December 8, 2004: Headlines: COS - Fiji: Congress: Politics: Hartford Courant: Rebel Republican Chris Shays again finds himself in the GOP doghouse after opposing a bid to allow House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to keep his post in the event DeLay is indicted
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December 8, 2004: Headlines: COS - Fiji: Congress: Politics: Hartford Courant: Rebel Republican Chris Shays again finds himself in the GOP doghouse after opposing a bid to allow House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to keep his post in the event DeLay is indicted
Rebel Republican Chris Shays again finds himself in the GOP doghouse after opposing a bid to allow House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to keep his post in the event DeLay is indicted
Rebel Republican Chris Shays again finds himself in the GOP doghouse after opposing a bid to allow House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to keep his post in the event DeLay is indicted
More Reasons For Connecticut To Feel Blue
December 8, 2004
Connecticut has had its first glimpse of life as a blue state in a red-state-dominated political world and it ain't pretty.
Since the election, Connecticut, which voted for Democrat John Kerry, has lost federal funds for New Haven Harbor as well as for highway projects in eastern Connecticut and emergency fuel aid, and had a bill killed that would have protected Long Island Sound. What's more, rebel Republican Chris Shays again finds himself in the GOP doghouse after opposing a bid to allow House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to keep his post in the event DeLay is indicted.
All this - and President Bush and his congressional cohorts haven't even been sworn in yet for their new terms in office.
It's going to be a long four years.
The slashing of federal funds - and other acts of political retribution - are the downside of Connecticut residents having backed the wrong horse in the presidential race and of sending Republicans to Congress who are virtual socialists by national party standards.
Ironically, during the recently concluded campaign, Shays in Fairfield County and Rob Simmons in eastern Connecticut asked voters to support them on the basis of their centrist views and independent voting records.
But early indications are that congressional leaders have no use for centrists, or, for that matter, Northeasterners, and the issues they care about.
Amtrak? Forget about it. Real Republicans don't ride the trains. New Haven Harbor? Just a collection of left-leaning Yalies down that way. Energy assistance? Poor folks can build campfires if they want to stay warm.
The vote had barely been certified in Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District when Ernest J. Istook Jr. of Oklahoma, chairman of a key House subcommittee, decided to teach that uppity Simmons a lesson.
Istook stripped $37 million from the 2005 spending bill because Simmons had the gall to co-sign a letter, back in May, that "respectfully" expressed support for $1.8 billion in federal funds for Amtrak.
The $37 million that had been earmarked for Simmons' district covered projects that he had bragged about during the campaign: routes 11 and 82, the cerebral palsy world games to be held next summer at Connecticut College, Windham's Dial-A-Ride program, repairs to fishing piers in East Lyme and Stonington and improvements to Norwich Harbor.
Someone must have reminded Istook that Simmons represents a swing district and that the very projects that Istook yanked were ones that Simmons had taken credit for, helping him to win re-election. In August, for example, Simmons held a splashy press conference with Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to announce the fast-tracking of an 8.5-mile stretch of Route 11 in Salem.
How do we know that Istook was reminded of those facts? On Dec. 2, he took the highly unusual step of apologizing. But Istook didn't promise that the money would be restored. He said he would do "everything in [his] power to rectify" the situation.
There must not be a lot of love lost between Istook and Simmons. Istook didn't begin his letter of apology with the salutation "Dear Rob." It was "Dear Congressman Simmons." Don't these guys sit on the same side of the aisle?
Gov. M. Jodi Rell is another moderate Republican who seems destined to suffer at the hands of the take-no-prisoners congressional leaders.
In a letter of protest to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, Rell bemoaned the loss of $8.4 million, money that was to be shared by all 169 communities as well as the two tribal nations.
Moreover, Connecticut stands to forfeit another $10 million in federal funds aimed at securing the New Haven region, which includes a port facility, major rail and highway junctions and a storehouse for the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Rell described the cuts as "woefully shortsighted."
And, in the latest assault on blue Connecticut, GOP Rep. Richard Pombo of California derailed a measure that conservationists say would have provided sweeping new protections for Long Island Sound. Shays ascribed the bill's demise to a fear that Easterners are "telling Westerners what we want to do with property owned by the American people."
Huh? Shouldn't Easterners have the right to determine the fate of Long Island Sound?
These blue-state-hating Republicans are sure a bunch of sore winners.
Michele Jacklin is The Courant's political columnist. Her column appears every Wednesday and Sunday. To leave her a comment, please call 860-241-3163.
E-mail: jacklin@courant.com
When this story was posted in December 2004, this was on the front page of PCOL:
| Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
| The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
| Charges possible in 1976 PCV slaying Congressman Norm Dicks has asked the U.S. attorney in Seattle to consider pursuing charges against Dennis Priven, the man accused of killing Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner on the South Pacific island of Tonga 28 years ago. Background on this story here and here. |
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Story Source: Hartford Courant
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Fiji; Congress; Politics
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