By ALEX TAYLOR

WEST CORNWALL — U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd hasn’t visited West Cornwall since 2004, but he and U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5, will be stopping by the picturesque village Saturday for a public meeting organized by the Democratic Coalition of Northwest Connecticut.

The meeting is scheduled at the West Cornwall Consolidated school, 5 Cream Hill Road, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., according to coalition chairman Harriette Dorsen.Murphy, who was traveling from Washington to Connecticut on Friday, said the economy would be the topic of discussion.

Murphy said that is all he is hearing from voters.“The economy. The economy. The economy,” Murphy said. “A lot of people out there have lost their job and are looking for help to find a new one. Others out there are anxious about how long they’re going to be employed.”

That, and populist anger at the TARP bank bailout.“People are furious that a lot of these banks have taken the money and handed it out as bonuses and salaries to their executives,” Murphy said of TARP, which he voted for.

“I’m just as angry as they are. People are rightly skeptical of the first round of money which hasn’t gone to business owners. I don’t know why Bush administration gave that money out with any conditions.”

In recent weeks, Murphy has touted several programs from the federal stimulus package, including a tax cut he said averaged to $800 per family as well as several transportation and energy projects.Murphy also touted an $8,000 refundable tax credit for first-time home buyers that was part of the stimulus package.

“Not enough people out there know about this,” he said. “I really believe that if you restart the first-time home buyer’s market, you will unlock what is a very-broken real estate market and get people buying homes and spending money again.”

The program ends Dec. 31.A spokesman for Dodd said the senator is looking forward to visiting West Cornwall. The five-term senator and Senate Banking Committee chairman has come under criticism for his closeness to the financial industry and questioned over his two mortgages with Countrywide Financial Corp.

Dorsen said she expects an exchange between the senator and voters.“I think this is going to be a good chance for the senator to talk to voters and address any questions or criticism,” she said.Murphy said it is too early to predict the 2010 election.

“I’m not a political analyst. I think it’s a little too early to be handicapping a race that won’t happen for a year and a half,” he said, citing Dodd’s accomplishments as an advocate for the state.

“He clearly has some work to do between now and then, but the more occasions he has to talk to people in informal settings like the one we have Saturday, the better off his political prospects will be,” Murphy said.

State Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-30, said that while the stimulus has helped Connecticut, he worries about future deficits.

“Certainly from the state’s perspective, the stimulus is helping us balance our budget,” he said. “We’re going to get $2 billion in the next two years, which is certainly welcome news and comes at a time when we need it the most.”
He added: “There has to be a limit to deficit spending. I don’t want the cure for today’s illness to burden our country’s future.”