After state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal called for imposing a "windfall profits" tax on oil companies, his Republican opponent criticized him for it.
...
"He has no authority or power to set tax policy," said Farr, who is running an aggressive underdog campaign against the four-term incumbent. "He's out making demands instead of doing his job. He's a rouge attorney general. He just does whatever will get him more press."
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"I've been more proactive than any attorney general in Connecticut history," Blumenthal said. "For 15 years, apologists for lawbreakers have accused me of seeking excess publicity. Part of my job is to tell people how to protect themselves from scams and con artists. I do that through the media."
Discouraging excess profits at the expense of consumers, also would be part of his job, Blumenthal said, in calling for increased taxes on oil companies. Farr argued such a tax would be passed on to the consumer and make gasoline more costly. (Lucas)
Blumenthal has certainly been more, um, visible than just about any other attorney general in recent memory, and he has pushed the boundaries of the office significantly. Maybe it isn't the place of the attorney general to call for a windfall profits tax on oil companies. However, the people of Connecticut seem to like Blumenthal just fine where he is. He is consistently one of the most popular political figures in the state. The last poll measuring such things, taken last year, gave him an approval rating of 73%. For a guy who has been in the same office since 1990, that's pretty good.
Still, it's good to see some debate about Blumenthal and his record. The article is worth reading, just for a little more information about a race that usually stays below the radar.
Source
Lucas, Fred. "Gloves come off in attorney general's race." Danbury News-Times 25 September, 2006.
10 comments:
Farr seems to be out on a Quixotic limb. Does he really think he can win?
Meta Question for Genghis:
Somone on the last thread claimed front-pagers can see IP addresses. Is this true? (I post a lot from work.)
My understanding was always that Blogger didn't have that capability, and that my privacy was 100% safe.
It's not that big a deal, but I would probably stop posting from the office. I'm not sure my boss would be happy with my blogging.
Blumenthal, seeking too much publicity? Really?
You know what they say: "The most dangerous place in CT is in between Dick Blumenthal and a camera."
Seriously, he is a very proactive AG and he does push the limits of his statutorily granted authority. For the most part, however, I think it has been to the benefit of the people of CT.
He just needs to tone down the rhetoric on his lawsuits, because he always comes on strong in the beginning and then is nowhere to be found at the end when things do not go well.
Remember how he was going to bring the ACC to its knees? How'd that work out? It cost us $2 million to win $1 million.
Good tip bc. I especially like looking to check who is on. Interesting morning - someone from the US Senate (Lieberman or Dodd, hmmm, I wonder), people from California, students at UConn, Trinity, and my favorite, the Univ. of Georgia.
Bluecoat--
I'm familiar with the sitemeter. That it reveals that someone from my company is "on" isn't that big a deal to me.
What I do want to know is whether individual comments can be traced or linked to a specific IP address. That would moderate my blogging habits.
Anonymous,
We can't track the IP of commenters.
students at UConn
guilty as charged...
GC,
Thanks for the info.
Looking back it was Turfgirl who said she could see IP addresses. Why would she lie about something like that?
Genghis Conn said...
We can't track the IP of commenters.
Ah nuts you had to ruin the myth; we could've had some people really paranoid for a few days.
Bluecoat: With respect to the article you posted. The Attorney General serves as the ATTORNEY for the Department of Correction and his actions here -- criticizing his own client -- are the very reason that Bob Farr's comments SHOULD (but probably won't, for other reasons) resonate. The AG is playing pure union politics, raising his own view of the office -- mouthpiece for his pet causes -- above that of his office's statutorily imposed duties: representing state agencies.
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