Spada hasn't helped himself by not being aware -- sooner -- of Vinny D's side job! THE WINNER IS....... Doug S from Manchester was the first to email back on my "Who ran against Lieberman" question. The answer of course is the now locked-up Phil Giordano. Doug beat Jason S from West Hartford by 4 minutes. But Jason saw behind my real motive and wrote "Now this was a cheap attempt to get reader interaction..." He's right, and it worked! Thanks to all for the feedback Posted at 12:01 AM Read More Fri - February 6, 2004THE WEEK THAT WASMANY SAID THE GUV WOULDN'T DO
IT
(SORRY, SORRY, SORRY: I thought I had uploaded this post late Friday night. It wasn't until I got a few emails from folks asking me when I was going to post something new that I realized something had gone wrong.) (DISCLAIMER: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS BLOG ARE MINE AND NOT THOSE OF MY EMPLOYER FOX 61) THE SPEECH Had to take a few days off to catch my breath after a hectic week. But if you like politics, (and soap operas) this was a week to remember in Connecticut. Let's start with the State of the State Address. The past six State of the State addresses I've covered I've always stood in the back of the House chambers to take in the guv's speech. Standing in the back made it easier to get lawmaker reaction after the speech as they reps and senators would always make their way to the back of the room to be interviewed. Not this year! I got a front row view, (well actually a side row view next to the speakers podium in the area usually reserved for print media....there was even a shot of my head in Thursday's New Haven Register) I wanted to see close up how the governor was going to hold up, AND I wanted to look directly into the eyes of the legislators as they listened. There was NO applause for Rowland until he was literally four steps on the Speaker's riser (By comparison Lt Gov. Jodi Rell got a rousing ovation). I sensed a slight quiver in the governor's voice when he began his speech, but that quickly disagreed and he went on to deliver one of the longgggggest State of the State addresses he's ever given. Hell, why not, who knows if this will be his last major address before the legislature he might as well go out with a bang! As for the speech itself, eh! Nothing really spectacular. He touted his accomplishments from the past, offered up modest tax increase (boy I'm glad I no longer smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol) Folks sitting in the audience as guest of the governor included war vets (he proposed free college scholarships for the children of vets killed in Iraq and Afghanistan), an elderly faith-based provider, and inner city school kids from a successful charter program. The governor also proposed a variety of legislation that should make a variety of constituency groups happy...in fact Bridgeport Rep. Chris Caruso(D) got in a good line saying the guv promised something for everybody except the janitors that clean up the building. FALLOUT But that type of biting sarcasm from Caruso and a few other legislative democrats may ultimately turn the up until now bipartisan impeachment process into a very partisan battle. Rowland would love for the investigation into his ethical conduct morph into political warfare. Up until now the dems and "r's" have been playing nice with one another as it related to the forming of the inquiry panel. But I'm getting a sense from a number of republicans, maybe not a majority quite yet, but a growing number hope Rowland survives this crisis. Just looking at a few of them as they watched Rowland speak, you could see a few almost saying 'now that's the Johnny Boy I love.' But jumping out in front of the Let's Save the Governor" campaign isn't politically viable right now. However, if they can get those mean old Democrats to start taking political jabs at Rowland that go beyond the politically acceptable "we think he should resign" rhetoric, republicans may have a political opening where they could accuse the dems of conducting a political witch hunt instead of an investigation. I'll go out on a limb and predict that scenario will eventually happen. Here's why: The State of the State address is really one of the last big "things" that is going to happen for awhile. Yes the impeachment committee still needs to hire a law firm and that story will get big coverage. So will the terms the committee sets on what exactly they have determined what an impeachable offense is. And Friday's Ethics Commission ruling on whether the governor has broken any ethics laws. But as the daily "death watch" of the governor lessens, and the daily grind of the legislative session gets going, it's likely more than a few democrats not directly involved with the impeachment panel will get bored and begin to mix it up with reporters and make public comments and negative pre-judgments about the guv's guilt. Those statements, I predict, will be used by the guv and his supporters to make their case that much of this investigation has been more about political revenge then about investigating his admitted ethical mistakes. Because dems hold a majority in the house, and since only a simple majority is needed to impeach it's quite possible that Rowland might be impeached. However four Republican Senators (assuming all of the democratic senators vote to convict) would have to vote to convict and remove the governor from office. If this process tumbles down the road of political, partisan bickering, then that might just be the out the governor needs to stay in office. But as I have said in the past, all bets are off if the feds come a calling with an indictment. JOE-MENTUM IS DEAD It would be easy to sit back and lampoon the Joe Lieberman presidential campaign, but I won't. From a selfish standpoint I was hoping he would make it at leas tot the Democratic Convention in Boston. That way I would be guaranteed a great media spot at the convention. Bottom line: Democratic primary voters just weren't feeling CT Joe....no doubt Lieberman's unwavering support of the War in Iraq probably did a lot more harm than good. Yes Lieberman criticized the President's handling of the war, but primary voters apparently didn't want to support someone who was often dubbed Bush-lite for his moderate to conservative views. Now that he is back to being a full-time senator, it has to be a let down. At his homecoming at Hartford City Hall democratic supporters say despite missing plenty of votes because of his presidential activities he has nothing to be sorry about and Ct voters will continue to support him overwhelmingly. Maybe, maybe not, CT Joe will have to once again show the passion for his new, old job as he did on the campaign trail for president if he truly wants to regain the adulation he enjoyed in the past. Don't be surprised to see State Republicans to mount a fairly serious challenge against Lieberman in 2006 if Lieberman looks the least bit vulnerable. And I'll give a Potpourri shout-out to the first person that emails me with the name of the republican that ran against Lieberman in 2000 for his U.S. Senate seat. Posted at 07:56 PM Read More Tue - February 3, 2004THE BIG SPEECH IS HEREAND CT JOE SAYS
ENUFF
I'm going t keep it real brief today. That's because
tomorrow is going to be a very, very busy political day. The station has me
covering BOTH big stories---first the guv's state of the state speech and then
CT Joe comes home to lick his wounds. A full report tomorrow.
Posted at 10:30 PM Read More Mon - February 2, 2004THE QUITEBEFORE THE
SPEECH
For the first time in well over a month things were
very, very quite at the State Capitol. Oh, people were busy, reporters were
reporting and the impeachment panel was busy interviewing lawyers, but it just
had a low key, dare I say almost normal feel in the halls of the Capitol. It
hasn't felt that way in over a month. I even heard a few reporters talking about
the BUDGET!
THE SPEECH The most anticipated speech in the history of state politics is a day away. But I'm getting late word that the guv won't be saying much in his speech about his problems....a passing reference at best. He plans to stick to the nuts and bolts of government in his address. He'll leave the political spin of his speech and the politics of his speech to others. And you know there will be plenty of spin! SECURITY If you want to catch the guv's speech on Wednesday, you better have a press pass. Capitol Police will be keeping spectators and possible hecklers far, far away Posted at 11:05 PM Read More Fri - January 30, 2004A FEW THOUGHTSCT JOE AND STATE OF THE
STATE
(DISCLAIMER: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE ARE
MINE AND NOT ENDORSED BY MY EMPLOYER FOX
61)
It took a few days to recover from a whirlwind trip to New Hampshire and the primaries. CT Joe is done! Even if he pulls off a win in Delaware on Tuesday. And Delaware is no safe bet. Though he has spent a lot of time there and gotten a bunch of endorsements from state pols, Kerry is picking up steam and will probably overtake Lieberman in Delaware too. It's going to be hard for Joe to leave the presidential stage. There are plenty of reasons why his campaign just hasn't caught fire. But the biggest reason why I believe CT Joe doesn't want to abort his presidential hopes is because, well, the attention he gets on the national stage is intoxicating. No doubt it's a lot of hard work campaigning for president, but it has to be cool as hell too! As a reporter that's gotten to cover this campaign a little bit as well as the Gore/Lieberman campaign in 2000 I can tell you it's an incredible experience there is nothing like it! You're out and about talking to people, mixing it up, talking politics. Yes, there is the dirty side of having to raise a bunch of money and also dealing with us in the media, but the opportunity to crisscross the country and put your heart and soul on the line all with the hopes of achieving the ultimate political dream -- The White House. That said, my prediction is presidential candidate Lieberman soon comes home to Connecticut to once again become Senator Lieberman within the next two weeks. ROWLAND STATE OF THE STATE I can't think of too many other events at the Capitol, or for that matter anywhere in the State, that will be as anxiously anticipated as Wednesday's State of the State address by Governor Rowland. The focus of course won't be on what he says, but that he's going ahead with the speech in light of everything going on. Senator Edith Prague told me on Thursday that she was boycotting the speech. But most legislators are expected to show up. But the most governor Rowland should expect is polite applause. NORMAL BUSINESS? The guv gave reporters and others a sneak peak of his budget. And surprise surprise no more cuts for aide to cities and towns or Connpace. Democrats are promising to raise the Millionaire's tax again! The guv has resisted that tax increase since forever and has always veto any budget that's included an income tax boost on the very rich. But here is a question to think about this weekend: Do you think the dems would ever tell the guv on the down low (behind closed doors for the un-hip) that if he supports a big income tax boost for the super rich they'll guarantee that if an impeachment vote ever came to the house floor the dems would vote it down? SHOUT OUT I want to give a Potpourri shout out to Barton Russell a regular reader of this blog and who I had the chance to meet in person this week. Barton is the Executive Director of the CT Council of Small Towns. BEYOND THE HEADLINES We have a good show this Sunday: Rowland, Lieberman and a discussion on the number one killer to women, heart disease. BTH, Sunday at 11 am on WTXX WB 20 Posted at 04:02 PM Read More Mon - January 26, 2004WAS IT ME?OR DID WE TAKE IT ON THE
CHIN?
Man, maybe all the Capitol press corps guys (and
gals) are just worn out, some might call it Rowland fatigue, but the media
troops lacked the usual bite today. Maybe we too are buying into the somberness
this entire situation has brought forth. I mean the New York media guys were
handing us our lunch at all of the press avails. They jumped in to ask all of
the tough questions and the follow-ups. We just more or less sat on our
hands.
As for the vote, no big surprises. Moira Lyons, Jim Amann and Bob Word spoke eloquently about the seriousness of the vote to possibly impeach the guv. Now the hard work begins for the committee. My prediction: No way they keep to the April 14th deadline set by Lyons. OFF TO NEW HAMPSHIRE No blog tomorrow, I'll be in New Hampshire checking in on CT Posted at 11:06 PM Read More Sun - January 25, 2004THE WEEK AHEADIT'S GOING TO BE
BUSY
This is shaping up to be a pretty busy week for me.
On Monday the General Assembly will officially empower the bipartisan panel
investigating the governor. Then early Tuesday morning I'm off to New Hampshire
to check in on how CT Joe will do during the primary. Just from a selfish
standpoint I hope Lieberman is right and actually does better than expected on
Tuesday. That would give me an excuse to badger my bosses to let me travel with
him some more as he heads down South. But realistically while I know he is
"surging" in the polls (the last poll I saw had him at 10 percent) the best I
see him finishing is fourth. He'll say that's good enough to have him continue
his campaign, but raising money will be very, very difficult.
Posted at 11:34 PM Read More Fri - January 23, 2004IT'S ONNOW WHAT?
After all of the buildup it was somewhat
anti-climatic, but history was made at the Capitol today. The panel that may
recommend the possibly impeachment of Gov. Rowland was announced:
The Committee Of Inquiry Rep. John Wayne Fox, D-Stamford, committee co-chair Rep. Jim Abrams, D-Meriden Rep. Jackie Cocco, D-Bridgeport Rep. Wade Hyslop, D-New London Rep. Mike Lawlor, D-East Haven Rep. Arthur O'Neill, R-Southbury, committee co-chair Rep. Bill Hamzy, R-Terryville Rep. Ray Kalinowski, R-Durham Rep. Claudia Powers, R-Greenwich Rep. Ruth Fahrbach, R-Windsor I know all but one of the committee members (Rep. Ray Kalinowski is a freshman, ex Secret Service guy). It doesn't appear that any of these folks have political axes to grind against the governor so he can probably get a fair shake. But I also don't think any of these representatives would hesitate to lower the hammer on Rowland if it comes to that TIME, TIME, TIME I have been saying for some time that "time" is Rowland's best ally. And everyday I see this story losing some of the intense media steam we saw earlier. Oh, plenty in the press corps continue to froth at the mouth at any sniff of Rowland blood, polls or departures (David Boomer) but unless new earth shattering revelations are uncovered, Rowland has survived the 1st quarter of his Political Super Bowl. The second quarter begins Monday with the Special Session to empower the new investigative committee. And all eyes are on February 4th when the guv gives his much anticipated budget address in the Hall of the House of Representatives at the State Capitol. I wonder what the Federal investigators currently looking at Rowland think about all of this stuff going on around him? Posted at 02:46 AM Read More Wed - January 21, 2004THE CHOSEN 10SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE TO NAME
NAMES
(DISCLAIMER: THIS IS MY OWN PERSONAL "BLOG" AND NOT
OFFICIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH MY EMPLOYER FOX
61)
(DISCLAIMER 2: NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR TYPOS OR GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES) NO MORE SILENCE After a few quiet days, relatively speaking, things are likely to heat up at the Capitol on Thursday. Speaker Lyons will name the ten men and women who will serve on the bipartisan panel that will investigate the alleged wrongdoings of the governor. I truly hope Lyons and Minority House Leader bob Ward have done thorough background checks on all of the candidates. Because if it's learned later that any one of the reps have taken questionable gifts or have any other blemishes in their background, you know the Rowland camp will be all over them. No matter, Rowland will be many, many miles away from the Capitol when the panel announcement is made. The guv will be down in Bridgeport doing "regular" guv work, announcing an economic In the end, after this panel finishes their work, I think the guv will be bloodied, but unbowed and certainly not impeached. The federal investigation looms large over whatever this panel tries to do. I predict some witnesses will be very reluctant to testify fearful that those words will be used against them in the federal investigation. HOW LOW CAN THEY GO? Man, there is no spinning the low, low, low poll numbers just out by Quinnipiac. Pollsters say the 24 percent job approval rating for Rowland is Nixonesque. So what does the guv do now? Well, while still under 50 percent, the Guv still gets "high" marks for being a leader. So as you can see, he is trying more and more to be out in public trying to be the governor, it's also why, despite the sideshow aspect, he desperately wants to give that budget speech in the Hall of the House February to open the legislative session. Posted at 12:35 AM Read More POLITICAL VICTORY? DOWN AND DIRTY? I'LL KEEP IT BRIEF I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY NO, I HAVEN'T GIVEN UP CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM NEW HAVEN STYLE I'VE BEEN BUSY REPUBLICANS RIPPED ABOUT REAGAN MOVIE DAG! DUDE WAS TRIPPIN' WHAT DO OTHER CT POLITCAL REPORTERS HAVE TO SAY? |
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