(Some food for thought with a great deal of research. - promoted by Scarce)
Democrats in the state
legislature enjoy a
veto-proof majority, which,
in theory, should enable them to approve any law, regardless of
GOP opposition. Such unity of purpose remains
entirely theoretical, however, since some Democrats share more in
common with their Republican colleagues than with the voters
who elected them. As a means of ferreting out the most
unreliable Democrats,
I've tried to develop a method of gauging the performance of
elected officials that is not based on
personality, reputation, or single issue positions, but on measurable
behavior.
Primarily using legislative scorecards, I identified the Democrats with
the worst
records across a variety of issues - labor, environmental, gun control,
campaign finance reform, public interest, civil rights, and others.
The state
legislators below scored as the worst Democrats in the state, i.e, they
ranked poorly on four or more measures.
Their records cry out
for some kind of accountability -- by means of constituent
meetings,
retirement, or primary challenges.
Senators
Paul
Doyle,
9th, Cromwell, Middletown, Newington, Rocky Hill &
Wethersfield.
Former state rep. Opposed campaign finance reform,
one of
the worst lifetime labor records among Democrats, years of
anti-gay and anti-choice votes, worst CCAG record in Senate.
Joan
Hartley,
15th, Naugatuck, Prospect and Waterbury. Opposed campaign
finance
reform, Lieberman ally after primary, long anti-gay and anti-choice
record, among the most
pro-corporate.
Juan
Candelaria, 95th, New Haven. Anti-gay record,
endorsed by Family
Institute, opposed workplace smoking ban, Dem for Joe.
Bill
Dyson,
Tried to become House Speaker through alliance
with Republicans (put
out to pasture), friend of Rowland (opposed impeachment), friend of
Joe.
Mary
Fritz,
90th, Cheshire, Wallingford. Endorsed by Family Institute,
worst
environmental record of any Democrat, long anti-gay and anti-choice
record, supported Lieberman after primary, opposed income tax, opposed
Sheff v O'Neill ruling, tied for worst overall record in House (# of
poor ratings), 25-year incumbent.
Shawn
Johnston, 51st, Killingly, Putnam & Thompson.
Tied for worst overall record in House.
Corky
Mazurek, 80th, Southington & Wolcott.
Opposed civil unions, supported health care cuts, Lieberman
booster.
Steve
Mikutel,
45th, Griswold, Lisbon, Plainfield, & Voluntown. One
of only two
Dems to vote 100% with anti-gay and anti-choice
Family
Institute,
poor labor record, supported Lieberman after primary.
Peggy
Sayers, 60th, Windsor & Windsor Locks.
Opposed campaign finance reform, buddy of Family Institute,
endorsed by NRA.
Chris
Stone, 9th, East Hartford, Glastonbury, Manchester.
Opposed campaign finance reform, municipal ethics reform, and
clean contracting bills.
Full details on the criteria and ratings for other legislators below.
I've included in the tables below all Democrats who met any of the following
criteria:
Family Institute of CT (FIC) voting
record of 20% or more, 2005-2006 (endorsements noted with "e")
CT Business & Industry Association (CBIA) voting
record above 80% as of 2006. Bar set high to gauge
exceptional
obsequiousness toward corporate interests
CT AFL-CIO lifetime voting
record below 75%, as of 2006
Voted against campaign finance reform bill in 2005 (final
vote of House
and Senate)
CT League of Conservation Voters (LCV) voting record
below 80% in 2005 or 2006
National Rifle Association (NRA) lifetime
rating of A or B, as of 2006 (endorsements noted
with "e")
CT Citizen Action Group (CCAG) voting record
below 75% in 2003-2004 (most recent year available)
Again, the "worst Democrats" listed above are those who scored poorly
on four or more measures.
The Democrats listed below are those who scored poorly on any of the
measures. Note that these measures do not evaluate
legislators who were newly
elected in 2006.
The list below demonstrates how unreliable Democratic elected officials
can be, and how far we are from a meaningful "veto proof" Democratic
majority. One-third of Democrats in the state
legislature appear on the list. (And there are, of course,
many
ways to be a bad legislator aside from recorded votes.) I've
also
calculated average scores for Democrats and Republicans.
You'll also see that some Democrats score worse than the
average
Republican.
Many legislators below are not categorically bad, and some are
quite good on major issues. This is not an "enemies list."
What is of most interest here is a pattern --
Democrats who again and again, on issue after issue, take
the
wrong stands and hurt their constituents.
Have you ever taken part in an accountability session with
constituents and a legislator? Helped to change an errant
legislator's ways?
Helped to organize a primary? What do you think
works and
doesn't work?
e = endorsed by Family Institute of CT or National Rifle Association
Abs = absent for campaign finance vote
* = Mary Fritz absent for all LCV votes in 2006
n/a = not in office during this session
** = Clemons' CCAG record based on only one vote
Democrats in the state
legislature enjoy a
veto-proof majority, which,
in theory, should enable them to approve any law, regardless of
GOP opposition. Such unity of purpose remains
entirely theoretical, however, since some Democrats share more in
common with their Republican colleagues than with the voters
who elected them. As a means of ferreting out the most
unreliable Democrats,
I've tried to develop a method of gauging the performance of
elected officials that is not based on
personality, reputation, or single issue positions, but on measurable
behavior.
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