A Message to Republican Voters: Why You Should Vote on Row C in November.
This summer, as we watched the Trump administration cozy up to dictators and tear families fleeing violence and persecution apart, I have a proposal for Republican voters in the state: You should vote on the Working Families Party line come this November, instead.
The political class and Republican politicians will tell you that’s crazy, but hear me out.
Republican officials in 2018 are out-of-touch and off the rails. Some Connecticut elected Republicans have made half-hearted attempts to distance themselves from President Trump, but folks across the state are beginning to recognize that the same dysfunction, corruption, and disinterest in solving problems for families like yours and mine in DC are present here in Connecticut’s Republican Party.
The national Republican Party has become increasingly frightening, spending money to defend pedophile Roy Moore’s US Senate campaign, celebrating a bigoted Muslim ban, refusing to hold Russia accountable for interference in the 2016 elections (including an attack on Connecticut), tearing immigrant families apart with increasingly deceitful tactics, ripping citizenship from our own citizens, and refusing to listen to women speaking up against the president in the #MeToo movement.
A year ago, former Republican State Representative Aundré Bumgardner brought attention to parallels between the national and state Republican Parties. After President Trump defended white supremacists in the riots and murder in Charlottesville last summer, he hoped that Connecticut’s Republican politicians would firmly stand against the president’s racism. He was disappointed to see no such thing, and ultimately switched parties.
Locally, Republican legislators haven’t been much more reasonable. Attacking democracy itself, last year all legislative Republicans voted to defund Connecticut’s clean elections program, which has dramatically improved the legitimacy and honesty of our elections since the era of Governor John Rowland. They’ve also opposed democracy in the workplace, blocking reforms and undermining the fundamental collective bargaining rights that helped build a strong middle class in Connecticut in the first place. Even democracy online is objectionable to Republican legislators — every Republican State Senator voted against a net neutrality bill designed to protect access to an open and affordable internet in Connecticut. And last spring, Republican legislators undermined judicial integrity and obstructed Justice Andrew McDonald’s chief justice nomination, seemingly out of hostility toward the LGBTQ community, thus embracing the hatred encouraged under the current presidential administration.
Republican politicians continue to sell themselves as reasonable economic performers. But the truth is far from it. Nationally, they passed a tax scam that massively redistributes wealth up to the 1%, even though we know trickle-down economics simply don’t work. Meanwhile, we’ve seen store closings left and right amid still-stagnating wages and increasing volatility in the stock market. Leading Republicans beat their chests about “economic growth,” but have you seen it in your paycheck this year?
Last September offered a glimpse at how Connecticut Republican politicians would govern if they were in the majority in Hartford, when they passed a budget that was later vetoed for being reckless and unbalanced. Their budget included massive cuts, which would fall on our towns and force property tax increases. It eliminated the Earned Income Tax Credit, again raising taxes on working people who can least afford it to protect special interests that can. And it cut hundreds of millions of dollars from our higher education system in funding and scholarships, as if starving our colleges and universities makes Connecticut more attractive to employers. On top of all this hurt, their budget still remained $2 billion unbalanced — just like at the federal level.
It becomes clearer and clearer that many Republican officials just don’t understand the lives of ordinary working people. Be it taxes, healthcare, education, women’s rights, gun violence, or democracy itself, Republican legislators have failed to meet the needs of their own voters and constituents. They obstruct common sense fairness like paid family leave, minimum wage increases, affordable college, and taxes on extreme wealth needed to invest in local infrastructure. Connecticut Republican candidates will try to distance themselves from the disaster in Washington DC — don’t fall for it. The local GOP’s nominee for Governor, Bob Stefanowski, gave Trump an “A” when asked about his job performance. An “A,” as in perfection; the highest performance; better than most others.
We have a better idea. This year, consider the Working Families Party when it is time to cast your vote.
If you, like many voters, are angry with the status quo and want to see meaningful change for working people and families, the Working Families Party ballot line — Row C — lets you voice that energy at the ballot box.
The Working Families Party has been fighting and winning for working people in Connecticut, including big wins like paid sick days, minimum wage increases, and fairer taxation. We’re the independent political party fighting to level the playing field for everyone in this state, so that Connecticut works for all of us, not just the wealthy and well-connected. And when legislators disappoint Connecticut’s working families, we recruit champions to beat them.
We endorse the best candidates in local, state, and federal races based on their records and positions on key issues like our state budget, paid family leave, and education. Yes, that has meant a lot of Democrats earn our support, and we are proud that so many candidates have embraced our vision for a fair economy. In the past we have also endorsed Working Families members, independents, and Republicans. We aren’t loyal to any political party; we are loyal to the issues, and that is reflected in our endorsements. You can learn who has earned our support at workingfamilies.org/connecticut.
By voting WFP on Row C this year, you can send a message with your vote. You can declare that you’re tired of the politics we see in DC right now, that you’re tired of the burdens in Connecticut being thrust onto the backs of working folks, and that you’re tired of a political system where ordinary people don’t have a voice.
Vote your values. That’s a vote worth considering.
Lindsay Farrell, state director, CT Working Families Party
