The Democrats continued to show why they are truly incapable of being trusted with anything more than a lemonade stand Monday during a Special Session. The Democrat’s answer to the $625 million budget deficit for this fiscal year? – blame George Bush, ask more rich people to die and grab $70 million from the rainy day fund.

This came to $2oo million of gimmickry leaving the Governor M. Jodi Rell to cut another $137 million, which the Democrats are worried about, because she might cut a program.

“What’s the first thing we do?” House Republican Leader Larry Cafero, R-Norwalk,  asked. “We don’t have enough money, so we’ll just raise taxes. That’s what we’re doing with this bill.”

These are all accounting measures based on assumptions. None of the assumptions made by the Democrats or the administration have come even close.

While Gov. Rell laid out a pretty bold mitigation plan to  cut services and set priorities, which got the deficit down to $337 million.  Aside from the tax roll backs, there was no cutting of spending or programs. The state employee unions were defiant as usual, saying they would not come back to the bargaining table – period – until millionaires paid more of their fair share.

And since House Speaker Chris Donovan, D- Meriden,w ho has been on a  union payroll his whole life and Senate President Don Williams, D-Brooklyn, who is watching his back among his colleagues, nothing got done Monday, nothing.

Some Democrats, like State Rep. Kim Fawcett, D-Fairfield, are looking for the emergency exits. She voted against the Democrat’s bill, although she said it “stressed her out,” leading up to the Profiles in Courage vote. Six other Democrats joined her in principled opposition.

In the Senate, State Sens. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford and Bob Duff, D-Norwalkd, became born-again fiscal watchdogs and joined Republican in opposing the roll backs and meager cuts. Slossberg has her eye onWolliams’ leadership seat and has been passing the word that Big Don has gotta go.

House Majority Leader Denise Merrell, D-Storrs, is a particularly laughable leader. She complains all of these problems are due to former President Bush’s economic policies. No mention of Chris Dodd’s role in the opening of the credit vales that led to last year’s crash, or the twice the rate of inflation spending by the Democrats over the last several years – in good times.

But the proof of her earnestness is Rep. Merrell is now running for Secretary of the State, not Speaker. Even she can see the reality and there is nothing like an insignificant six figure salaried job to take one’s mind off the cataclysm to come.

Donovan can always go back to the union hall and play rhythm guitar.

So the new sport in town will be state officials from the Department of Revenue Services scouring the obituaries from Fairfield County to see if any well healed residents have gone to the other side – unless they got smart and moved to Florida first.

What a way to run a railroad.