Doctor Bentivegna is an ophthalmologist living in Connecticut. He has written numerous op-ed pieces for The Hartford Courant and The New York Times regarding health care, tort reform, and the political situation in Haiti.

Joseph Bentivegna, M.D.July 12, 2018

Analyzing the Republican Candidates for Governor

July 12, 2018 Connecticut Republicans will choose their nominee on August 14 and no candidate has emerged as the front runner. As there are few ideological differences, most voters are trying to determine the strongest candidate to take on the probable Democratic nominee – Greenwich multimillionaire Ned Lamont. I have not decided yet, but below is my impression of the strengths and weaknesses of each. Mark Boughton. It is hard to speak to Mark Boughton and not develop an immediate fondness for the guy. Cordial and receptive, he is an accomplished politician who has governed Danbury as mayor for nine terms and continuously wins reelection easily, even though Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-1 margin. He is a former public school teacher, state assemblyman and served our country in the military. He has a plan to eliminate the state income tax and said he would “lie down on Route 84” before allowing tolls. He is the endorsed candidate, meaning he won the majority of the delegates at the Republican Convention. Ironically, his main weakness is his success. With the state in such financial … [Read more...]

Comments

Marjorie says

July 13, 2018 at 8:11 am

Republicans have a deep bench!

Reply

President Trump Versus the Ruling Class

June 3, 2018 Every society has a Ruling Class. In the United States, it is the super wealthy and those with Ivy League educations – especially those with degrees from Harvard or Yale. The leaders of our bureaucracies, major newspapers, opinion journals, think tanks, courts, corporations, universities, media conglomerates and political class come from one of these two groups – or ambitious individuals who have ingratiated themselves with these groups. This was not necessarily a bad thing, as long as our Ruling Class was competent. But in the mid-twentieth century, the value system of our Ruling Class began to deviate with that of the ruled. Our Ruling Class became for more hedonistic, greedy, cowardly and arrogant. It became socially acceptable for powerful men to dump their wives for younger more nubile women. Judicial decisions that bypassed democratic process removed God from public schools, allowed pornography to proliferate and legalized abortion. The media portrayed those with conservative family values as sexist buffoons. Drug use … [Read more...]

Fallout from Republican Gubernatorial Race May End the Convention System

May 9, 2018 A major reason for Connecticut’s political dysfunction is that it remains a Convention state. In most states, prospective candidates are only required to gather a reasonable number of signatures to have their name placed on the ballot. Not in Connecticut. Every town has a Democratic and Republican Town Committee. These committees chose delegates to attend conventions that pick candidates. To win the party nomination, a candidate must receive over fifty percent of the delegates’ votes. To earn the right to primary, a candidate must receive fifteen percent of the vote. Thus, prospective candidates spend their evenings addressing town committees, weekends going to dried-out ziti fundraisers and every other waking hour meeting delegates individually in order to secure their support. This is a tedious and time-consuming process and also a colossal waste of time; as it does little to increase the candidate’s profile with the vast majority of prospective voters. Political outsiders who attempt to run are only welcome if they can … [Read more...]