To The Editor:
The whirlwind agenda of popular legislation passed by the Democratic majority in Hartford in June has left conservative critics sputtering with rage, and muttering about the transformation of the Nutmeg State into the “People’s Republic of Connecticut.” More than anything, what their rhetoric demonstrates is how out of touch our local Republicans are with the popular mood for change in our state.
Writing in The Day, gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley sniped that “it isn’t amusing watching Connecticut adopt policy more evocative of Havana or Caracas,” and added that the state political leadership “is stuck in a retro-policy reminiscent of the 1960’s.”
On the contrary, the legislative session that closed in early June was unusually productive and forward-thinking. In addition to passing the first-in-the-nation paid sick leave legislation, the Democratic majority passed bills strengthening protections for domestic violence survivors; addressing racial and ethnic disparities in the state juvenile justice system; preserving funding for early care and education programs; and decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.
In addition, to close a $3.5 billion deficit inherited from his Republican predecessor, Governor Dannel Malloy and the Democratic majority passed a 2-year $40 billion budget composed of a judicious mix of tax increases, union concessions and budget cuts.
That balanced approach – in stark contrast to the approach of Republican governors elsewhere that balance the budget on the backs of unionized teachers, police officers and firefighters - elicited the predictable chorus of criticism from our Greenwich delegation. While Governor Malloy was doing the heavy lifting, and expending a good deal of political capital in the process - he has been criticized by some of his supporters for not raising taxes enough on the wealthiest residents - all our local representatives could do was cavil from the backbench, and vote in lockstep against popular legislation.
On the passage of paid sick leave, a bill which would require large companies to offer up to five paid sick days of leave a year to employees, our entire Republican slate voted “no.” Writing in the Greenwich Patch, Lile Gibbons said paid sick leave “stifles investment and economic development,” and “adds to the growing body of anti-business legislation.” Representative Fred Camillo described the paid sick leave bill as a “swing to the far left.”
Only days after penning the defense of their ‘no’ votes, the widely respected Quinnipiac University poll released its findings, which showed how truly out of touch with public opinion Camillo and his GOP colleagues are. The poll showed a whopping 72 percent of respondents supporting paid sick leave, including a 50-44 percent plurality of Republicans. Bottom line: paid sick leave is immensely popular. Even half of all Republicans favor it!
Given this broad level of support - perhaps much broader than state legislators realized while the bill was being debated - no one can credibly claim that paid sick leave legislation is remotely controversial, much less a “swing to the far left.” But such is the hermetically sealed intellectual bubble in which Republicans such as Representative Camillo and Tom Foley now live that they can describe popular legislation supported by three out of four citizens of the state as “far left.”or “evocative of Havana or Caracas.”
Similarly, the measure to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana is also vastly popular with the general public. According to the Quinnipiac Poll, 66 percent of respondents approved of the measure, including 77 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 49 percent of Republicans.
As the poll findings confirm, paid sick leave, and decriminalization of marijuana in small amounts are very popular ideas, and for sound reasons. They are measured, pragmatic and cost-effective responses to pressing societal problems.
Paid sick leave offers a modicum of dignity and respect to working families throughout the state, and brings Connecticut into line with virtually every country in the entire industrialized world, which already guarantees sick workers some form of paid sick leave. Likewise, marijuana decriminalization will help focus more resources on violent and serious offenders. Citizens of the state have every reason to be proud of such legislative accomplishments, and Governor Malloy deserves credit for pushing these initiatives across the finish line, in the face of near unanimous Republican obstruction, and staunch opposition from big business lobbyists.
It is no secret that state Republicans made opposition to paid sick leave legislation their number one priority during the last session. They failed. And their failure to listen not only to the general public but even to their own base on this and other issues demonstrates how out of touch they are. One must ask: if they persist in voting against the sentiments of their own constituents across the political spectrum, whose interests are they truly serving?
- Bill Gaston is a member of the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee
Source Material:
Tom Foley, “Outdated Policies Invite a Connecticut Crash,” The Day, June 15, 2011.
Quinnipiac Poll, “Connecticut Budget Takes Toll on Malloy, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Approve of Sick Leave Law, 3-1” June 15, 2011
Greenwich Patch, Fred Camillo, “2011 Legislative Session of the Connecticut General Assembly,” June 14, 2011
Greenwich Patch, Lile Gibbons, “Paid Leave Stifles Business Development” June 8, 2011
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
