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POLITICAL COOPERATION--AN OXYMORON?
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The other day, when the Democrat-controlled legislature opened for business
and Republican Gov. Jodi Rell began a full term in her own right, polls from
both major parties were talking up bipartisan cooperation for the new year.
They said that with tough issues such as rising electric rates, the need for
healthcare coverage, and job creation on the table, voters expect their
elected officials to work together to get things done.
They're right. That is what voters want in these tough times. However, the
likelihood of that happening is slim. It's just the nature of government.
The opening day niceties were just that, much like handshakes at the start
of an NFL game just before the helmet-banging begins.
Rell won election by a big margin and Democrats increased their numbers in
the legislature, so now it's time for the power dance to begin. And it
didn't take long.
GOP House leader Lawrence Cafero of Norwalk said legislative Democrats
cannot claim a mandate from the people because "every one of those races
were individual races and local," he said. "If anyone can claim a mandate,
it's probably the governor," said Cafero.
Democratic Sen. Jonathan Harris of West Hartford, the Senate's assistant
Majority Leader, countered that voters DID send a message by backing
legislative Democrats. Harris said Democrats "ran a coordinated race,
talked about core values we share, and those ideas ARE the reasons that we
won."
Harris and Cafero actually agreed that voters are tired of meaningless
political bickering but the fact that leaders in both parties are so willing
to fight for "mandate" status hints that they will be sparring on many other
issues as well. That's democracy, like it or not!
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