Social programs such as health insurance and benefits for the unemployed have been much in the news this year amid the threat of filibuster and flat-out obstruction by Republicans and their special interest friends.
At times like these it's good to remember the men and women of labor in post WW II New Britain who organized on the shop floor to win health, decent wages and better working conditions when the city was full of factories. Individuals such as Nick Tomasetti, Laddie Michalowski, Eugenia Gil, Connie Collins and others attained what may be taken for granted in some workplaces but still very much needed in other 21st century offices and plants today.
These labor activists of the Greatest Generation didn't stop with their own shops or locals but extended the fight into the political realm by backing pro-labor candidates in local, state and national elections. They'd be in the forefront of the current push for a public option and universal health care.
Tony Bracha, a tough as nails union president and organizer, was one of these stalwart fighters for working people. Bracha, a member of the legendary United Auto Workers Local 133, died at the age of 93 on February 17th. He instilled public service and a caring for others in those who followed him including his daughter, Diane DeFronzo, a former Board of Education member and social worker, and son-in-law, State Senator Don DeFronzo, also a former union president and two-term mayor.
Tony Bracha's life is one worth remembering to lift the spirits and strengthen the resolve of those working toward social and economic justice.
The Hartford Courant's Anne Hamilton obliges us with her story on Bracha's life and work that appeared in the March 28th Courant
http://www.courant.com/features/hc-exlife0328.artmar28,0,4965830.story
09 April 2010
02 April 2010
Dodd: If You Have The Right To A Lawyer, You Should Have The Right To A Doctor
Since President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, Chris Dodd, the senior Connecticut senator not seeking re-election, has been talking up the legislation as a landmark law that honors the memory of his late colleague, Ted Kennedy.
He did so repeatedly in Connecticut this past week in a coordinated counter to the GOP's destructive call for repeal before the ink had dried from President Obama's signing pens.
Long-time Dodd observers shouldn't be surprised when Dodd, who has been known to carry the Constitution in his back pocket, invokes a constitutional argument for health care as a right, not just a commodity for those with the means to pay for it.
"I suppose -- and history may judge us accordingly -- that while everyone is entitled to a lawyer, regardless of what you've been charged with, that you don't have a right to a doctor," Dodd said at the February 25th "summit" in Washington alluding to the guarantees all citizens have to legal help.
Dodd repeated that point again to kick off a week when Congress people have come home to defend their votes on the reconciliation act and the modest steps toward reform in both health and the way Americans pay and have access to college.
Equating the "right to a lawyer" to "the right to a doctor" is a compelling argument especially when GOP attorneys general and partisan opponents call for constitutional and legal moves to defeat the will of Congress and deny 32 million Americans the opportunity to get health coverage.
You can argue that everyone does have the "right" by going to the emergency room. But that common occurrence is the reason why health care costs are out of control and driving up premiums to intolerable levels. A system that relies on the emergency room to make treatment a right blows cost-effective preventive care out of the picture.
This legal defense of health care access, emphasized by Dodd but few others, bolsters the main economic arguments for passage. “For middle-class families, this legislation means real economic security. You’ll be able to count on health insurance that you can afford and that you can trust will be there for your when you need it. More low- and middle-income Connecticut families can send their kids to college without saddling them with a lifetime of crushing debt. And you’ll never again have to fear that an illness or injury will mean economic ruin,” said Dodd in a March 25th statement.
Here's how Dodd breaks down the benefits from reform for Connecticut families:
•Provide tax credits for up to 37,600 Connecticut small businesses to help make coverage more affordable.
•Prohibit insurance companies from excluding coverage of pre-existing conditions for the 807,985 children in Connecticut, starting this year.
•Ensure affordable coverage options for 356,000 Connecticut residents who are uninsured and 154,000 Connecticut residents who purchase health insurance through the individual market.
•Provide tax credits for up to 242,000 people in Connecticut to help make health insurance more affordable
•Reduce family health insurance premiums by $1,780 - $2,540 for the same benefits, as compared to what they would be without health reform by 2016.
Those are persuasive numbers that Dodd and others use to support reform. By elevating health care as a right for all citizens, Dodd makes the cause even stronger from the moral and legal perspective.
We hear on every cop show on television "you have the right to an attorney." Health care reform means we'll hear on every medical show on television "you have the right to a doctor."
He did so repeatedly in Connecticut this past week in a coordinated counter to the GOP's destructive call for repeal before the ink had dried from President Obama's signing pens.
Long-time Dodd observers shouldn't be surprised when Dodd, who has been known to carry the Constitution in his back pocket, invokes a constitutional argument for health care as a right, not just a commodity for those with the means to pay for it.
"I suppose -- and history may judge us accordingly -- that while everyone is entitled to a lawyer, regardless of what you've been charged with, that you don't have a right to a doctor," Dodd said at the February 25th "summit" in Washington alluding to the guarantees all citizens have to legal help.
Dodd repeated that point again to kick off a week when Congress people have come home to defend their votes on the reconciliation act and the modest steps toward reform in both health and the way Americans pay and have access to college.
Equating the "right to a lawyer" to "the right to a doctor" is a compelling argument especially when GOP attorneys general and partisan opponents call for constitutional and legal moves to defeat the will of Congress and deny 32 million Americans the opportunity to get health coverage.
You can argue that everyone does have the "right" by going to the emergency room. But that common occurrence is the reason why health care costs are out of control and driving up premiums to intolerable levels. A system that relies on the emergency room to make treatment a right blows cost-effective preventive care out of the picture.
This legal defense of health care access, emphasized by Dodd but few others, bolsters the main economic arguments for passage. “For middle-class families, this legislation means real economic security. You’ll be able to count on health insurance that you can afford and that you can trust will be there for your when you need it. More low- and middle-income Connecticut families can send their kids to college without saddling them with a lifetime of crushing debt. And you’ll never again have to fear that an illness or injury will mean economic ruin,” said Dodd in a March 25th statement.
Here's how Dodd breaks down the benefits from reform for Connecticut families:
•Provide tax credits for up to 37,600 Connecticut small businesses to help make coverage more affordable.
•Prohibit insurance companies from excluding coverage of pre-existing conditions for the 807,985 children in Connecticut, starting this year.
•Ensure affordable coverage options for 356,000 Connecticut residents who are uninsured and 154,000 Connecticut residents who purchase health insurance through the individual market.
•Provide tax credits for up to 242,000 people in Connecticut to help make health insurance more affordable
•Reduce family health insurance premiums by $1,780 - $2,540 for the same benefits, as compared to what they would be without health reform by 2016.
Those are persuasive numbers that Dodd and others use to support reform. By elevating health care as a right for all citizens, Dodd makes the cause even stronger from the moral and legal perspective.
We hear on every cop show on television "you have the right to an attorney." Health care reform means we'll hear on every medical show on television "you have the right to a doctor."
17 March 2010
March 17: Post Office Employs Leprechauns To Get The Job Done In New Britain
Mail Carriers Don Murphy and Jim LeFort were able to remind residents that everyone is Irish on Saint Patrick's Day as they make deliveries on Brighton Street. (J. McNamara photo)
14 March 2010
Whither Public Campaign Financing in Connecticut? March 15th Forum in Hartford
The odds of the Citzen's Election Program (CEP)- Connecticut's public financing of elections - surviving intact for the 2010 election cycle grow longer by the hour. Lawmakers, in fact, may be cooking up a remedy that preserves public financing for Governor and statewide offices, but eliminates the CEP for legislative seats.
With the reform law in jeopardy and the presence of at least three or more well-healed candidates in state races willing to spend gazzilions to buy an election, the old axiom first spoken by the 1960s CA Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh applies to CT more than ever: "Money is the mother's milk of politics." There's a good chance we'll see lobbying kings Pat Sullivan, Jay Malycynsky, Brendan Kennedy and their brethren writing more checks than planned at the Officer's Club and other watering holes around Hartford before this campaign season ends.
Preserving any part of the CEP will be hard. That's too bad. The law's implementation has spawned an unusually capable field of candidates for statewide offices in both parties who saw a level-playing field. They need a system in which their ideas and records might count as much as all the "mother's milk" they'd have to raise to compete.
All of this stems from the Green Party of CT vs. Garfield case and a ruling that found the law was too restrictive for minor party candidates to get in the game. The ACLU and the Greens want to make sure the field is level and not tilted toward a two-party monopoly. One of the good questions to pose now is how have other states such as Maine been able to implement and preserve public financing without adverse court rulings.
On Monday March 15th at the Hartford Public Library the Hartford Votes ~ Hartford Vota Coalition is sponsoring a panel discussion on the issues of money in politics and campaign finance reform, and how it affects Connecticut. The panelists include: Heath Fahle, Policy Director, Yankee Institute; Cheri Quickmire, Executive Director, Connecticut Common Cause; Beth Rotman, Director of the Citizens' Elections Program, SEEC; State Representative Gary Holder Winfield, New Haven and others. The forum is set for Monday, March 15th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the HPL, 500 Main Street, Hartford. For more information, email ksnell@hplct.org or call 860.695.6282.
With the reform law in jeopardy and the presence of at least three or more well-healed candidates in state races willing to spend gazzilions to buy an election, the old axiom first spoken by the 1960s CA Assembly Speaker Jesse Unruh applies to CT more than ever: "Money is the mother's milk of politics." There's a good chance we'll see lobbying kings Pat Sullivan, Jay Malycynsky, Brendan Kennedy and their brethren writing more checks than planned at the Officer's Club and other watering holes around Hartford before this campaign season ends.
Preserving any part of the CEP will be hard. That's too bad. The law's implementation has spawned an unusually capable field of candidates for statewide offices in both parties who saw a level-playing field. They need a system in which their ideas and records might count as much as all the "mother's milk" they'd have to raise to compete.
All of this stems from the Green Party of CT vs. Garfield case and a ruling that found the law was too restrictive for minor party candidates to get in the game. The ACLU and the Greens want to make sure the field is level and not tilted toward a two-party monopoly. One of the good questions to pose now is how have other states such as Maine been able to implement and preserve public financing without adverse court rulings.
On Monday March 15th at the Hartford Public Library the Hartford Votes ~ Hartford Vota Coalition is sponsoring a panel discussion on the issues of money in politics and campaign finance reform, and how it affects Connecticut. The panelists include: Heath Fahle, Policy Director, Yankee Institute; Cheri Quickmire, Executive Director, Connecticut Common Cause; Beth Rotman, Director of the Citizens' Elections Program, SEEC; State Representative Gary Holder Winfield, New Haven and others. The forum is set for Monday, March 15th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the HPL, 500 Main Street, Hartford. For more information, email ksnell@hplct.org or call 860.695.6282.
21 February 2010
Remembering Bill Kerr, CCSU Politics Prof; Tribute Saturday, February 27th at New Britain Museum
A celebration of the life of Charles W. (Bill) Kerr, formerly of New Britain, will be held at the New Britain Museum of American Art on Saturday February 27, 2010, at 1 p.m.
Kerr, 78, died on February 2, 2010 in his home at Sun City, Hilton Head, SC. A Missouri native, Kerr was a professor emeritus of Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and served a Chair of the Political Science Department at CCSU.
In the early ‘80s I first met Bill Kerr and his wife Marietta at a meeting of the Caucus of Connecticut Democrats (CCD) a few years before moving to New Britain. Thanks to connecting with Kerr outside of the city, I got a quick introduction to the New Britain Democratic establishment when I moved here and was fast-tracked into local politics – winning a seat on the Democratic Town Committee in ’86, and beginning what’s turned into 24 years of being involved in campaigns and elections.
Meeting Kerr at the CCD – the liberal group that in its heyday mobilized Dems for direct primaries, civil rights and an end to the war in Vietnam – was no accident. Bill Kerr, the partisan, was an unabashed progressive – supporting liberal candidates and favoring groups such as the Legislative Electoral Action Program (LEAP) and the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG).
Though I was never in one of his classes, Kerr, the teacher, had keen insights and possessed a wry and dry sense of humor about politics that you would have had to be around to appreciate. Those attributes, not to mention a Ph.D in political science, commanded respect from the left and right, and from Rs and Ds in Connecticut.
At CCSU, Kerr had a good run of organizing conferences and workshops, bringing experts and pols of all stripes together. One year it would Cong. Nancy Johnson. The next it would be Barney Frank. He organized these forums under his Institute for Practical Politics (IPP), a fitting name at an institution drawing many sons and daughters of the working class to become teachers and professionals or, in some cases, local and state elected officials. Kerr’s Institute was no high falutin’ think tank, but a series of “practical” sessions among academics and citizens on policy and political strategy. Kerr’s knowledge of CT politics and players always made IPP conferences informative and helped extend his teaching of politics and government well beyond the classroom.
When someone we know and respect dies it can be a comfort to say we are better persons for having known that person. In Bill Kerr’s case, I and I’d guess many of his students would say we are better citizens for having known him as fellow activists or students.
-- John McNamara
Kerr, 78, died on February 2, 2010 in his home at Sun City, Hilton Head, SC. A Missouri native, Kerr was a professor emeritus of Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) and served a Chair of the Political Science Department at CCSU.
In the early ‘80s I first met Bill Kerr and his wife Marietta at a meeting of the Caucus of Connecticut Democrats (CCD) a few years before moving to New Britain. Thanks to connecting with Kerr outside of the city, I got a quick introduction to the New Britain Democratic establishment when I moved here and was fast-tracked into local politics – winning a seat on the Democratic Town Committee in ’86, and beginning what’s turned into 24 years of being involved in campaigns and elections.
Meeting Kerr at the CCD – the liberal group that in its heyday mobilized Dems for direct primaries, civil rights and an end to the war in Vietnam – was no accident. Bill Kerr, the partisan, was an unabashed progressive – supporting liberal candidates and favoring groups such as the Legislative Electoral Action Program (LEAP) and the Connecticut Citizen Action Group (CCAG).
Though I was never in one of his classes, Kerr, the teacher, had keen insights and possessed a wry and dry sense of humor about politics that you would have had to be around to appreciate. Those attributes, not to mention a Ph.D in political science, commanded respect from the left and right, and from Rs and Ds in Connecticut.
At CCSU, Kerr had a good run of organizing conferences and workshops, bringing experts and pols of all stripes together. One year it would Cong. Nancy Johnson. The next it would be Barney Frank. He organized these forums under his Institute for Practical Politics (IPP), a fitting name at an institution drawing many sons and daughters of the working class to become teachers and professionals or, in some cases, local and state elected officials. Kerr’s Institute was no high falutin’ think tank, but a series of “practical” sessions among academics and citizens on policy and political strategy. Kerr’s knowledge of CT politics and players always made IPP conferences informative and helped extend his teaching of politics and government well beyond the classroom.
When someone we know and respect dies it can be a comfort to say we are better persons for having known that person. In Bill Kerr’s case, I and I’d guess many of his students would say we are better citizens for having known him as fellow activists or students.
-- John McNamara
15 February 2010
Desperation from Busway Opponents?
The arguments of opponents to the the New Britain-Hartford busway have a ring of obstructionism and desperation in this Courant story by Don Stacom.
With news of $45 million in federal money for a busway to leverage other funds, the project may finally see a light at the end-of-the-tunnel. It's a little specious to oppose public transit because it will deny the DOT funds for highway and bridge repair. It would seem some extra recovery money might be found to keep the bridges safe and the roads paved. And it's not at all clear the busway will kill off the more ambitious, regional rail concepts that are only concepts at this point.
Blocking the busway now might doom this part of Connecticut to just more autos along the I-84 corridor for the foreseeable future. However limited putting a lane alongside the railroad bed is, the busway has reached a tipping point as a realistic way to move public transit forward in central Connecticut.
And not to be parochial but New Britain has suffered too much from the 9/72 highway that cut the center of the city in two in the early 70s. The busway is a start at making amends for that disaster and the highway mentality that brought it about.
With news of $45 million in federal money for a busway to leverage other funds, the project may finally see a light at the end-of-the-tunnel. It's a little specious to oppose public transit because it will deny the DOT funds for highway and bridge repair. It would seem some extra recovery money might be found to keep the bridges safe and the roads paved. And it's not at all clear the busway will kill off the more ambitious, regional rail concepts that are only concepts at this point.
Blocking the busway now might doom this part of Connecticut to just more autos along the I-84 corridor for the foreseeable future. However limited putting a lane alongside the railroad bed is, the busway has reached a tipping point as a realistic way to move public transit forward in central Connecticut.
And not to be parochial but New Britain has suffered too much from the 9/72 highway that cut the center of the city in two in the early 70s. The busway is a start at making amends for that disaster and the highway mentality that brought it about.
07 February 2010
A Vote For Dan Malloy
In 2010 Democrats need a gubernatorial nominee who has the best chance of winning an office not held by the majority party in 20 years. The open seat for Governor has spawned a number of Democratic hopefuls, all of whom offer impressive credentials from local and state government and the business world. The choice boils down to an individual who can inspire rank and file Democrats and who demonstrates a capacity to govern that will translate into significant support from independent voters in a year when the electorate wants an end to State Capitol gridlock.
Dan Malloy, who led Connecticut’s fourth largest city for 14 years, is a seasoned and capable elected official who has credentials to navigate the state out from under its systemic fiscal problems. A Governor Malloy can restore public confidence in the Governor’s office. He offers an energetic approach to job creation, transportation, education and housing. His record in Stamford in those areas may be the best indication voters have as to what could happen throughout the state.
For months Malloy has been providing compelling reasons for Democrats to support him. A former prosecutor, Malloy is a feisty candidate who will take on the drivel that will come out Foley or whoever the GOP nominates. He favors the Citizen’s Election Program and a fair system of public financing. The suggestion by some that deep pockets are a prerequisite for a Democrat to win is a democracy-killing idea. We don’t need local reinforcement of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to completely turn the country over to the fat cats.
Malloy, as are other Democrats pursuing the office, strongly advocates for health care reform, including the health care partnership pooling bill that would have saved consumers and cities and towns many millions of dollars had it not died by the Governor’s pen in 2009. That’s about a million bucks in savings for New Britain.
On the economy, Malloy has offered sound criticism of a moribund Rell administration with a call for a more expeditious use of federal Recovery Act funds. On job creation, a Governor Malloy would streamline the alphabet soup of state economic development agencies that could use both cost-saving consolidation and marching orders from an engaged Governor.
There is a clarity of purpose to Malloy’s candidacy in 2010. He’s put in the sweat equity to earn the support of Democrats who backed DeStefano in 2006. A testament to the clarity is that he would be in the race whether the heavily-favored Republican incumbent was in it or not. After 20 years out of the corner office, the Democrats need a candidate who can inspire our base and expand support to unaffiliated voters in 2010. Malloy has shown the drive and commitment to be that candidate.
- John McNamara
Dan Malloy, who led Connecticut’s fourth largest city for 14 years, is a seasoned and capable elected official who has credentials to navigate the state out from under its systemic fiscal problems. A Governor Malloy can restore public confidence in the Governor’s office. He offers an energetic approach to job creation, transportation, education and housing. His record in Stamford in those areas may be the best indication voters have as to what could happen throughout the state.
For months Malloy has been providing compelling reasons for Democrats to support him. A former prosecutor, Malloy is a feisty candidate who will take on the drivel that will come out Foley or whoever the GOP nominates. He favors the Citizen’s Election Program and a fair system of public financing. The suggestion by some that deep pockets are a prerequisite for a Democrat to win is a democracy-killing idea. We don’t need local reinforcement of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to completely turn the country over to the fat cats.
Malloy, as are other Democrats pursuing the office, strongly advocates for health care reform, including the health care partnership pooling bill that would have saved consumers and cities and towns many millions of dollars had it not died by the Governor’s pen in 2009. That’s about a million bucks in savings for New Britain.
On the economy, Malloy has offered sound criticism of a moribund Rell administration with a call for a more expeditious use of federal Recovery Act funds. On job creation, a Governor Malloy would streamline the alphabet soup of state economic development agencies that could use both cost-saving consolidation and marching orders from an engaged Governor.
There is a clarity of purpose to Malloy’s candidacy in 2010. He’s put in the sweat equity to earn the support of Democrats who backed DeStefano in 2006. A testament to the clarity is that he would be in the race whether the heavily-favored Republican incumbent was in it or not. After 20 years out of the corner office, the Democrats need a candidate who can inspire our base and expand support to unaffiliated voters in 2010. Malloy has shown the drive and commitment to be that candidate.
- John McNamara
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