“It gets late early around here,” or something like that, is what Yogi Berra once said, referring to the adverse sun conditions in left field at the old Yankee Stadium.
Although his line had nothing to do with politics and government, one could say a similar sentiment is starting to develop at the state Capitol, where many are speculating that there’s already not enough time left to get everything done that needs to be done. The session is scheduled to end June 5th — about five weeks from now — and the so-called “big issues” are still unresolved: tolls, sports betting, casino expansion, recreational marijuana, and of course, the budget.
These are big, complicated issues, and there are genuine disagreements between Democrats and Republicans as to the best way forward on each. There are even many disagreements within the Democratic caucuses — and between Democratic legislators and Gov. Lamont — about the best way forward. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
The governor is still new at his job, and there are many legislators who are new at theirs. And these are big, complicated issues with long-lasting ramifications for Connecticut.
Say what you want about Gov. Lamont, but he has been consistent in saying that he wants to collaborate and not dictate. Well, collaboration takes time, especially when you’re trying to achieve something resembling consensus on these big, complicated issues.
(Quick sidebar on collaborating as a negotiating style. It’s fine until it doesn’t work. Then he’s going to have to start dictating.)
As for House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin) and Majority Leader Ritter (D-Hartford), and Senate President Pro Tempore Marty Looney (D-New Haven) and Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), they too have difficult jobs. Their caucuses are diverse, and they have a lot of new members, some of whom came to Hartford on a progressive blue wave.
So, what needs to happen between now and June 5th if the legislature and governor are going to get all these big issues, including the budget, done and have the session adjourn on time?
Democrats are in control of the legislature and the governor’s office, so the first question is: Do the Republicans genuinely want to be a part of getting something done, on any of these issues? Only Republicans really know that, but it’s up to Democrats to give them a chance to come to the table — on reasonable grounds.
Democrats shouldn’t back down on their big-picture principles — voters put them in charge for a reason — but the details of how to implement those proposals should be on the table for discussion. If Republicans don’t want to cede those big-picture principles, then bipartisanship is not possible.
When I worked for Gov. Malloy, I went to go see then House Republican Minority Leader Larry Cafero about the budget. Cafero is a good guy, and we had been friendly for years. My job was to see if he had any real interest in negotiating a bipartisan budget. When I asked him the question, he said something like “tell the Governor if he does these 10 things we might have something to talk about.” My response? “Larry, if he does those 10 things it’ll be a Republican budget. We’re Democrats, remember? Elections have consequences.”
Cafero laughed and shrugged his shoulders. I laughed too, because Cafero was good at making people laugh. But I appreciated his honesty, because it meant we weren’t going to waste time chasing votes that weren’t there.
Lamont and Democratic leaders should do the same thing: give it a shot, but don’t waste time chasing votes that aren’t there. It’s a trap, and a time-consuming one at that.
What about internal disagreements amongst Democrats in both caucuses? They’re already happening. But so what? They always have, and they always will. They’re ok when they don’t get personal; they’re not ok when they do get personal.
Democratic leaders’ jobs are to see what they can do to get to consensus.
Sometimes it’s possible, oftentimes it’s not. When it’s not, then it’s time to see what you need to do to cobble together 76 votes in the House and 19 in the Senate (or 18, assuming Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz will break the tie and vote with the Democrats).
What about disagreements between Lamont and the Democrats? Again, they’re already happening. And again, that’s fine as long as they’re not personal. At some point, the governor’s going to have to draw some lines in the sand, and stick to them. Legislative leaders, and their caucuses, are going to have to decide if they can live within those lines. If they can, then most if not all of the big issues will get done on time. If they can’t?
Well, it could be a long summer.
So is it getting late, early? Not yet.
But crunch time’s almost here.
Roy Occhiogrosso is the managing director of Global Strategy Group in Hartford, a public relations and research firm. He also served as a senior advisor to former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
