If Shakespeare were writing about Norwalk politics he would open his play, “Republicans and Democrats” with Tuesday night’s bipartisan political meeting, an opening scene that may foreshadow the political theater yet to come. For Tuesday was not spectacular because 4 Democrats and 5 Republican council members showed up to talk about how committed they each were to the idea that together they wanted to make Norwalk a better town. No, it was the absence of the 5 Norwalk-outers, the five Democrats on the council who now refuse to talk to their fellow Democrats, before, during or after meetings. The plots and sub plots that have led to this sorry state of council affairs are intricate and nonsensical, as the drama plays out, important details are forgotten.

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The old chestnut about those who can’t do teach applies just as much to those without ideas complain. And nothing smacks more of running out ideas than the current whining coming from the octogenarian leaders of the Norwalk Democratic Party. It’s time for these old war horses, long past the their prime to be put out to pasture. Tonight, right before the regularly scheduled Common Council meeting, a meeting was created to bring the members of the Common Council together for a brief informal discussion. It was even open to the public. It even offers pizza. What’s not to like?

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The LaTimes offers a great article that focuses on one county’s solution to focus on cost of care in the hospital emergency room. An excerpt:

Every month for four years, he’d been going to the emergency room at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center to have his abdomen drained of fluid, the result of cirrhosis caused by years of heavy drinking.

It wasn’t exactly an emergency, but the ER was his only medical care. An illegal Mexican immigrant, Hernandez had learned that emergency rooms legally cannot turn away patients without examining and stabilizing them. He had stopped drinking, he said. But his job unloading big rigs paid little and offered no health insurance.

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When Dodd said he was planning a stealth campaign, he wasn’t kidding. Since last Friday’s rally, the weekend news and blog chatter has been all about everyone else. On the Democratic side, it didn’t help that Hillary Clinton announced she was in on Saturday. Or that Bill Richardson announced that he was in on Sunday. Or that Sam Brownback announced he was in on Saturday on the Republican side.

The wires and presidential election alert feeds were all buzzing about the rest of the field, dominated by news spin on either Clinton or Richardson. So much for the start power of Obama, Edwards and Giuliani.

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It’s been a busy week for Norwalk area politicos. The battle of historical activists flounders on in the letters to the editor sections of the local papers. The hyperbolic language serves as a reminder of the net effect of the ineffectual group that steered the commission to its present commission 2.0 state. Service to one’s community need not be solely relegated to the titled and appointed in Norwalk. There’s nothing preventing any Norwalker from working towards historic preservation, unless they want to become a part ofthe insular clique of “friends of scorched earth politics”. Without the the special mouseketeer ears though, newcomers might not feel welcome. So much for rallying public support.

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Friday night is not usually a night politicians like to pick for high profile announcements, so it’s somewhat exciting to report that the Chris Dodd rally for ‘08 turned out the veritable who’s who of Connecticut Democrats. And why not, with the strong election wins of November still fresh in everyone’s minds, this was a night to celebrate the diversity of the party and set the stage for the presidential race.

All the usual suspects were there, Rosa Delauro introduced Dodd to the crowd, Richard Blumenthal darted through shaking hands, and noted were John Larsen, Chris Murphy, Susan Bysiewicz, Nancy Wyman, Denise Napier and Nancy Dinardo.

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Last year the state legislature was eager to tackle the eminent domain issue. This year, the issue did not make the list of legislative priorities. From the Norwalk Hour:

After the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling backing New London’s use of eminent domain, House Speaker James Amann asked cities to delay planned seizures of private property until the General Assembly reformed the state’s eminent domain laws.

The 2006 session ended last May without an agreement. Yesterday, when Amann and his caucus unveiled their 2007 legislative priorities at the Capitol, the words “eminent domain reform” appeared nowhere on the poster-boards or in the packets provided for the media.

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Rell has good reason to be worried that earmarks designated under the “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act” might be stalled. When the 109th Congress had the opportunity to pass its appropriations bills, the waning weeks were spent punting the fiscal responsibility to the next congress. The Courant reports:

The governor, fearing up to a $53 million loss in anticipated federal transportation funding, Wednesday called on Connecticut’s congressional delegation to fight for the money.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell voiced concern in a letter that the largest transportation initiative in Connecticut history will be delayed if Congress approves freezing transportation funding to fiscal year 2006 levels.

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It wasn’t enough to ignore science and push through the idiotic idea that talking on cell phones is somehow contributing to reckless driving. He’s back with another bill to raise the fines that someone would incur if they were ticketed for this offense. From the Courant,

“Many constituents reached out to me and complained that the law is not being enforced and I know that they’re absolutely right. They’re absolutely right,” said Rep. Thomas J. Drew, R-Fairfield. “It’s a safety issue.”

The fine would jump from $100 to $250 under a bill that was raised Wednesday and will have a public hearing before the Transportation Committee on Jan. 24.

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The Washington Post leads with the Dodd story:

Dodd introduced legislation to cap the number of troops in Iraq at roughly 130,000, saying that lawmakers should take an up-or-down vote on Bush’s plan to send additional troops to the country and not settle for the nonbinding resolution several Senate leaders prefer.

Later, however, Democratic senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Carl M. Levin (Mich.) were joined by Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska in putting forward a resolution that describes Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq as “not in the national interest of the United States.” Hagel, a Vietnam War veteran, is considered a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2008.

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