[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by New Englander

Thank you so much for your insights. Clearly, the state of the CT GOP is worse than I thought. This is where visionary leadership is required and it's clear that it is lacking within CT GOP. I went to GOP fundraising dinner in Greenwich and the entire program/ most of the conversations were on the national level and Trump sycophants were out in full force. The GOP, both in CT and on the national level, lacks an urban/inner ring suburban policy -- which is a damn shame as many Democrat machines are running these critical areas into the ground.

There isn't any city in CT or nationwide that has been led by Republicans that also do not have the same issues as Democrat led cities. If it were that easy all the Democrat led cities could just copy what the Republican led cities do and be done with it.


Republicans do not have a policy regarding cities because they do not care about poor people and they are dishonest.


The last honest Republican IMO was Paul Ryan. He wanted to cut all kinds of programs which mainly benefited poor and disabled people and told us to our faces how and why he wanted to do that.


Paul Ryan was so disgusted with Trump et al he just gave up and quit. Its going to take years if not decades before another Republican like Ryan to emerge that actually has some power to try to implement similar polices.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

There isn't any city in CT or nationwide that has been led by Republicans that also do not have the same issues as Democrat led cities. If it were that easy all the Democrat led cities could just copy what the Republican led cities do and be done with it.

I've often said that if select men of affluent so-called well run towns took control of so-called poorly run cities by their standards they would be at a complete loss. The deck has been stacked so bad institutionally that they'd have issues, even ignoring those "well run" towns have their own corruption issues.

But beating up on cities is easy, after all.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

There isn't any city in CT or nationwide that has been led by Republicans that also do not have the same issues as Democrat led cities. If it were that easy all the Democrat led cities could just copy what the Republican led cities do and be done with it.


Republicans do not have a policy regarding cities because they do not care about poor people and they are dishonest.


The last honest Republican IMO was Paul Ryan. He wanted to cut all kinds of programs which mainly benefited poor and disabled people and told us to our faces how and why he wanted to do that.


Paul Ryan was so disgusted with Trump et al he just gave up and quit. Its going to take years if not decades before another Republican like Ryan to emerge that actually has some power to try to implement similar polices.

Anyone who thinks a Democrat would just copy what a Republican would do isn’t paying attention to national politics. Too much confirmation bias and party loyalty. Let’s not fool ourselves.

Some of the most fiscally healthy communities in the state have a heavily Republican presence. All of the cities in dire fiscal health are heavily Democratic. That’s not a coincidence.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wtn...d-charges/amp/

Then there’s this.

[Lincolnian]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Anyone who thinks a Democrat would just copy what a Republican would do isn’t paying attention to national politics. Too much confirmation bias and party loyalty. Let’s not fool ourselves.

Some of the most fiscally healthy communities in the state have a heavily Republican presence. All of the cities in dire fiscal health are heavily Democratic. That’s not a coincidence.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wtn...d-charges/amp/

Then there’s this.

It's somewhat self-fulfilling. Not many fiscally-healthy cities contain disproportionately large numbers of people who are in the lowest income levels. In CT, the cities are recipients of those shutout of more affluent towns due to lack of affordable housing options. Those of lower economic power do not have high participation rates in home ownership. Multifamily, apartments, and other housing options for those who cannot afford to own a home pay much lower taxes on a per capita basis. Suburbs know this and highly restrict this type of housing. Therefore, the funding of the services in cities (which are in greater demand by those with lower incomes) is considerably more difficult than a community with the majority of its residents living in single-family homes (and in higher income brackets).

The problem with the current GOP is they appear to refuse to recognize at all the fact that there are a fair number of people who will need support, among them people with significant mental health problems, physical and intellectual disabilities, and serious addiction problems. They overly simplify the solution as a job growth problem whereas for some of the people involved gainful employment may never be realistic. In CT, the GOP gets more pushback on social issues yet they continue to parrot the national theme largely dictated by southern-state political structure. On the other hand, many of the policies developed by Democrats often look at solving every problem by just providing more money. This often results in significant waste, poor oversight, and inefficiency (the current problems being experienced as a result broad-based stimulus and unemployment stipends are a case-in-point) In CT, the Democrats appear to continue to push policy that looks to create a situation where a solid middle class lifestyle can be achieved regardless of the job one does (or doesn't do). It is in essence the blueprint for a guaranteed minimum income.

Both parties are guilty of using this money for their own special purposes without real concern of how it effects the average citizen. This problem occurs at all levels of government but grows exponentially the further it is removed from local control. Solving the root-level problems does involve money but it isn't driven by money. It's a macro issue with a well-developed plan that links the critical needs and wants of the community for the future with business, education, and policy to implement the plan. Better coordination of resources among communities on a local and regional level and the elimination of duplicitous structures at the state level can go a long way. I think that Lamont is making some progress on that front.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by New Englander

Jay, I share your disgust at what is happening to the GOP on the national level. I am flat out saddened by CT GOP. However I request that you don't throw in the towel and walk away because:

1. Both parties need moderates like us. To provide the voice of reason.
2. You should look into getting involved on the local level so that your voice of reason can be heard.
3. We cannot and should not continue to let the fringe dominate the inter and intra party dialogues.

I support the Republican Main Street Partnership on the national level for the reasons described above: https://www.republicanmainstreet.org/

As for CT GOP, get involved Jay! I can't vote for you as I no longer live in the state however you'll have moral/financial support.

I am involved as much as I can be and I advocate for people to be involved all the time. I am in contact with local and state Republican leaders in an effort to be a voice of reason but it’s hard to keep doing that when you see the things they do.

You are right that we should not give up the party but when I see what despicable things are happening within the party and on the national level, it’s hard to remain. The fact that the party refuses to even consider looking into holding those accountable for the January 6th insurrection tells me that they are concerned more about party and power than the US Constitution. That’s unforgivable. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I second this. I also don’t believe people are “walking away” at a rate any different than in the past. Anecdotally, I’ve also seen many leave the Democratic Party based on what we experienced last year. My better half was one of those.

I’m not sure that is true. It is pretty clear that a lot of Republicans walked after January 6th.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/u...ing-party.html

The percentage gap of Democrats verses Republicans is widening.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/mee...oters-n1264425

But more importantly, there are a lot of prominent Republicans that are ready to split off from the party. I previously posted about several prominent Glastonbury and West Hartford Republicans that have walked. That’s very concerning, or at the very least should be. Jay

https://www.businessinsider.com/repu...t-trump-2021-5

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I’m not sure that is true. It is pretty clear that a lot of Republicans walked after January 6th.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/u...ing-party.html

The percentage gap of Democrats verses Republicans is widening.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/mee...oters-n1264425

But more importantly, there are a lot of prominent Republicans that are ready to split off from the party. I previously posted about several prominent Glastonbury and West Hartford Republicans that have walked. That’s very concerning, or at the very least should be. Jay

https://www.businessinsider.com/repu...t-trump-2021-5

Eh, sharing articles from the biased media does little to prove a point. It should be no surprise to anyone these days that the media is not our friend. That, and the NBC article uses Gallup’s polling as an example. They have a history of accuracy issues and, I believe in the 2012 election, they were found to be dead last in accuracy amongst the election polling. The business insider article mentions a lot of empty threats but doesn’t bring much of substance to the table. I don’t think these three sources are concrete enough to justify a “sky is falling” stance when it comes to the party.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I second this. I also don’t believe people are “walking away” at a rate any different than in the past. Anecdotally, I’ve also seen many leave the Democratic Party based on what we experienced last year. My better half was one of those.

Third. Jay, I think it's time to cut the chord with the Republican party, and just register as an Independent. I did this myself years ago, and have had no qualms about it. And if anyone questions this decision (not that it's any of their business), just tell them what I told my conservative relatives: I didn't leave the Republican party -- the Republican party left me.

[dazzleman]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Eh, sharing articles from the biased media does little to prove a point. It should be no surprise to anyone these days that the media is not our friend. That, and the NBC article uses Gallup’s polling as an example. They have a history of accuracy issues and, I believe in the 2012 election, they were found to be dead last in accuracy amongst the election polling. The business insider article mentions a lot of empty threats but doesn’t bring much of substance to the table. I don’t think these three sources are concrete enough to justify a “sky is falling” stance when it comes to the party.

The party does suck, but the other party is even worse. That's the sad reality of the situation.

[JayCT]

We need to get back to the topic of the OP which is the Connecticut Republican Party. JayCT, Moderator