Senate Republican Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, is calling for a special session to deal with some of the serious problems with our sentencing and parole laws. It’s good to see Republican leaders, once again, setting the tone for an important debate on the issues which affect the lives of everday Connecticut residents.

McKinney wants to improve the state’s “three strikes” policy to help prevent future tragedies like the brutal home invasion that destroyed a Cheshire family last week, according to a release issued by his office today.

“The Petit home invasion and murders exposed Connecticut’s poor record when it comes to keeping career criminals locked up. The two assailants in the Petit tragedy had been convicted of numerous burglaries and other serious crimes and yet still qualified for early parole. In fact, we’re learning that under existing Connecticut law, dangerous criminals are routinely granted early parole, even after committing the same unconscionable crimes over and over again. We need to fix the system now,” said McKinney.

“The Governor, the chairman of the Board of Parole, the Judiciary Committee chairman and, most importantly, our constituents all agree we need to reexamine our persistent offender laws and parole requirements. We are asking Senate President Williams and House Speaker Amann to make this a top priority for the General Assembly in this special session,” said Senator McKinney.

Among the reforms Senate Republicans want to consider is a new “three strikes” law advocated by Senator Sam Caligiuri (R-Cheshire, Southington, Wolcott and Waterbury) that would impose a mandatory 25-year-to-life prison sentence on the most serious repeat criminals. Connecticut’s existing “three strikes” law is permissive, in that it allows for longer sentences when a court finds that “extended incarceration will best serve the public interest.” This provision is rarely used.

“When it is obvious, as it is today, that the laws we have do not work, then we have a moral obligation to act quickly to correct that situation. And, based on the number of calls and e-mails I have gotten from constituents demanding immediate action, I know that Connecticut’s law abiding citizens agree,” said Senator Caligiuri.

Senate Minority Leader Pro Tempore Len Fasano agreed. “Connecticut’s existing laws regarding penalties for serial felons and persistent offenders are permissive, not mandatory. We need laws that do not allow for lenient treatment of career criminals whose actions are deemed to be dangerous, but not necessarily violent. As we have seen to our horror and sorrow, persistent felons have the potential to escalate their criminal activity. Our laws must take that fact into account and we should act quickly to protect peaceful, law-abiding Connecticut citizens,” said Senator Fasano.

McKinney and Fasano said they also want to review a proposal introduced last week by Senator John A. Kissel (R-Enfield), who serves as Ranking Member of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee. Senator Kissel called for increasing penalties for people convicted of burglary. He believes such an offense should be categorized as a violent crime and repeat offenders should clearly fall under the harsher penalties afforded to persistent violent felons.

“In light of this horrific incident, we have an inherent responsibility to examine our laws as they pertain to the sentences handed down to convicted felons,” said Senator Kissel. “These proposals are designed to ensure that repeat violent offenders are not granted early parole and that this is something we should be addressing as soon as possible.”

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For far too long, the Connecticut Republicans lagged behind other political organizations in the implementation and exploration of technological innovation. But with the widespread access and ease that online communications offer, there was no good reason for failing in this regard.

With the new energy of Chairman Chris Healy, and the courage of leadership willing to push the envelope of possibilities, CTGOP has moved into the digital era and surpassed many of the other political participants in the arena. The not-so-remarkable innovations of YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, and blogs are now being harnessed to promote positive change in Connecticut.

The CTGOP official blog, The Everyday Republican, was started almost four months ago to post commentary and news items from across Connecticut and the nation, as well as around the world. Since its inception, we've had thousands of readers come to the site - and we've got a regular daily readership that measures in the hundreds. For the first time in a concerned fashion, Republicans in Connecticut have a place on the web they can visit to get the news. The Everyday Republican has been incredibly successful in a short period of time, and we at CTGOP are looking to take it to the next level in the near future.

Our YouTube Channel, CTGOPNews, is increasing in popularity and quality, having already been lauded by CTLocal Politics, among others. As we make a significant investment in the technology necessary to produce higher quality videos at a faster rate, look for CTGOP to become a leader in online political videos in Connecticut.

With MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, and more, CTGOP is no longer satisfied to merely eek by when it comes to eCampaigns and New Media. We are working to become the leaders of the pack so we can distribute our message, advocate for our candidates, and to what we can to improve our state.

The national punditry, always out there somewhere waiting with a quote of conventional wisdom, are at it again - this time grinding their teeth over the potential candidacy of former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson.

Dismayed that Senator Thompson has largely been granted a “free pass” from the media maelstrom up to this point, the talking heads have decided that the time has come to press the “Fred Thompson isn’t Jesus After All” angle, after of course, being the ones who sold the idea in the first place. Mike Allen of The Politico raises the question of a Thompson flop, despite the fact that Thompson isn’t even a declared candidate for President yet. The reality of a candidate who realizes that a 23 month Presidential campaign process is inherently negative for democracy seems to strike fear in the heart of every reporter who rather enjoys the easy availability of Presidential candidates, easy to turn-around press releases, and a general assertion of the belief that you are the man.

Like a four year old in line at the Dairy Queen, the media is stamping their collective feet in anticipation of a Thompson candidacy. The ‘Law and Order’ star’s run will simplify the Republican nomination field somewhat for the media, as they will finally have a Republican candidate that can fit into the traditional ‘media on GOP’ mold of “conservative racist Southern redneck”.

45 days from now, talk of “turmoil” and “money flop” fears will all be wholly forgotton as an entirely new tale is weaved.

Here’s the evidence. Over 100 gathered Republicans attending the Connecticut Republicans Campaign School of 2007. Here’s just a few pictures.

Chairman Healy talks how to make Blue Red

George Gallo Chief of Staff for House Republicans

CNN has a remarkable interactive map showing how the nation’s collective waistline has expanded over the past two decades.

The overall trend lines are clear. In 1995, there were no states that reported having more than 25% of its citizens being obese. By 2004, that number had jumped from zero to nine.

As the debate about health care rages in this nation, it seems, there are a lot of people stopping at Burger King on the way home from the debate. Obesity drives up the cost of health care in this country - an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer from 2004 reports the cost of obesity at $75.1 billion/year. If Americans are not making healthier lifestyle choices while incurring the high cost of American medicine, its hard to fathom better choices with a federal bureaucracy solution.

This four-minute clip by Newt Gingrich in a recent address is the best summation of what we face as Americans today. One can only hope he is party of the 2008 debate in some form.