By this Wednesday, Connecticut will have its Democratic nominee for governor. Governor Ned Lamont received the party’s endorsement at the State party convention in May. Because State Representative Josh Elliott received more than 15% of the delegate votes at the convention, he automatically qualified for the primary.
When Josh spoke to the Ridgefield DTC in December, he stated unequivocally that he would support the Democratic nominee for governor. Irrespective of Josh’s position on the various policy issues he and Ned have debated, I was heartened to hear Josh say that, and I’m confident that Ned will do the same.
And now it is time for all Democrats to come together and unify behind the nominee.
The late Ed Koch used to say, “If you agree with me on 9 out of 12 issues, vote for me. If you agree with me on all 12, see a psychiatrist.” As Democrats, we will never agree on 100% of the issues 100% of the time. Our party, like our country, is too big and too diverse for that. And we see what happens to political parties that try to enforce ideological orthodoxy in all areas. Respected PBS/CNN columnist Mark Shields famously said that you win elections by finding converts, not searching for heretics.
But we can say without fear of contradiction that while you might disagree with Ned on one issue or Josh on another, the Republican candidate would be infinitely worse on ALL of the issues.
Electricity prices too high? The MAGA answer is to burn more fossil fuels, which are MORE expensive than renewables, to say nothing of the climate damage they continue to cause. Groceries and healthcare costs skyrocketing now, with more pain to come? Blame the party that can’t say “no” to a would-be king and his enablers. The list goes on and on.
In the weeks ahead, our candidates and our volunteers will be fanning out across Ridgefield to talk to voters, listen to your concerns and ask for your support. We would love for you to join us. But most important, we ask for unity in supporting our candidates up and down the ballot in November.