Connecticut Bob in the House...or close to it

Himes to Hold “Computer-Side Chat” Google Hangout

WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) will host a “Computer-Side Chat” Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with blogger Bob Adams of connecticutbob.com. The Google Hangout will be live-streamed on the Congressman’s YouTube page and can be watched here. Questions can be submitted to the Congressman by commenting on that page.

WHO:                    Congressman Jim Himes

                                Bob Adams, Connecticut blogger “CT Bob”

                                Reporters and constituents welcome to tune in

WHAT:                  “Computer-side Chat” Google Hangout

WHEN:                  Thursday, February 27 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

WHERE:                Tune in at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu_cFdWggcI

Senator Blumenthal "Gets It"

BLUMENTHAL DELIVERS FLOOR SPEECH ON ANTI-ABORTION LEGISLATION
PASSED YESTERDAY BY HOUSE

Video of Blumenthal’s floor speech is here.
 

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) delivered a floor speech on an anti-abortion bill passed yesterday by the House of Representatives. The bill – H.R. 1797 – would prohibit all abortions beyond 20 weeks with very limited exceptions.

I come to the floor today to discuss H.R. 1797. A number of my colleagues, Senators Murray and Boxer, have been here this morning to talk about the bill passed yesterday in the House of Representatives that would prohibit all abortions beyond 20 weeks with very, very limited exceptions. This topic is critically important to the women of Connecticut and our country, and the bill is yet another example, lamentably and regrettably, another example of legislation that feigns concern for women's health when actually it would endanger the lives and well-being of women across this great country.

The bill would take decisions regarding health care away from women and their doctors and would force the doctors to decide between incurring criminal penalties and helping their patients. That choice is unacceptable –professionally and morally. The decision to have an abortion is a serious decision that a woman should make in consultation with her doctor. When those decisions are made later in a pregnancy, they are most often the result of serious health risks to the mother or the discovery that the fetus is not viable.

Political interference is abhorrent and unacceptable in these personal and private decisions, and it violates the constitutional right of privacy. The other scenario in which a woman may seek an abortion later in a pregnancy is due to an inability to access such services earlier – whether due to financial restrictions or lack of access to health care or other extenuating circumstances.  In fact, 58 percent of abortion patients say they would have preferred to have an abortion earlier. Low-income women were more than twice as likely than their wealthier counterparts to be delayed because of financial limitation and difficulty in making arrangements. As politicians, we should not be placing additional restrictions on women in these circumstances.

The House bill blatantly ignores constitutional protections that are vitally necessary to protect the health of women as decided in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey because these kinds of restrictions place limitations that interfere with constitutional rights and have no place in these personal and very private decisions. The limited exceptions in this bill would require a woman to report a rape or incest to law enforcement or a specific government agency when she is seeking much-needed health care services. Those restrictions affect women when they have been the victims of a crime or face serious health risks and will have no effect on reducing abortions.

That's their purported purpose, to reduce abortions, but that purpose will be in no way served by these restrictions. Victims of incest or rape may be too young or too fearful of retaliation to report to a law enforcement agency. Why create a needless, lawless obstacle to vital health care? We should be working to ensure that women have the ability to access safe and affordable contraception so there are fewer unintended pregnancies in this country. And yet supporters of this bill would also restrict access to contraception and they're the ones who have tried to make it more difficult to get access to the information and services necessary to prevent unintended pregnancies.

We need to do more. Our nation needs to do better to ensure that women have access to preventive and maternal health care so they can be prepared to face the responsibility of pregnancy and parenthood. This bill would do very little, if anything, to actually help women to protect their health care and the health care of their families and so I urge my colleagues to reject any consideration of this ill-intended, and I hope also ill-fated, measure that endangers women's health across the country. I urge my colleagues to focus on the real priorities that face this Congress – job creation and economic recovery, for example – and stop this attack on women's health.

###

Electoral Bandwagon

There is an interesting thread of commonality occurring in the Chris Donovan campaign.

Traditionally, in the closing weeks prior to an election, you see a hunkering down. People prepare for all inevitabilities, although you (superstitiously) don't discuss it.
You say "When we win..."
Never "If we win..."
and there is an understanding that the careers of those in the campaign are on hold. No resumes go out and none come in. 

You wait, and breathe without noise.

The intriguing shift in the Congressional campaign of Chris Donovan seems to be an influx of people.

People from other states, even from across the country, heading into Connecticut to help during these final days and prep for the general election.

Photo of Cute Kid - not attributable

There are new members in the Chris Donovan for Congress campaign, true believers moving to Connecticut.

Bribed by Ice Cream. Photo from the Avon Patch.

And I don't mean the per diem hires of Dan Roberti   

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Oh Wait...That is Etsy Headquarters...

nor the unemployed students with free time helping out at Esty Headquarters     >

It turns out there are people driving their families and possessions into Connecticut like a reverse dust bowl migration. 

Nobody does that on a whim. Nobody does that on a dream. They do that because they heard of a promised land. 

They join in a movement they believe will win and go on to win more and win for the entire state of Connecticut.  

They are joining up so they can be on the team of a Progressive, Modern, Honest, Funny (very funny, actually), Hard Working champion of working people and the poor.

This is not your normal campaign. This is Your campaign.

Hop on the Fairness Dignity and Respect Bandwagon?
Yessirree. Count me IN!

 

Clip = CT Resident Nile Rogers and the fabulous Nick Lowe.

 

Hood does not Equal Hoodlum, and Hoods Ain't Hats

Thank you Congressman Bobby Rush

"ICYMI" -- Chris Donovan Leads

Currently Chris Donovan is the Speaker of the House in Connecticut. He is undoubtably going to be the new Congressman from the Fifth of the 5 CT Congressional Districts.

You can donate to Chris Donovan's campaign via the link on the right side of this page or by clicking here.

This is a photo taken this week at an event for the Connecticut Working Families Party at a very cool place called the Pine Loft Pizzeria and Café on the Berlin Turnpike. Mr. Donovan knows how to comb his hair. I don't.
We were supporting the Mayoral campaigns of Art Garfunkel (Norwalk), Dan Drew (Middletown), and Tim O'Brien (New Britain), all of whom have been cross-endorsed by the CT Working Families Party.

"Working Families Party is an independent party that stands up for hard working every day families across Connecticut — not the Wall Street banks, the lobbyists and the CEOs."

Donate here to the CT Working Families Party.

And if you live in Norwalk, Middletown, New Britain (or Milford) -
Vote Row "A" on November 8th
to turn your town Blue!