Each week, CTGOP sends out a weekly e-newsletter called “The Republican Heard”.  On September 20, 2007, we asked our readers to complete a Presidential Primary Survey, and 435 of our subscribers participated.  Last Thursday, December 6th, we posed the same survey to our readers, again via “The Republican Heard”.  To date, 143 people have answered the survey.

As always, “The Republican Heard” surveys are not scientific, nor are they statistically valid.  The Connecticut Republican Party is neutral in the Presidential primary process and take no position on the primary.  This survey does not have any effect on CTGOP’s role in the Presidential primary process.

December 6, 2007 - The Republican Heard Presidential Survey

Which Presidential candidate are you currently supporting?
Mayor Rudy Giuliani (42 votes) 29.4% [-1.7% change from September 20, 2007 Survey]
Gov. Mitt Romney (28) 19.6% [+5.3%]
Gov. Mike Huckabee (33) 23.1% [+19.1%] Huckaboom!
Senator John McCain (10) 7.0% [-0.8%]
Rep. Duncan Hunter (5) 3.5% [+2.8%]
Rep. Ron Paul (6) 4.2% [0.7%]
Sen. Fred Thompson (12) 8.4% [-15.1%]
Rep. Tom Tancredo (0) 0.0% [-0.1%]
Alan Keyes (1) 0.7% [N/A]
Other (2) 1.4% [5.7%]

How committed are you to that candidate?
Strongly - Will Not Change (34 votes) 23.8% [+5.2% change from September 20, 2007]
Somewhat - Probably Will Not Change (60) 42.0% [+3.2%]
Leaning - Could Change (39) 27.3% [-2.3%]
Soft - Probably Will Change (2) 1.4% [-0.2]
Uncommitted/Undecided (3) 2.1% [-3.3%]

Which Democrat Presidential candidate do you think will win the Democratic nomination?
Sen. Hillary Clinton (86 votes) 60.1% [-11.8% change from September 20, 2007]
Sen. Barack Obama (30) 21.0% [+9.7%]
Sen. Chris Dodd (2) 1.4% [+0.2]
Sen. John Edwards (12) 8.4% [+2.8%]
Sen. Joe Biden (0) 0.0% [-0.5]
Gov. Bill Richardson (2) 1.4% [+0.7%]
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (1) 0.7% [+0.2%]
Sen. Mike Gravel (0) 0.0% [0.0%]

September 20, 2007 Presidential Primary Survey

Which Presidential candidate are you currently supporting?
Mayor Rudy Giuliani (132 votes) 31.1%
Gov. Mitt Romney (62) 14.6%
Gov. Mike Huckabee (18) 4.2%
Senator John McCain (33) 7.8%
Senator Sam Brownback (6)  1.4%
Rep. Duncan Hunter (3) 0.7%
Rep. Ron Paul (15) 3.5%
Sen. Fred Thompson (100) 23.5%
Rep. Tom Tancredo (1) 0.2%
Alan Keyes (1) 0.2%
Other (30) 7.1%

How committed are you to that candidate?
Strongly - Will Not Change (79 votes) 18.6%
Somewhat - Probably Will Not Change (165) 38.8%
Leaning - Could Change (126) 29.6%
Soft - Probably Will Change (7) 1.6%
Uncommitted/Undecided (23) 5.4%

Which Democrat Presidential candidate do you think will win the Democratic nomination?
Sen. Hillary Clinton (305 votes) 71.8%
Sen. Barack Obama (48) 11.3%
Sen. Chris Dodd (5) 1.2%
Sen. John Edwards (24) 5.6%
Sen. Joe Biden (2) 0.5%
Gov. Bill Richardson (3) 0.7%
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (2) 0.5%
Sen. Mike Gravel (0) 0.0%

Today’s Hartford Courant shows the outright arrogance of the Democratic Majority in the Legislature.  Last week, the Democrats called a “Special Session” which required removing scaffolding from the House chamber at a cost of $65,000. The session took an hour for a technical matters that could have been done in the hallway. That cost $55,000 and add another $10,000 for staffing.

The chamber was being renovated to install a long overdue sprinkler system. House Speaker Jim Amann response to the criticism broke new ground even for him.

“We’re the majority party. I make the call for the session,” Amann said. “It was the proper thing to do. I don’t have to consult Larry Cafero on how to run the House. … Tell him there’s a war going on in Iraq. There’s more important issues than this. When he becomes speaker, he can do what he wants. That’s how democracy works.”

Speaker Amann then took the rest of the day off to prepare for a charity fundraiser in downtown Hartford, attended by many lobbyists who were eager to curry favor. Amann was seen that night having dinner with “D List” actor Billy Baldwin.

For those of us who work for a living, $65,000 is still a lot of money. Those funds could have paid for, let’s say:

• 50,000 pounds of frozen turkey - enough for roughly 3,500 families. 
• Heating oil for 2,000 homes this winter;
• A couple of copy machines for the Judicial Department to print parole reports for the Pardon’s Board;
• A mini-van for the physically disable, the poor or elderly.
• Another official at the Elections Commission to thoroughly audit Sen. Tom Gaffey’s financial reports.
• 10 lowel level sideline seats to the 2008 Final Four in San Antonio. (according to the scalpers).

And for dessert?

• 5,400 servings of Creme Brulee.

Hey doesn’t he know there’s a war on?

Senator/Mayor Bill Finch, Bridgeport’s “Man for All Seasons”, is under fire again today for failing to resign his Senate seat.  The Monroe Town Council agreed last night to vote 9-0 in favor of a resolution calling for the Senator’s resignation in January while a number of State Representatives, including scorned Rep. Chris Caruso, Rep. Jack Hennessy, Rep. Andres Ayala, Don “The Felony Watcher” Clemons, and Rep. Bob Keeley - Democrats all -are publicly voicing their opinion that the Senator/Mayor should resign from the Senate.

Quoted in the article, Rep. Bob Keeley said: “I’m asking the mayor to leave the Senate immediately. He’s showing no evidence of solid judgment. He should work hard with one paycheck as mayor. This is going on and on, and it’s making it difficult for future Democrats to win the suburbs.”

Rep. Keeley wasn’t the only one.  Democrat Jack Hennessy: “He’s got a family and a commitment to the city. It’s just too much. People need him representing the city. The state Senate requires a lot of time and energy,” Hennessy said. Caruso said he would have given up his legislative seat had he won the mayor’s office. “He should step down. This should not hinge on anything.”

Representative Andres Ayala: “It’s a full-time position and it needs his undivided attention. The city needs him to be focused on the city. The mayor runs day-to-day operations. It’s the right thing to do,” Ayala said.

The “voice of the people” seems pretty clear on this one: 

Senator/Mayor Finch - pick one job!

If you didn’t see it yesterday, you need to check out the video from WFSB’s Face the State of the confrontation between Republican State Senator John Kissel and Sen. Don Williams.  The topic for discussion was the Three Strikes proposal put forth by the Senate Republican Caucus.

The Republican proposal at issue is thus:

• Reclassify Burglary of a Residence (Home Invasion) as a Violent Crime to force those who commit this crime to serve 85% of their jail sentences before applying for parole (under current law, the majority of these criminals are released after serving only half of their sentences).

• Strengthen Connecticut’s Persistent Offender Law by following the state Supreme Court’s recommendation to grant juries the power to determine enhanced sentences on dangerous persistent offenders.

• Require Serious Criminals to Wear GPS Tracking Devices on their person at all times as a condition of their release.

• Reform the Parole System
• Require released offenders to report to their local police station to be photographed and documented within one week of their release
• Require transcripts and other information pertaining to a candidate for parole be provided to Board of Parole members for review at least three business days prior to the candidate’s hearing
• Require more information on the court record at the time of sentencing
• Transfer the Board of Parole from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Public Safety
• Increase membership on the Board of Parole

The proposal is really radical stuff.  Take a look at the discussion between Sen. Kissel and the Senate Democratic Leader.  Senator Kissel was as cool and effective as someone could be in dealing with the irascible Senator Williams.

And now for our first ever “Down the Blogroll” here at the new site, the right-leaning Connecticut blogosphere has been producing some quality work over the weekend.

Don Pesci over at Connecticut Commentary weighed in on the emerging Sen. Tom Gaffey scandal, commenting thus: “Not for nothing did the ancient Greeks portray the confusion Eros sows in men’s minds by the wild goatskin clad Pan, god of the grape. Wine makes you woozy; so do women, recently divorced, who compare their business associates to Gods. Heady stuff that.”

Judy Aron at Consent of the Governed properly warns Connecticut that there may be a Ron Paul blimp hovering over our state at some point in the near future.  This appears to not be a joke.  I would estimate that we are due for a flyover between noon and 2pm (approx) on Friday.

Danbury Politics is reporting on a News-Times story about former State Rep. Tony Nania who may be interested in a primary challenge to Danbury State Senator David Cappiello, for the right to take on one term Congressman Chris Murphy in the 5th Congressional District.  Chairman Healy is quoted in the story, saying: “Cappiello has done an outstanding job as frontrunner and is a very strong candidate,” said Chris Healy, chairman of the state Republican Party. “Nania certainly has the qualifications for the job, but he has a lot of catching up to do.”

Eye on Greenwich has favorable reviews from Mayor Giuliani’s tough “Meet the Press” interview on NBC yesterday.