Republican gaslighting tricks

Listening to our Republican candidates talk about our state, one would be forgiven for thinking we live in The Wire's Baltimore, not Connecticut. They rail about out-of-control crime that makes it a hazard to step outside your door, failing schools, a nose-diving economy and businesses fleeing the state.

Wait, what? Does this resemble the place where you live?

Hearing over and over again how terrible things are may make you start to believe it. So let’s take a minute to do a reality check.

Is crime rising?

The most recent crime statistics show that overall crime is down 3% from last year, which includes a 9% reduction in violent crime and a 2% reduction in property crime. Motor vehicle theft fell over 10% since 2020. Further, the FBI report shows a 30% reduction in overall crime in the last ten years, including a 43% reduction in violent crime. 

Further, the FBI ranks Connecticut the fourth safest state in the US. There has however been a spike in the incidence of black bears breaking into homes, so perhaps this is what the Republican candidates are referring to.

Republicans are also blaming the Police Accountability Bill passed in the wake of the George Floyd murder for declines in police recruiting and the so-called increase in crime. They have one thing correct. Police departments have been struggling to recruit officers nationwide, even before the murder of George Floyd in 2020. But to single out CT’s law as the reason for this national trend is specious and dishonest.

In fact, Connecticut was rated the best state in the nation to be a police officer this year. Even Fox News suggested, ”Law enforcement officers might want to consider moving to Connecticut.”

Are our public schools failing?

“Our failing schools” is another Republican greatest hit. But that’s not what the evidence bears out. In its latest report, Niche, the school rating platform, gave Greenwich public schools an A+ rating, and ranked our schools the third best in the state! 

And that’s especially impressive given that CT public schools are some of the best in the nation. Even during the pandemic, Education Week ranked Connecticut schools #4 in the nation in 2021 and Wallet Hub ranked CT schools second best in the country this year. 

But yes, if we keep attacking our public schools and depriving them of funding, and attacking our teachers, our schools will fail. And our property values will suffer because great schools are what people look for when they decide where to buy homes.

Is the economy nose-diving?

Republicans seized on a report by the Bureau of Economic Analysis last week that, in the second quarter, Connecticut's GDP contracted by 4.7%, the second largest contraction in the nation. Finally, Republican candidates could point to evidence for their doom and gloom proclamations about the state of our economy!

These conclusions are misleading. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates four times this year with the express purpose of tamping down demand to control inflation. Temporarily slowing down the economy is exactly what they are trying to do.

And when you look past this single snapshot in time, you see a state on a strong growth trajectory. For all of 2021, CT’s economy grew by 4.8%, which was higher than the national average. And in the first quarter of this year, we grew by 5.5%—the second highest GDP growth in the nation. If you look at our growth rate over the last 12 months, real GDP grew by 1.2%, which ranks us 24th of 50 states.

Republicans also jumped on the news that Black & Decker was cutting 1,000 jobs from its New Britain headquarters, as proof that employers are abandoning the state. The only problem with that story is that the company refuted it.

And when Amazon announced the following day that they are hiring 3,100 workers in CT this year, Republicans seemed to have missed that newsflash. Beyond anecdotes, however, new business registration increased by 5% per year from 2010 to 2020, and in 2021 grew by 20%.

Connecticut is doing fine

The Republicans are hoping to get your vote by trashing our state. They want to make you feel outraged. They are hoping that anger will get you to overlook that they opposed this year’s budget, which provided a historic $600 million in middle class tax cuts, filled our rainy day fund, and paid down our long neglected pension liabilities. So they don’t have a lot to brag about.

But trashing our state for political gain hurts all of us. If they keep attacking our state, people will start to believe the lies, and our economy, schools and property values will suffer.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month

Editorials that caught our eye

Patriotism?

Please be kind to our local MAGAs. With a wry twist, Svetlana Wasserman writes in Greenwich Free Press, 

“And though they may wrap themselves in the flag and call themselves patriots, please don’t roll your eyes. Had you not

been indoctrinated by seditious public schools, you too

would understand how attempting to violently overthrow

a democratic election is an act of patriotism.“

So many No votes

“Fazio has not earned our support. He has squandered it“  

Harald Hille writes, “Among other things, [State Senator Ryan Fazio] voted against HB 5414, which supports women’s reproductive rights in Connecticut, against funding for Stamford Westhill HS, against funding for mental health care for kids, against funding for paid family leave, against the bill promoting clean air, against funding for HVAC systems in schools, against safer gun laws in Connecticut. A lot of no votes“. In the few public meetings Mr. Fazio has granted, he has tried to seem more moderate than his voting record clearly indicates.  Trevor Crow is Fazio's Democratic opponent for the CT State Senate 36th District.

And...No to Jennifer's Law

Women experiencing domestic violence need an ally. Fiorello is no ally. Christine Baker writes, “With all of the attention paid to crime in our community, would it shock you to learn that the number one most reported violent crime is domestic violence?... That’s why it is shocking to know that our current State Representative, Kimberly Fiorello, voted against Jennifers’ Law, a law that improves protections for those impacted by domestic violence by recognizing that domestic violence can extend beyond physical violence to controlling behavior—stalking, isolation, or financial restriction.“ Democrat Rachel Khanna is challenging Kimberly Fiorello in the CT State Representative 149th District.

Grab some of our original signs

for your yard while supplies last!  They're so popular Greenwich Republicans are copying them!

Pick yours up at our headquarters at 23 Benedict Place, Greenwich (entrance in the back). Call 203-485-9741 for more info.

Missed the Debate?

If you didn't make it to the candidates' debate at the Round Hill Association on October 11th with candidates for CT State Senate 36th District – Ryan Fazio (R) v. Trevor Crow (D) and candidates for CT State Representative 149th District – Kimberly Fiorello (R) v. Rachel Khanna (D), click here for the YouTube video.

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right...“ Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776

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Volume 1, Number 17   October 13, 2022

Paid for by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee.

Approved by the Democratic candidates above.