It’s The Budget Bob and Larry

Normally state Senator Bob Duff and house Minority Leader Larry Cafero are focused on pragmatic issues like streamlining government and fighting to extract dollars out of Hartford for Norwalk. But Rick Green wrote a nice article  about the blatant lack of focus up in Hartford that’s worth a read:

While the mayors of our big cities tell me they are facing elimination of basic services, such as schoolteachers, our legislature spends hours on end discussing whether liquor stores should be open on Sunday. At least they are not wasting time on whether to regulate hookah lounges. Oh wait, they are.

Are we really rethinking how much government can do? If so I’m not sure how establishing Ronald Reagan Day, French Canadian American Day, a Connecticut Beer Trail or a State Song of Remembrance has become someone’s legislative priority.

I try not to use plastic bags, but is now the moment to tax them? I feel the same about Rep. Diana Urban’s bills regulating chicken cages and Sen. Paul Doyle’s campaign to establish a “State Waltz.”

And yes, I have a deep appreciation for the practical logic behind Sen. John Kissel’s bill that would “ensure the normal distribution of alcoholic liquor during emergencies.”

But isn’t it my responsibility to stock the fridge with beer before the next snow emergency?

Among the 38 pieces of legislation that Sen. Michael A. McLachlan has introduced are curriculum directives to local schools telling them what they should teach, a call for a federal constitutional convention and an endorsement of the Electoral College system “as the best way to elect the president of the United States.” (Even with 9 percent unemployment, somebody is still thinking about Bush vs. Gore!)

The Danbury Republican has also introduced the so-called “birther” bill, requiring presidential and vice presidential candidates to present an “original birth certificate” to Connecticut’s secretary of the state, as well as a bill banning the “rationing” of health care. McLachlan’s bill would also prohibit requiring insured persons to participate in end-of-life counseling, a.k.a. “death panels.”

Then in my inbox is a press release from them stating:

LAWMAKERS TO DETAIL PROPOSED CRACKDOWN ON FAKE BEHAVIORAL THERAPISTS

This bipartisan coalition will detail new legislation to help protect vulnerable children and parents from individuals who misrepresent their qualifications as autism behavioral analysts…

Really? You mean that the employment practices of local school systems are incapable of checking credentials of employees? This is all about Fay Ruotolo’s inability to run the Norwalk Public Schools HR department Bob and Larry. To create “Stacey Lore” legislation when basic job accountability is the root cause is just a waste of your focus. Try whittling down that $3.7 billion dollar deficit. Yes, special ed issue parents are vocal voters, but pandering is pandering.