Politics & Government
Logan insists the Fifth Congressional District seat is in the picture
Former state senator garners Republican nomination in bid to unseat Congresswoman Hayes
George Logan Jahana Hayes Joe Biden Nancy Johnson
Eric Berthel Joseph Polletta Thomas Meskill
By Scott Benjamin
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NEW BRITAIN – It has been said that the way to succeed in politics is: “When you drive at night, never drive fast, never drive slow and never drive in the middle of the road with a split personality. And it is better to be a left- or right-winger, but never on the left or right of a college protest swinger, like an in-betweener.”
Apparently, that is nonsense.
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Former state Sen. George Logan, a product of Trinity College in Hartford - the same school that produced George Will, Tucker Carlson and Jesse Watters – understands that you not only have to be available to have your picture taken, but encourage people to join you.
“If you want to come up, I’ll have a picture taken with anyone,” Logan said after the 191 delegates in the cafeteria at New Britain High School unanimously endorsed him on Thursday, May 5, as the Republican nominee in the Fifth Congressional District.
Can a picture be worth a thousand votes?
They had just given him a standing ovation after an 11-minute speech in which he criticized two-term Democratic incumbent Jahana Hayes of Wolcott for voting “100 percent” of the time with Democratic President Joe Biden. Logan - who recently moved to Meriden – said the result has been the worst inflation in more than 40 years, a higher crime rate and a flawed open border policy.
He also noted that the national Republican organizations have taken an interest in the district “that hasn’t been seen in decades.”
For at least 20 minutes Logan posed for pictures with groups of delegates. In these Republican circles he is the hottest thing this side of the Hurdy Gurdy Man.
Can he become the first Republican to win an election in this sprawling district, which stretches from Newtown to Salisbury, since Nancy Johnson of New Britain was re-elected in 2004??
Will he become the first Trinity graduate to capture a congressional race in Connecticut since Republican Thomas Meskill of New Britain left the now-defunct Sixth District in 1970 and was elected as the state’s 82nd governor?
Hayes won in 2020 by about 40,000 votes. This election cycle, the Sabato Crystal Ball has regularly rated the district “Likely Democrat.”
However, the National Republican Committee is so committed that in March it established a community center in downtown New Britain to serve as a headquarters for Logan and an outreach post for voters in a city where the Democrats have a lopsided edge in registered voters.
The Hardware city is only 13.36 square miles – about half the land size of Roxbury. But it has more than 72,000 people – making it the eight largest population in Connecticut.
Logan said there has been “a curiosity” about the center in the two months since it opened.
State Sen. Eric Berthel (R-32) of Watertown, the convention chairman, said, “There is a large Spanish-speaking population in this city.” Logan’s family came to the United States from Guatemala.
Twenty years ago, Dave Boomer, who managed two of Johnson’s campaigns, told The Litchfield County Times that to win the district a Democrat needed to annex a combined plurality of at least 15,000 votes in the five cities – Waterbury, Danbury, New Britain, Meriden and Torrington. He added that it wasn’t going to happen in that 2002 campaign, since Johnson was from New Britain and could win or at least come close in the Hardware City.
Could Logan win or keep the plurality low in New Britain the way that Johnson did regularly a generation ago?
Berthel, who served with him for four years in the state Senate, said Logan excels at interpersonal communication.
“This guy has the uncanny ability to not only listen, but to take what you said and give you an intelligent and meaningful response. ,” he explained in an interview with Patch.com. “He’s better at that than just about any person that I know.”
However, seeking anonymity some months ago to speak candidly about the campaign, one Republican operative in the Fifth District told Patch.com that Logan faces other hurdles in trying to unseat Hayes, who has a large fund-raising edge. The operative said that over the years medium-sized suburbs in the metro Danbury area and the Farmington Valley as well as some small towns in the Northwest Corner of Litchfield County have trended more Democrat. Combined, three different Democrats have held the seat since the 2006 election.
Waterbury Democratic Town Committee Chairman Kenny Curran told Patch.com in February that when he managed then-U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy’s 2010 campaign in the district, it was a Republican year, but Murphy prevailed, which proves that the voters in the district are independent-minded.
In his acceptance speech, Logan commented that Hayes, the 2016 national Teacher of the year, has a’s voting record has left the “moderate to conservative voters with no voice.”
If Logan is elected, would he buck Kevin McCarthy, the current Republican leader in the U.S. House?.
Berthel insisted that Logan is bipartisan.
“He had to be in the district that he represented,” in the state Senate, since it trended Democratic, added Bethel.
State Rep. Joseph Polletta (R-68) of Watertown, said while nominating Logan that he has “real world solutions.”
Biden reportedly is considering signing an executive order retiring some of the massive college student loan debt, which according to an Investopedia estimate currently stands at $1.75 trillion. The Hill has reported that the president wants to start at $10,000 per borrower.
“I’m a fiscal conservative,” said Logan in an interview with Patch.com. “Nothing is for free. [As a result of] the spending from the Biden Administration you’re already seeing what is happening with inflation and gas prices. This is just another example.”
Politico has reported that the U.S. Supreme Court has written a draft decision that would overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on abortion.
“It’s just a draft decision,” said Logan. “The Supreme Court has not rendered a decision yet. I want to wait and see what the final decision is.”
Logan underscored that he is pleased that U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has launched an investigation into the leaking of the draft decision to a news organization. He said there could be harmful ramifications for the country if that occurred regularly.
The Federal Reserve Board just announced its biggest rate hike in 22 years.
“That’s how the federal government tries to stave off a recession,” Logan remarked.
Can it produce a soft landing?
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Logan replied. “What we need is to stop the reckless spending” such as the $1.9 trillion stimulus package the Biden signed and Hayes supported last year.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that there was a record trade deficit in March.
Does Logan support free trade, such as the United States Mexico Canada Agreement that Republican former President Donald Trump signed, as well as the Trans Pacific Partnership that Democratic former President Barack Obama never got to the floor of Congress?
“Absolutely,” he replied, regarding his embrace of the general “concept” of free trade.
“We have to make sure that those things don’t hurt the United States of America,” he explained regarding the negotiation of terms.
Berthel said the Republicans are poised for a banner election. Inflation has resonated with voters, and at the state level, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont of Greenwich and his party’s majority in the General Assembly have endorsed a revised budget that is projected to have a $1 billion deficit a year from now.
Berthel, who first was elected as a Watertown Board of Education member 11 years ago, commented, “I think this is our best opportunity in all that time.”
Logan told the delegates, “It is ours to lose. We can’t let that happen.”
More pictures will be taken.
Resources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/03/student-loan-biden-hewitt/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/s...
https://www.investopedia.com/student-loan-debt-2019-statistics-and-outlook-
WABC Dennison commercial, Chuck Leonard, December 27, 1968.
