A pat on the head

MANIFESTO

I fancy myself a social democrat in that I certainly have no problem in having my tax money go toward the public good. However, I'd just as soon that money not go toward an apparently insecure politician.

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell's administration came under fire Thursday, accused of spending taxpayer money for personal political purposes by hiring a University of Connecticut polling expert to conduct a study on issues, including whether citizens hold the governor in "high regard" as a leader.

The controversy involves a "focus group" of nine people in Wethersfield that dealt with opinions of the relative leadership qualities of Rell and a potential 2010 Democratic opponent, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal ...

"When asked if Governor Rell or Attorney General Blumenthal fit these [leadership] characteristics" such as "principled" and "consistent" "many of the participants agreed that Blumenthal fit the characteristics well. ... Most held the governor in high regard. ... We recommend emphasis not only on solving the budget deficit by eliminating waste, but also on the governor's vision for the future of Connecticut," [the UConn professor who ran the focus group] wrote to [two of the governor's aides] after the focus group.

This may or may not be a story that has legs, but it's so typical of our shallow and duplicitous governor who has no trouble gutting various state agencies and then tries to use taxpayer money in a secret attempt to feather her own nest.

Maybe, she's not the anti-Rowland after all.