When I first started writing about politics in Connecticut, I can honestly say that there were many more Republicans who excited my admiration than there were Democrats. It was 1979, the wave of interesting new progressive Democrats was coming, including that Bill Curry guy you hear so much about, but the entrenched Democratic leadership was anything but progressive. It was calcified, blinkered, and in too many cases, dirty. They'd had too much power for too long.
When you looked around the state legislature, you saw Republicans, like Rusty Post, Larry DiNardis, Jerry Stevens, Chris Shays, and my personal favorite, John Berman. These people were reformers, they wanted what I wanted--a good clean government and a functioning democracy. Does the party still have the same caliber of leadership today.
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GUESTS:
- Jerry Labriola is the Connecticut Republican State Party Chairman
- Isaias Diaz is an attorney and associate at Dressler Strickland in Hartford and Chair of the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission
- Pam Sawyer is a Republican State Representative in the 55th District, covering the towns of Andover, Bolton, Hebron, and Marlborough
- Erin Stewart is the Mayor of New Britain
