( - promoted by ctblogger)
He's not known as DLC Dan for nothing.
Governor Malloy is once again reassuring the state's business interests, who HATE the very mention of health care reform, that they have nothing to fear from his stewardship by reneging on what one might have thought was a sacred campaign promise.
SustiNet is (or at least was) an innovative -- dare I say progressive -- program that would provide a sturdy health safety net for the state of Connecticut, placing us at the forefront of states in helping make sure most folks could have access to affordable health care.
Candidate Malloy was all for it. In fact, he chose one of SustiNet's shining lights, Nancy Wyman, as his running mate.
Now that he's in office and busily reassuring the super rich that they have nothing to fear from his stewardship, he's changed his tune.
The estimable Jonathan Pelto has the skinny (emphasis added):
When Malloy chose State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, a leader in the SustiNet planning effort to be his running mate, he wrote "I am completely convinced that, with Nancy Wyman as my partner in this effort, we can expand access and bring down costs down. ... That's a promise we have a moral responsibility to keep."
But just a few weeks later, when the landmark legislation came up for its first legislative public hearing, the Malloy Administration blasted the proposal.
"Malloy expressed his strongest reservations to date about the proposed SustiNet program," reported the Connecticut Mirror. Speaking at a townhall meeting recently Malloy questioned he cost of SustiNet.
On April 1, Roy Occhiogrosso, the governor' senior advisor, said: "[The governor] is hard pressed to see how something that has not been tried and proven effective anywhere else could be done here."
Apparently Roy Occhiogrosso doesn't believe his boss has a new or innovative idea in his head! "Leadership? Hell, no! We'll let someone else do it first and then maybe we'll think about it."
It was a stunning blow to supporters who believed Malloy's very public support of comprehensive reform was key to beating Republican Tom Foley, a staunch opponent of health care reform.
True enough. But no matter how sad and pathetic Malloy's caving in to his monied betters might be, I couldn't help finding some grim humor in the whole situation. |
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