As we look back at the news of this week, Connecticut Republican House Leader Themis Klarides gave freshman Democratic Governor Ned Lamont a grade of F-minus.
Klarides made the remarks at a state Republican Party awards dinner.
"Part of me...feels badly for him because he's not a jerk, but he just can't do the job," Klarides said. "He's incompetent to do this job. I mean, I'm sure there's other jobs he's done OK, but he just can't do this one."
In response, Lamont held his fire, saying he never tries to "personalize these things."
"We can disagree on policy, but we disagree respectfully," the governor said. "So I think I still have some work to do with Themis."
Panelist Susan Bigelow noted Lamont has said he's trying to set a "nicer, calmer, more civil tone."
"Unfortunately, the opposition is not going to play along with this," Bigelow said. "And I think what's worse than having people be angry with you in politics, is having them pity you. And that's where I kind of worry this is going."
Panelist Matt Szafranski noted that Connecticut Republicans don't have much leverage, without control of the governor's office or either legislative chamber.
"At the same time, I have to believe that Connecticut Republicans also know that they're probably not getting anywhere near that majority that seemed so close after 2016, a long as Donald Trump is on the ballot with the rest of their party," Szafranski said.
Staying in Connecticut, we asked Bigelow about her own column this week, which lampoons those "Why We're Leaving Connecticut" letters in the newspapers.
This weekend, Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy is expected to formally challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Ed Markey in the 2020 Democratic primary. That brings the field of candidates to four. Shannon Liss-Riordan and Steve Pemberton previously joined the race.
And the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA are in the midst of a playoff run, with their eyes set on a league championship.
- Susan Bigelow, columnist, CT News Junkie
- Matt Szafranski, editor, Western Mass. Politics and Insight
