Joe Courtney, our very excellent Congressman, is going to face a tea party type in the next election. His name is Chris Coutu, and he’s a representative type. A young man on the make who is looking to ride extremism and Republican cant into political office or, lacking that, a lucrative right wing sinecure or lobbying job. He differs from most of his Republican colleagues in Connecticut only in that he’s closer to the national norm than they. I should add that, though I only work there, I feel a sense of shame that Norwich sent him to Hartford. Why Norwich would elect a Republican to any office is a mystery to me, but being from Groton, where we can’t seem to quit Republican town councils (though our state reps are now all of the one true political faith), I can’t criticize too much.
Coutu is of the new breed of Republicans that take their orders from ALEC, the right wing lobbying group that relieves its Republican lackeys from the messy job of actually drafting, or even thinking about, legislation. It just hands its minions its proposed legislation, gives them their marching orders, and off they go. We have ALEC to thank for “stand your ground” a/k/a “right to kill” laws in more than 20 states. They are also hard at work depriving people of the right to vote, right to unionize, and right to education. More here and here. If folks like Coutu had their way, we’d be blessed, here in Connecticut, with legislation that would put us right down there with Mississippi. It’s nice to know that he’ll be out of Connecticut politics come November. Good riddance.
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