Palin fires up Republican delegates

By Ed Stannard
Register Metro Editor

Published Saturday, August 30, 2008 5:30 AM EDT

Republican delegates heading to St. Paul, Minn., for the Grand Old Party’s convention are practically giddy that Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska will be their vice-presidential nominee.

What was going to be a celebration of John McCain’s nomination for president now will be even more energized and emotional, they say.

For the full story go to nhregister.com.

DeLauro release on Iraq

The following is a statement released by the office of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3. It was written by DeLauro's staff and is presented here unedited by Elm City Express as a service to residents of the 3rd Congressional District. It does not contain a response from President Bush or the White House.


Washington, D.C. – A coalition of over 50 Members of Congress, led by Representatives Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3 and Bill Delahunt, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, wrote to President George W. Bush, urging the Administration to confer with Congress as they implement the “Declaration of Principles.” The document outlines the parameters for the negotiation of an “enduring” U.S.-Iraqi relationship in the security, economic, political, diplomatic and cultural spheres and was signed by the President and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on November 26, 2007. The Administration has stated that a final agreement based on the “Principles” is to be concluded by July 31, 2008.

“There is no doubt that the implementation of the ‘Declaration of Principles’ will have long-term implications for this country, yet the Administration refuses to consult with Congress or engage with the American people. Their repeated refusals to come before Congress seem to contradict the Administration’s assertions that the negotiations will be ‘open and transparent,’” said DeLauro. “ Our long-term relationship with Iraq is one of the most important issues facing our country and for the Administration to try to present this to Congress and the American people as a fait accompli is not acceptable.”

“The Declaration of Principles suggests an indefinite U.S. presence in Iraq and the American people have a right to be fully and directly informed as to the intentions of this Administration," Delahunt said. “It is imperative that Congress be consulted with respect to any long-term commitment in Iraq."


Defense Secretary Gates has suggested that the agreement would be similar to those the U.S. made with Japan and
South Korea , which came in the form of a treaty requiring, under the Constitution, the advice and consent of two thirds of the Senate. However, the Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for
Iraq and Afghanistan , Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute has stated that he does not anticipate “formal negotiations or formal inputs from the Congress.” Moreover, the Administration has declined offers to openly testify before Congress on this issue, only providing closed-door briefings to a select few Members after facing pressure from Congress to enter consultations.


“While we agree that it is in our national interest to map out our future relationship with Iraq,” the Members write in the letter, “in light of the long-term repercussions the agreement you are currently negotiating will have on the United States, we strongly urge you to enter serious consultations with and seek the approval of Congress rather than unilaterally locking in commitments that constrain your successor’s ability to forge a new direction in Iraq.”



Below is the full text of the letter.
February 08, 2008

The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington , D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:
We write to express our deep concern over the “Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America ” that you and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed on November 26, 2007. Specifically, we seek to understand the parameters of the document and the reported provisions you are seeking to include in the final agreement. We believe an agreement of such immense importance to the long-term interests of the United States deserves close consultation with Congress.


Most disconcerting to us are the security-related obligations laid out in the Declaration of Principles, including a commitment to support “the Republic of Iraq in defending its democratic system against internal and external threats,” to provide “security assurances and commitments to the Republic of Iraq to deter foreign aggression,” to support Iraq “ in its efforts to combat all terrorist groups” including “Saddamists, and all other outlaw groups regardless of affiliation,” and to support Iraq in “training, equipping, and arming the Iraqi Security Forces.” Foremost amongst our concerns is that such terms will commit U.S. forces to combat any internal armed faction or external enemy that is deemed a threat by the al-Maliki government regardless of whether such action is clearly in our national interest.


We note that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asserted in Congressional testimony this week that the agreement “will not contain a commitment to defend Iraq ,” yet we remain concerned that such a commitment is nevertheless included in a written document signed by two heads of state. We are left to question whether his comments indicate that you will renounce the parameters laid out in the Declaration of Principles. Regardless, we believe it is clear that any agreement with Iraq would likely authorize our forces to engage in combat. Currently
U.S. forces in combat are operating under a U.N. mandate. Should that mandate end as proposed in the Declaration of Principles, we believe such authority should be approved by legislatures in both Iraq and the United States .


Such assurances and commitments could also very well in our view necessitate the continued deployment of a substantial number of troops in Iraq , a policy that directly conflicts with the wishes of a majority of both the Senate and House of Representatives and, more importantly, the wishes of the majority of Americans. In addition, such an agreement could lead to permanent bases in Iraq despite bipartisan legislation that you signed into law restricting funding for any permanent U.S. installation in Iraq .


While Secretary Gates also testified that your Administration will not “seek permanent bases in
Iraq,” that commitment is contradicted by an earlier statement from your Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan , Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute who called permanent bases “ a key item for negotiation.” Moreover, Secretary Gates’ comment is further contradicted by the signing statement you issued along with the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act in which you declared that you have the power to bypass a provision in the bill barring the establishment of “any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq.”



Along with these provisions in the Declaration of Principles, recent media reports point to how your Administration is seeking to guarantee civilian contractors specific legal protections from Iraqi law. We question the wisdom of pursuing such negotiations when such an agreement to date has protected Blackwater employees who killed 17 Iraqi civilians on September 16, 2007 causing substantial damage to America ’s image, and when in no other country are American military contractors granted such protection from domestic law.



Unfortunately, these and other questions pertaining to the proposed long-term agreement with Iraq have not been answered because, to our knowledge, your Administration has refused to consult with the Congress. General Lute stated at the outset that he does not “anticipate now that these negotiations will lead to the status of a formal treaty which would then bring us to formal negotiations or formal inputs from the Congress.” Moreover, your Administration declined four separate invitations, including one to General Lute, to participate in a joint hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on January 23, 2008, as well as additional invitations to a subsequent hearing today.



This refusal to engage with Congress contradicts the Department of State’s “Circular 175” regulations, which implement U.S. laws on the handling of international agreements. These regulations require that the relevant Committees be “advised of the intention to negotiate significant new international agreements, consulted concerning such agreements, and kept informed of developments affecting them, especially whether any legislation is considered necessary or desirable for the implementation of the new treaty or agreement.” While you are now offering to provide closed door briefings to Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, we believe this offer falls well short of the “openness and transparency” in the negotiations promised by Secretary Gates in his Congressional testimony this week.



Furthermore, we are deeply troubled by your decision not to provide a full and detailed supplemental war funding request with the fiscal year 2009 annual budget. As you know, under the fiscal year 2007 defense authorization (PL 109-364), you are required to include a war cost estimate in the budget, a law that you did comply with last year. In light of the fact that you and Prime Minister al-Maliki are proposing to enact this pact beginning in fiscal year 2009, we believe this decision only further leaves the Congress and the American people in the dark with regard to this agreement.



Secretary Gates has discussed a “long and enduring presence” in Iraq of which the “ Korea model” and the “security relationship that we have with
Japan ” are examples. Both of these relationships were established after consultations with Congress and after two-thirds of the Senate had given its advice and consent to ratification of a treaty. While we agree that it is in our national interest to map out our future relationship with Iraq, in light of the long-term repercussions the agreement you are currently negotiating will have on the United States, we strongly urge you to enter serious consultations with and seek the approval of Congress rather than unilaterally locking in commitments that constrain your successor’s ability to forge a new direction in Iraq.


Sincerely,

Rosa L. DeLauro, Bill Delahunt, Tammy Baldwin, Shelley Berkley, Tim Bishop, Earl Blumenauer, Lois Capps, Michael Capuano, Steve Cohen, John Conyers, Joe Courtney, Lloyd Doggett, Rahm Emanuel, Chaka Fattah, Barney Frank, Gabrielle Giffords, Raúl M. Grijalva, Luis Gutiérrez, Phil Hare, Alcee Hastings, Maurice Hinchey, Mazie Hirono, Paul Hodes, Michael Honda, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Dennis J. Kucinich, Sheila Jackson Lee, John Larson, Barbara Lee, John Lewis, Carolyn B. Maloney, Ed Markey, Doris Matsui, Betty McCollum, Jim McDermott, Jim McGovern, Kendrick Meek, George Miller, Gwen Moore, Chris Murphy, James Oberstar, John Olver, Donald Payne, Steve Rothman, Linda T. Sánchez, Jan Schakowsky, Carol Shea-Porter, Louise Slaughter, Adam Smith, Ellen Tauscher, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Chris Van Hollen, Peter Welch, Robert Wexler and Lynn Woolsey.



cc: The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
The Honorable Robert Gates
Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute

Chelsea and the 75-foot rule

By Amanda Pinto
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — Chelsea Clinton’s early-morning visit to a city polling place caused a stir Tuesday, fueling questions about whether the former first daughter was permitted in the area.
By law, candidates and those campaigning for them must stay at least 75 feet away from polling places, said Adam Joseph, spokesman for Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz.
Joseph said the media notified him that Clinton, daughter of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, was inside a firehouse on Lombard Street, where voting took place Tuesday.
The call came in at about 8 a.m., and an e-mail reminding New Haven registrars that all supporters must stay outside the building was sent 20 minutes later, Joseph said.
Chelsea Clinton may have been delivering coffee and saying hello to poll workers, Joseph said.
He said he received conflicting reports as to whether she was inside the building prior to polls opening at 6 a.m., or just after the polls had opened.
“We have always maintained the 75-foot boundary during polling hours,” said Joseph, adding that after hours, candidates and their supporters are often allowed inside polling places to witness the vote count.
Joseph said the moderator is the “final arbiter” in charge of enforcing rules at a polling place.
If a supporter were to encroach on the 75-foot parameter, a frequent occurrence, moderators usually simply ask them to move, Joseph said.
“I think that happens in every election, where a supporter gets too close,” he said.
It was not clear whether a formal complaint was lodged against the Clinton campaign Tuesday. The state Elections Enforcement Commission could not be reached at press time.
The Connecticut for Hillary campaign had Chelsea Clinton and local surrogates from across the state greeting volunteers and voters at the polls in Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury and Bridgeport.

Hillary embraced at Yale

By Mary E. O’Leary
Register Topics Editor
NEW HAVEN — As the race for the Democratic presidential nomination tightens, Hillary Clinton stopped at the Yale Child Study Center Monday where she did research in the 1970s and was embraced by former colleagues and a small group of women who shared their daily struggles with the candidate.
Clinton spent two hours in the city before heading to Massachusetts and New York, a day before millions of primary voters in 22 states go to the polls today on Super Tuesday. There are 60 delegates at stake in Connecticut.
About 200 people squeezed into the small room at Yale to listen to Clinton describe her work with poor children through Marian Wright Edelson and the Children’s Defense Fund, as well as in developing protocols for dealing with child abuse and mainstreaming special education students.
Clinton worked with Dr. Albert Solnit and the late Dr. Sally Provence at the center as part of her studies at the Yale Law School, where she was a student from 1969 to 1973 and where she met Bill Clinton, who was to become her husband and president of the United States.
“At this center, you helped the doctors and students with the tough legal problems of abused, neglected and troubled children. Over at the storefront Legal Aid office, you helped me and others fight to get children treated better in court,” said Penn Rhodeen, a local public interest lawyer and colleague of Clinton’s at Legal Aid. Both Rhodeen and Clinton teared up as he gave the emotional tribute.
Describing the young Clinton clad “mostly in purple from sheepskin coat to bellbottoms ... it was so 1972,” Rhodeen said she has remained committed to the needs of children for almost four decades, a commitment that could now reach to the White House.
Rhodeen is the father of Alderman Alex Rhodeen, D-13, of Fair Haven Heights.
“I really think back on those years as the most important in my life for many reasons. I was fully immersed in representing and defending kids,” Clinton said.
The candidate talked of the economy and her universal health care plan, through which she would open up the health insurance package available to federal employees, to all Americans.
She would help pay for it by returning to the 1990s tax rates for those earning over $250,000, a fix that would put $55 billion toward underwriting the cost, while premiums would be limited depending on one’s income.
“I think universal health care isn’t only the moral thing to do; it is the economically smart thing to do,” Clinton said of her proposal, which is aimed at prevention and a new paradigm fparadymor insurers.
“It’s more about keeping us well, than fixing us when we get sick,” Clinton said, criticizing the current system in which 4were7 million are uninsured, and where insurers will pay for an amputation but limit checkups for diabetics.
Clinton would mandate coverage for all, as opposed to her Democratic opponent Barack Obama.
“If we start by leaving anybody out ... it will cascade,” with more and more loopholes, said Clinton, who would put medical decisions back in the hands of medical practitioners.
Clinton called for a moratorium on home foreclosures due to the implosion of the subprime mortgage business.
“We have to take this very seriously,” she said, while offering that President Bush’s $600 proposed individual rebate would do little to assist people struggling with education and energy costs.
Clinton sympathized with the problems of the women gathered around a table at the head of the room, who were having a hard time making ends meet or dealing with a broken health care system, particularly mental health care for adolescents.
“To be middle income now is to be barely making it,” Clinton said of “outrageous” energy costs and student loans with 22 percent and 27 percent interest rates.
Amy Lappos Ray, 32, of Seymour, who attended with her children, Austin, 8, and Isabella, 5, said she will soon start a second job so she can afford better child care, while she has struggled to find providers in the state Husky insurance plan for her children and just joined the ranks of the uninsured herself.
But she has faith in Clinton to bring about change. “I’ve never felt so strongly about a candidate. This is what we need,” Ray said.
Hilda Kilpatrick, a 38-year veteran of the New Haven Police Department, who just retired as a detective, said she wants to see better care for the mentally ill. “That is my passion,” she said of an advocacy born from encounters with lost souls on the streets of New Haven.
Deborah Hauser, a clinical psychologist, said it was “really humbling and frightening” to navigate the mental health care system for a sick teen. “If you didn’t have extraordinary resources, you had very little help,” Hauser said.
Mary E. O’Leary can be reached at 789-5731 or moleary@nhregister.com. Register interns Amanda Howe and Eliza Hallabeck contributed to this story.

Elm City a stop on the way to Super Tuesday

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, running for the Democratic nomination for president, was in the city today to talk about health care and other issues. The visit, shown at left in a photo by Register photographer Brad Horrigan, to the Yale Child Study Center, was for invited guests only, and included a "round table" discussion with other women about many issues. Read more about this story, and about Sen. Barack Obama's Monday visit to Hartford, also part of the race to the White House, in Tuesday's edition of the New Haven Register and at www.nhregister.com

DeLauro reacts to Bush budget plan

U.S Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., released a statement in response Tuesday to President Bush's 2009 budget proposal. It was not edited by Elm City Express and contains only DeLauro's statement.

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) issued the following statement on the release of President Bush’s 2009 budget proposal. DeLauro serves as the second ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, which is responsible for crafting the budget blueprint for the Congress to work from.

“With his final budget recommendations, President Bush again proposes a poorly thought-out budget that takes this country in the wrong direction.

“Even worse, he uses budgetary gimmicks to conceal the real fiscal costs of his budget. By providing only partial funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , Bush not only continues the harmful deficit financed war spending, but he also ignores the law which requires him to submit his war funding request with the regular budget. By omitting the cost of protecting the middle class once again from the encroaching Alternative Minimum Tax, Bush simply ignores its implications on efforts to truly balance the budget.

“But most disturbingly, in order to maintain tax cuts targeted towards the wealthiest amongst us, Bush cuts critical services and investments such as Medicare and Medicaid, the Community Oriented Policing Services, the Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program, critical education and early literacy programs, and the Center for Disease Control. These cuts and program eliminations only serve to hinder our ability to begin reversing the economic slowdown.


“We need a budget that reflects America ’s priorities and that will make long-term investments in this country. I look forward to working with my colleagues in crafting a budget that will make the necessary investments in this country, strengthen our economy and create jobs, help Americans under pressure meet the rising costs of health care and energy, and do so in a fiscally responsible manner.”


Visit: www.house.gov/delauro

Mayo opens his house to Kerry, for Obama

By Maria Garriga
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo is such a supporter of Barak Obama for president that, on Sunday, he welcomed to his Westville home a stop by U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who was here campaigning for Obama.
“I’m so excited,” Mayo said. “Most people think a superintendent should not be involved in politics, but there are so many things in education that are on the line, like No Child Left Behind.”
Standing in his driveway, Mayo watched Kerry talking and smiled.
“I never thought I’d be standing here today supporting someone other than Hillary Clinton; it was a struggle. But there is an excitement in his voice.
“He’s authentic. He has it all,” he said.
Mayo said he considers Obama the first viable minority presidential candidate. “Jesse Jackson’s run was symbolic, to show it could be done,” he said.
Obama has gathered a slew of high-profile endorsements across the nation, from the Kennedy clan in the East to the Los Angeles Times in the West.
Mayor John DeStefano Jr., members of the board of Aldermen and other city officials and college students gathered as more than 100 Obama supporters clustered in front of Mayo’s home to hear the senator speak.
“This is about the ability to turn a new page in American history and take us beyond the squabbles and partisanship,” said Kerry, who won the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004.
Obama’s chief rival for the nomination, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., plans to make a campaign stop at the Yale Child Study Center this morning,Monday 9:30 a.m. while Obama is scheduled to campaign in Hartford later this afternoon.
Kerry said Obama is more likely than Clinton to attract the independent vote, a factor that could make him more competitive with Republican rival U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who is considered the Republican front-runner.
M“As a member of the senate foreign relations committee for 24 years, I find his view of Iraq and the world very exciting.”artin Dunleavy, a Democrat super delegate who lives in New Haven, said that while Obama and Clinton do not have substantial differences in policy stands, they do have very different personalities and leadership styles.
“Sen. Obama does much better on moving issues forward than Sen. Clinton. The president is still the leader of the free world so leadership by building consensus is the direction the country should be going in,” Dunleavy said.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, New Haven’s other Democrat super delegate, endorsed Obama in an announcement posted on her Web site Saturday.
Maria Garriga can be reached at mgarriga@nhregister.com or 789-5726.

The Race to Super Tuesday

Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign has let us know she is expected to be in New Haven at 9:30 a.m. Monday. She will be at the Yale Child Study Center - a venue that will be open only to invited guests. Stay tuned for more details.

Barack Obama will in Hartford at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the XL Center, which is the fomer Hartford Civic Center, doors there open at 3:30 p.m., his campaign said. He will be joined by U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., and Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy. That event is open to the public. The campaign recommends letting them know if you plan to attend: ct.barackobama.com

And, in keeping with the attention being paid to Connecticut this week, GOP Sen. John McCain was in Fairfield Sunday, read that story in Monday's edition of the New Haven Register.

Fired up and ready to go

By Elizabeth Benton
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — Barack Obama supporters were "fired up and ready to go" Thursday at a standing-room-only rally at Yale’s Afro-American Cultural Center, mobilizing efforts for Tuesday’s presidential primary.
Obama’s New Haven field director Donnel Baird said the candidate must carry Connecticut to secure the Democratic nomination, and said he can’t win the state without New Haven and Bridgeport.
But with 22 states, including Connecticut, voting in the Super Tuesday primary, money and time are tight. Campaigners will not be buying yard signs or putting up posters in the city, Baird said.
Organizers are relying on networks of Obama backers to hit the streets today and over the weekend, and are asking supporters to hold house parties to screen a DVD biography of the candidate.
The rally briefly became a phone bank, as Baird asked each attendee to pull out a cell phone and call five, six or seven voters.
Obama is expected in Hartford on Monday, but he’s not expected to visit New Haven.
"There are more undecided voters in this state than most places he goes," said U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. "Can we get out the vote? The more people come out, the more undecided people we’ll pick up, and Connecticut will fall into the Obama camp, and we’re now dealing with the next president of the United States of America, Barack Obama."
Former Yale Law School Dean Anthony Kronman likened Obama’s voice and message to that of President Kennedy.
"The only way we will succeed is by remembering who we are. It takes a very special voice to call us back to the better angels of our American selves," he said. "This isn’t a pie in the sky dream. Barack Obama has invited us to lead the way again.
"At a moment when we need his leadership badly, the world needs it badly, he has appeared and spoken. … He will be the first great president of the 21st century," Kronman said to applause.
The rally drew Obama supporters and a handful of undecided voters from across the area.
Edgewood Park Defense Patrol organizer Eli Greer said his group has endorsed Obama for his ability to cross racial lines.
"Hillary made every effort to use the race card to try to create division. That road has to be stomped out," Greer said Thursday.
For many in the audience, support for Obama dated back to his address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
"I made up my mind the first time I saw Obama," said Thomas Nelson III, a Gateway Community College student living in Hamden.
Nelson happened to hear Obama speaking on CNN while channeling surfing in 2004 and thought, "He needs to run for president. We need somebody with his ideals," he said.
It was a similar story for New Haven educator Carolyn Baker.
After hearing Obama speak in 2004, she said she hoped he would run.
"I think we need the best talent, the best intellect for this office. Our country cannot suffer further," she said.
"He’s a guy I’ve been waiting for for 20 years," said David Bachman of Bethany. "Clinton relies too much on Washington, D.C., and the Beltway. Obama is committed to growing change from the bottom up," he said.
"Overall (Clinton) has been a wonderful public servant. She’s made a wonderful senator, and I think she’ll continue to serve in that capacity under President Obama," he said.
The rally was a coordinated effort by Obama supporters at Yale Law School and local campaigns.
Elizabeth Benton can be reached at 789-5714 or ebenton@nhregister.com.

Will Obama visit the Nutmeg State?

By Gregory B. Hladky
Capitol Bureau Chief
HARTFORD — Monday’s campaign stop in Connecticut by U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York so far hasn’t led to any plans by her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination to make similar visits before the Feb. 5 primary.
But state Democratic Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo said Clinton’s chief Democratic opponent, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, may take more notice of Connecticut now.
"I certainly think it should make him pay attention," said DiNardo, "that Hillary thought enough about Connecticut to come, so that he might do it, too."
Reid Cherlin, Obama’s Connecticut campaign spokesman, said there are no current plans to bring the candidate here.
"We don’t know yet," Cherlin said. "His schedule isn’t set yet … we’re hoping."
Cherlin said the candidate’s wife, Michelle Obama, is scheduled to visit this state Wednesday for a campaign fundraiser in Fairfield County, and a public event as well. Cherlin said times and locations haven’t been determined yet.
Many political experts were doubtful Clinton, Obama or any of the other major Democratic or Republican candidates would bother coming to this small state in advance of the Feb. 5 vote.
The so-called "Super Duper" primaries and caucuses on that date will involve 22 states, including major population centers such as New York, California and Illinois that have far more delegates at stake than little Connecticut.
John Orman, a professor of politics at Fairfield University, said Clinton’s campaign organization is working hard in Connecticut and recent polls show her with a commanding lead over Obama.
"Barack may just figure that Connecticut is so small and so much for Hillary that he might not come," said Orman. He said Obama’s campaign is likely to concentrate on larger states "where he has a chance for an upset."
"But if he does come, I think he’d be really well received here in Connecticut," Orman added.
Meanwhile, several state lawmakers who support Obama’s candidacy said at a news conference that havingObama would be the strongest candidate the Democrats could have in November. They argued that having him at the top of the ticket would bring independents and even some Republicans out to vote, which could help other Democrats running for office.
Gregory B. Hladky can be contacted at ghladky@nhregister.com or (860) 524-0719.

Dems says hooray for Hillary

By Gregory B. Hladky
Capitol Bureau Chief
HARTFORD — The loudest roars Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton may have received during her brief Connecticut visit Monday came when she noted the significance of another event that evening.
"Tonight is a red-letter night in American history," Clinton told an enthusiastic crowd of more than 1,000 at Hartford’s Magnet Middle School. "It is the last time George Bush will give a State of the Union address!"
Clinton, greeted by crowds such as the one shown at right, made her morning stop in Connecticut as part of a multi-state swing designed to regain some momentum following her weekend loss to rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, in the South Carolina primary.
She arrived in Connecticut from New York after campaigning in Tennessee Sunday. Clinton made an additional afternoon stop in Springfield, Mass., before returning to the nation’s capital to hear the president’s speech to Congress.
The Clinton campaign suffered another setback Monday when Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., endorsed Obama; Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, had done the same Sunday.
Connecticut is considered strong Hillary Clinton territory. Clinton, who met her husband, former President Bill Clinton, while both were at Yale University, repeatedly noted her long familiarity with this state.
Interest in Clinton’s campaign was clear Monday from the long lines of supporters who waited in the cold to gain entry to the school gymnasium where their candidate was appearing.
But not everyone in the crowd, regardless of their feelings about President Bush, was necessarily committed to voting for Hillary Clinton in Connecticut’s Feb. 5 presidential primary.
"I’m a little bit undecided," said Brittany English, a Trinity College senior from Vermont. "I’ve been jumping around between candidates."
Anita Jagjivan of West Hartford was in the same situation. "I think I’m still making up my mind," she said. "I like both of them."
Clinton did her best to convince them during her 26-minute speech and about 22 minutes of answering questions from the audience, sounding a variety of popular Democratic themes.
She promised to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq, but cautioned it was unlikely to be accomplished all at once. "I want to do this very carefully," Clinton said.
As for U.S. foreign policy generally, Clinton insisted the message she would send to the world is that, "The era of cowboy diplomacy is over.
"We need to demonstrate that we’re not afraid to find common ground with anybody," she said.
Clinton spoke forcefully about the need to make a major federal effort on the economy. "We are sliding into recession," she said. Clinton called for a 90-day moratorium on housing foreclosures, a five-year freeze on interest rates, and more federal funding for food stamps and assistance to the poor for utility bills.
On education, Clinton said universal pre-kindergarten programs are essential and it is time "to start over and scrap (Bush’s controversial) No Child Left Behind" program.
Clinton also said the U.S. is falling behind other nations of the world in attempting to combat global warming. She proposed new federal funding for solar energy, energy efficiency programs and pushing requirements for higher gas mileage for motor vehicles. Clinton said she would seek to have a new international agreement on global warming by the end of her first year in office.
The candidate’s performance impressed many in the crowd. "I thought she was great," said JoAnne Bannister, a Barkhamsted resident. "I was on the fence … but I’m really impressed with Hillary, and her very concrete plans."
"I think she would make the best president," said Bob Finkel, 69, of New Haven. Finkel said he believes Clinton has a better chance than Obama of beating the Republicans in November. "Barack Obama’s very capable, too, but there’s a lot of prejudice out there," he said.
A number of top Connecticut Democrats showed up to greet and praise Clinton. They included Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Comptroller Nancy Wyman,House Speaker James A. Amann and Sen. Gayle Slossberg, both D-Milford, and former state Democratic Chairman George Jepsen.
Blumenthal spoke for many of those Democratic politicians in dismissing Obama’s South Carolina victory as irrelevant to the Connecticut primary. Sl"No effect," said Blumenthal, who attended Yale Law School with both the Clintons. "She hit on all the right issues… her issues are Connecticut’s issues." "She hit on all the themes I’m interested in," said Amann, adding that the enthusiasm at Clinton’s Monday rally would appear to be a sign that the South Carolina primary hasn’t had much impact here.ossberg said she believes the only carryover from the South Carolina vote will be a result of the extremely high turnout in that state. She argued that such intense interest "energizes the Democratic base" elsewhere.
Gregory B. Hladky can be contacted at ghladky@nhregister.com or (860) 524-0719.

Mayor pushes legislative agenda

By Elizabeth Benton
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — Mayor John DeStefano Jr. unveiled the city’s legislative agenda Monday, concentrating political efforts on property tax reform, prison re-entry initiatives, downtown development and restored funding for payment-in-lieu of taxes.
The city will seek millions in state and federal aid for education, environment, development and community initiatives, but has not released a total dollar amount claiming the full agenda is unlikely to be funded, according to city spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga.
DeStefano has called for property taxes to be capped at 5 to 6 percent of income, to be paid for by a repeal of the property tax credit.
The city agenda also seeks to restore PILOT funds for hospital and college property. According to city officials, New Haven has not been fully reimbursed for those tax-exempt properties since 2001. While the city is due 77 percent of what would have been paid by a private owner, last year the city was reimbursed only 58 percent. The city is seeking a $20 million to $25 million increase in PILOT funds.
The agenda also reveals what New Haven seeks in public aid for the Route 34 East project to rebuild the city street grid through the Route 34 corridor between North Frontage Road and Legion Avenue.
The city will seek $75 million from the federal government and $25 million from the state to rebuild roads there, opening the area for an estimated $225 million of private investment.
Following the state’s sweeping criminal justice reform legislation passed last week, which added $7 million for prison re-entry and alternative-to-incarceration programs for New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport, the city continued its push for $500,000 in state aid and $2 million in federal funds for its own re-entry efforts Monday.
"These are tough times. We need to stick together to make sure we get through them together," said Aldermanic President Carl Goldfield, D-29. "In the long term, the state will be happy it did."
State and federal legislators were noticeably absent from the Monday morning event.
City Hall and the state delegation do not always mesh on legislative priorities, resulting in mixed messages to Hartford leadership, according to one legislator.
The issue was underscored Monday when state Rep. Patricia Dillon announced she had filed legislation seeking a $780,000 appropriation for a new ranger station at Edgewood Park.
The message was released just as DeStefano unveiled his priorities, which did not include the ranger station. "I had been hopeful that the mayor would include it," Dillon said.
Dillon said she was invited to the city’s Monday morning press conference after hours Friday, and could not change her schedule in time to attend.
"I’m not sure they really designed it to include the delegation," she said.
Mayorga said DeStefano "supports Rep. Dillon’s efforts to develop this ranger station" and the exclusion of the project from the agenda "in no way indicates the mayor is opposed. … We were simply outlining city-driven initiatives."
According to State Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, disconnect between City Hall and legislators is not uncommon. "New Haven is better than some of the other communities I deal with — Waterbury, Bridgeport, Hartford," he said.
"It’s important to encourage communication. I can’t have the mayor’s priority list and the legislators’ priority list, especially if they don’t match up. You have to give me direction," Amann said.
"Mayors and delegates need to get priorities on the same page when they introduce [legislative agendas] to me. The ones that do, see a lot of success. The ones that don’t, unfortunately go to the wayside," he said.