Free Republic

Last month the Connecticut shoreline was battered by rain and wind that caused serious flooding and damage to homes and business reportedly totaling more than $10 million. Governor Rell had asked for federal assistance to help individual homeowners and businesses hit hard by the storms. Yesterday she learned her request has been denied … by Mr Hope and Change himself … Obama.

Tea Party activists won't be permitted to fly the Gadsden Flag over the state Capitol after all. State Capitol police today reversed an earlier decision to allow the bright yellow "Don't Tread On Me" banner to flutter from the highly visible flagpole after learning that activists had planned a political rally following the flag-raising ceremony. But Tea Party activists said today they plan to go ahead with the flag-raising – they plan to bring their own flagpole. "It went from being a flag-raising ceremony to a political event,'' Acting Capitol police Chief Walter Lee said. "They are using it as...

Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced Monday at 5 p.m. that she will not seek re-election as governor in 2010. "After much soul-searching, and discussion with my family, I have decided not to seek re-election next year," Rell said in her Capitol office during a hastily called press conference with her family standing by. She said it has been "an honor" to serve. She cited accomplishments including ethics and campaign finance reform, noting that in 2004 she "came in at a troubling time in our state's history." That was a reference to her ascension from lieutenant governor on July 1, 2004,...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Gov. Jodi Rell said she will use her line-item veto power to comb through a budget approved by the General Assembly early Tuesday morning. The bill passed the Democrat-controlled House on a 103-45 vote at about midnight. All House Republicans voted in opposition of the bill, joined by nine Democrats. The Democrat-controlled Senate passed it 22-13 early after 2 a.m. Tuesday, with one Democrat voting with the opposing GOP. Rell said she will not sign the budget because she doesn't agree with it, but that she will not veto it. She said the budget would take effect...

In a historic day at the state Capitol, the Democratic-controlled legislature overrode seven vetoes by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and took the first step toward establishing universal health care coverage in Connecticut. The number of overrides tied the seven made in 1992 during the administration of Gov. Lowell P. Weicker — the most since Republican Gov. Thomas Meskill was overridden nine times in 1974. . But Rell won a victory in the most dramatic moment of the day as the controversial health care "pooling" bill failed by one vote in the state Senate when Democratic Sen. Joan Hartley of...

In another controversial bill, the Senate Democrats voted early Friday morning to remove Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell's power to appoint a U.S. Senator in case of a vacancy. Instead, there would be a special election if one of the two U.S. Senators - currently Christopher J. Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman - stepped down from office before the six-year term ended. The Senate voted, 21 to 12, on strict party lines with three members absent at about 2:10 a.m. Friday on the underlying amendment regarding the vacancy. The bill would apply to whomever is in the gubernatorial chair. But...

The state House of Representatives passed the gay marriage bill late Wednesday night - codifying the State Supreme Court's controversial decision that legalized gay marriage in Connecticut. The House voted, 100 to 44, several hours after the state Senate had voted, 28 to 7, to approve the codification. Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell says she will sign the bill into law. The bill was supported on the House and Senate floors by the two co-chairmen of the legislature's judiciary committee - Rep. Michael P. Lawlor of East Haven in the House and Sen. Andrew McDonald of Stamford in the Senate.

"We have to move beyond the gamesmanship over 'is the budget deficit increase real or not?'" said Williams. "We know it's real.

In the face of a worsening financial crisis, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell warned residents on Monday about the implications of the state’s growing budget deficit, pledging that instead of raising taxes to balance the state’s budget, she will slash government spending. In an unprecedented television address, the governor said the coming months will test the resilience of Connecticut residents, forcing everyone — including New Haven residents and local officials — to make difficult choices. “To be sure, there will be times of trial and tears in the weeks and months ahead,” Rell said, warning that “some of the cuts...

In a high-profile defeat for Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a key legislative committee on Thursday rejected her plan to install radar cameras to ticket speeders on a dangerous stretch of I-95. Invoking fears of Big Brother, lawmakers shot down Rell's plans for a pilot program in southeastern Connecticut by a 13-9 vote. The Democratic committee co-chairmen were split on an issue that came down to an unusual philosophical discussion over the rights of drivers and the power of government. The majority on the committee said the public's right to privacy outweighs the risks to public safety from speeding. They said...

In 1998, then-Gov. John G. Rowland boosted his re-election prospects by creating the Healthcare for UninSured Kids and Youth program. HUSKY was intended to provide no more than 90,000 impoverished children with the same access to medical care as state employees. But the issue was never about access, but who pays; ultimately, this "conservative Republican" chose the government solution. At HUSKY's inception, 6.7 percent of Connecticut's children were uninsured. Today, HUSKY enrollment is a robust 323,000, even though the services it provides have never come close to matching the political rhetoric. And despite the infusion of hundreds of millions in...

In 1998, the U.S. Conference of Mayors blamed "redlining" for the "homeownership gap" in major cities. Though never documented, that was a common complaint for decades. In reality, the gap had less to do with discrimination than low demand for urban housing and banks' reluctance to lend money to people who can't repay. Still, it wasn't long before lenders cowed by political correctness began lowering their underwriting standards and issuing variable-rate mortgages to high-risk borrowers. The Department of Treasury says 21 percent of all mortgages written from 2004-06 were so-called subprime, up from 9 percent from 1996-2004. And naturally, it...

Rell backs incentives to boost state's film industry Gov. M. Jodi Rell talks with John Travolta at Putnam Park in Redding on Thursday. Rell traveled to the film set of Disney Films "Old Dogs", starring Travolta and Robin Williams, to sign into law an expansion of film tax credits. REDDING -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell was joined by actor John Travolta on Thursday as she signed into law incentives to help promote the burgeoning film industry in the state. "Connecticut already has one of the best programs in the country to draw movie production to our state, and this...

HARTFORD - Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would have reduced tuition at state colleges and universities for children of illegal immigrants. The Republican governor wrote in her veto message that while she sympathizes with the needs of children brought illegally to this country by their parents, Connecticut should not encourage illegal immigration.

I told you so. For all you “pink dog” Republicans who thought she walked on water and voted accordingly for “Princess Pollyanna” and got suckered in by her cutesy little schoolgirl, milk-and-cookies demeanor, you got exactly what you deserved. The big, bad wolf just took off the little pretty sheep costume. I tried to tell you she was nothing more than a venomous snake with a maternal smile but apparently, few heeded my advice, as she was coronated instead of elected. I have more respect and trust for a far left wing Democrat than any of these pusillanimous so-called “moderate”...

Words like "historic" and "brilliant" flew around the state Capitol Wednesday as legislators struggled to absorb details of Gov. M. Jodi Rell's two-year, $35.8 billion budget plan, which includes proposals for record-setting increases in education spending. The question was, were Democrats or members of her own party more taken aback? "I have to take a pill," Sen. William Nickerson said to a Greenwich Republican colleague after the governor's speech. Rell called Wednesday for education spending that would break the state-mandated spending cap and lead to a 10 percent increase in the state income tax. In doing so, she co-opted traditional...

So far, 2007 is only about a month old and I’m not impressed. The New England Patriots were needlessly knocked out of Super Bowl contention and denied a rematch with their old Super Bowl adversary, the Chicago Bears of 20 years before, and gays and their liberal minions are back ranting in the Capitol for this new session like Robins chirping in a new Spring. Out with the Patriots and in with the gays. I remember when I was a kid, I liked to hang off the side of my bed upside down. Now, decades later, I am sitting upright...

When asked, outgoing Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle said that his decision to leave was in the works for a while and had nothing to do with Gov. Rell’s appointment of the very troubled Linda Yelmini to be Deputy Commissioner of the very troubled Internal Affairs Unit for the very troubled Connecticut State Police. Maybe so, but it was a worthwhile question that needed to be asked anyway. Now there are a few other worthwhile questions that need to be asked and answered. A recent report showed abysmal performance by the Internal Affairs Unit in handling many outlandish cases involving...

Hi fellow nutmeggers, I didn't see this discussed anywhere and wanted to get others' take on it. Rell is a very popular governor and is certain to win reelection. If Lamont wins the dem primary in the general election, weather or not Joe runs as an indy, I think Rell could win the senate seat. I've no reason to think Rell is interested in going to DC, but the opportunity is there. If indeed she had the inclination to run, she certainly wouldn't announce it until after the dem primary and Joe's intentions were clearer. I know in late May...

Should Gov. M. Jodi Rell accept deeply discounted heating oil for Connecticut's poor if it comes - via a gubernatorial rival - from the government of Venezuela's socialist president, Hugo Chavez? It is a delicate question that Rell soon must answer thanks to a deal arranged by one of her Democratic opponents, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. DeStefano, whose administration has worked on the deal since December, said Wednesday that Rell shouldn't hesitate, even if Chavez is a harsh critic of the Bush administration. "She's clearly more concerned about George Bush's politics than about the needs of families in...