As a hard-core Republican, I believe Joe Visconti should drop out of the Governor’s race. His presence can do nothing but hurt the Republican nominee Tom Foley and if Dan Malloy holds the Governor’s mansion, Connecticut will no longer be on the ropes: it will be down for the count. We simply cannot afford to have a state government that is basically a criminal enterprise – shaking down taxpayers to pay off corporate cronies, creating six-figure sinecures for political insiders and pushing our young people out of the state. Having said that, Joe Visconti has earned the right to run. Connecticut is one of the few states in which Party Insiders determine who will be allowed on the ballot. Thus, prospective candidates must appear before numerous Town Committees in the hope of getting their support. Visconti played by the rules. I will never forget at one meeting where the Town Chairman introduced him as Joe Bentivegna (I was running for Congress in the Fourth District). I pointed out to the Chairman that although we both had Italian names, Joe Visconti was the tall handsome guy with good hair and I was the short, bald guy with thick glasses and big ears. We were not that hard to … [Read more...]