WASHINGTON, D. C. - Congressman Chris Murphy released the following statement after President Obama's State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday night.

"President Obama came into the House chamber tonight, saw Republicans and Democrats sitting side by side, and chose to play the role of a uniter. In order to win the future, we've got to be hungry for the next great ideas to put people to work. Connecticut workers are leading the way when it comes to innovation, in fuel cell technology and defense innovation."

Murphy said that to make economic progress here we've got to stop sending jobs overseas. He said the best way to do that is close loopholes in our Buy American Laws.

"I would have liked to have heard the President talk more about how to promote American manufacturing in ways other than trade agreements," Murphy said.

"I'm pleasantly surprised that President Obama dedicated so much of his speech to education. The achievement gap in Connecticut's schools is the largest in the nation, and it is crippling our future economic growth - fixing it will be part of the cure our economy so desperately needs."

Congressman John Larson expressed similar statements in his statement released following the State of the Union Address.

"President Obama has called on Congress and our nation to move forward an agenda centered on out-educating, out-building, and out-performing the rest of the world. He said 'this is our time' and I couldn't agree more. We must build upon our successes and prepare our nation for a stronger foundation," said Larson. "It is time for us to create jobs and grow our economy here at home. It's time for us to work together so our concerns are that of the ironworker in East Hartford, the teacher in Bristol, and the small business owner in Torrington."

Mark Greenberg, a Republican candidate in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District race, today issued the following statement on President Barack Obama’s Reversal on the Reconciliation Process:

“This is another example of the politics of convenience that permeates the Washington establishment,” Greenberg said in a written statement. “In 2005 then-Senator Barack Obama lambasted the use of reconciliation on the Senate floor, saying that it ‘does not permit debate’ and is ‘the wrong place for policy changes.’ “Now that it suits his purpose, shutting down debate is just fine. This is the kind of political position-shuffling that causes people to lose faith in their government.”

“Under The Rules, The Reconciliation Process Does Not Permit That Debate. Reconciliation Is Therefore The Wrong Place For Policy Changes ... In Short, The Reconciliation Process Appears To Have Lost Its Proper Meaning. A Vehicle Designed For Deficit Reduction And Fiscal Responsibility Has Been Hijacked...” - (Sen. Obama, Congressional Record, S .14150, 12/20/05)

“In a memo to the heads of federal agencies and executive departments President Obama clearly stated that 'Government should be transparent,' but Reconciliation is anything but transparent and it should not be used to circumvent the will of the people,” Greenberg said. “Washington has become a place of career politicians willing to say anything and abandon principles in order to further their political agenda.”

President Obama’s 2005 comments related to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today issued the following statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to hear a legal challenge brought by Greenwich resident Cort Wrotnowski claiming that President-elect Barack Obama was ineligible to be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States because his citizenship status was in question.
“The Supreme Court of the United States has appropriately decided not to intervene in a case with very little, if any legal merit. Clearly, President-elect Barack Obama is a born citizen of the United States over the age of 35 and won a majority of the votes on Election Day November 4, 2008. Therefore, he meets the constitutional requirements to serve as President of the United States. Following yesterday’s vote, President-elect Obama won 365 Electoral votes – plenty more than enough to be sworn in as our country’s 44th President.
This legal challenge was based on erroneous information and was legitimately dismissed at the state level. I am relieved that the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court found no reason to question the view of our own jurists in Connecticut, who found that President-elect Obama was eligible to become president and as such had every right to be on our state’s ballots and certified as the winner of Connecticut’s 7 Electoral votes.”

The national political Web site politico.com did a brief analysis on presidential election voting trends in Connecticut.

It shows that Republicans lost the most ground over the last four years in the 5th Congressional District, where freshman Congressman Chris Murphy easily won re-election to a second term, and Litchfield County supported Obama this year after being the only county in all of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island four years ago to support Bush.

CLICK HERE for the link.

We will immediately get back to Northwest Connecticut politics, but couldn't resist one piece of for-what-it's-worth speculation for political junkies about President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet.
Look to Democratic governors who are prevented by their states' system of term limits from running for re-election in 2010. There are 10 of them, and some are considered rising political stars, not the type to fade into non-political life.
They include key early supporters of Obama, such as Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, key late supporters of Obama, i.e., Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, and big industrial/key swing state personalities, i.e., Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Gov. Ed Rendell, who could bring something to the table in terms of economic policy.
Who wants to bet that Obama will rescue some of them before they have nothing to run for in two years?

The every-other-year speculation that Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will run for governor started basically the day after this year's election.
Maybe - but doubtful - we'll find out if 2010 is finally the year when Blumenthal appears on "Face the State" on WFSB Channel 3 at 11 a.m. Sunday. Topics of discussion, according to the station, will be "Obama's Big Win, Blumenthal in 2010 and the state Republican party."
Conventional wisdom is that, once again, major potential Democratic candidates are somewhat paralyzed in actively seeking the governorship until Blumenthal makes up his mind.
Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, who thought about running last time, and Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, who lost in the primary last time to New Haven Mayor John Destefano, both might fall into that category.
Outgoing Speaker of the House Jim Amann is not in that category - he is openly running for the seat already.
God help the Republicans if Gov. M. Jodi Rell decides not to seek a second full term.
The other factor for major candidates could be U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd's seat, which is up in 2010 also.
Who knows how the mortgage controversy that is increasingly sliming his reputation will impact his decision on whether to run again. Or maybe President-elect Barack Obama, who had once considered Dodd for vice president, will tap him for some cabinet appointment or ambassadorship.
If Dodd quits, Blumenthal might run for the Senate. And would Ned Lamont take another shot, so he could be the junior Senate teammate of his buddy Joe Lieberman?
And you also need to factor in a bunch of bored congressmen possibly being interested in either Dodd's seat or running for governor, including Chris Murphy, Joe Courtney or John Larson.

It's official. John McCain has conceded, and Barack Obama is the next president of the United States.

Barack Obama won Connecticut easily today, but at least a few towns in historically Republican Litchfield County bucked that trend.
So far tonight, John McCain has won in Goshen, Harwinton and Morris.

It's getting very ugly ... The prospect of an Obama victory, or something, has brought out the worst in some.
Volunteers campaigning on behalf of Barack Obama and other candidates at the polls in Torrington today report people driving by and shouting racial slurs as well as a threat on Obama's life.
CLICK HERE for the story.

Please allow me to take off my reporter hat for a moment and speak to you as a registered voter in the city of Torrington.

It took me a long time to make up my mind, but when I fill in my bubble today at Vogel-Wetmore School I will cast my vote for Democrat Barack Obama as the next President of the United States.

The reason comes down to a simple one: I find him inspiring. He doesn't necessarily inspire me...yet. But people who really like him and support him say he inspires them. He makes them feel like change is coming. The world is bad but when he takes over the White House, people are certain things will start to turn around. The country needs that right now and because of the hope he instills in many Americans he has earned my vote.

Will he make a good president? I don't know. What I do know is he can't be any worse than what we've got now.

I respect John McCain. The guy is a war hero, filled with loyalty and respect for America. Those are great qualities for a human being to posses. But for me it's not enough. For me that doesn't necessarily translate to a great president.

The pessimist in me thinks America is so messed up that neither candidate will make a huge difference in his four or eight years in office.

Obama is a big step in the right direction though. People believe in him. People believe he is the answer. If people start thinking positive, believing that good things are right around the corner, then maybe things really will turn around.

Like Andy Dufresne from Shawshank says, "Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things."

Please vote today.

Walt Gogolya

It's the calm before the storm. Doors are getting knocked on across Connecticut and, though many are predicting an Obama win, the question arises: "What if McCain takes it?"
Race riots? If a Broward County, hanging chad-type situation robs Obama of the Oval Office, a la Al Gore in 2000, can we expect another Al — Sharpton — to raise all sorts of a ruckus?
Locally, Ruwet looks like she'll retain her seat, though the major upset could come in the 63rd district.
Bill Riiska. It took guts for him to throw his name into the hat, robbing Rigby of an all-but-certian win. He probably won't, owing to the difficulty of the situation (voters must actually scribble his name into the little box. He's probably having a tough time getting his name known at all). But what if he wins? Write-ins have won before in this state and others, though with only six days to campaign, his chances are slight. It would be the upset of all upsets. Dewey beats Truman? Hah! Riiska beats Rigby would take the cake.

CLICK HERE for a story about a judge rejecting an attempt to throw Barack Obama off the ballot in Connecticut due to all those spam email rumors about whether he was really born in the United States.

From a reader ...

"We live in Winsted and over the last 2 weeks our Obama / Biden sign has been ripped out and thrown in the road once and today a black pick- up truck stopped in front of our house pulled out the sign threw in the back of the pick-up and drove away. This was witnessed by our neighbor who called the police and reported the incident, but she thought it was a McCain sign. We have wonder if this is being done throughout the town and if it is politically or racially motivated. "

Here's a letter to the editor The Register Citizen received that raises several interesting observations - - one about the theft of campaign signs, the other about the trend this year of businesses placing political signs in their windows.

Dear Editor:
As we swing into the last week, the political signs abound pretty much anywhere that’ll capture eyes and votes. I wonder how many votes are actually captured or swung because the viewer says, Wow! A McCain sign. I never thought to vote for him, but seeing this 24x18 rectangle of 4-mil corrugated polypropylene has opened by eyes. God bless this epiphany.
Driving the streets of Torrington I’ve noted a decided lack of Obama signs. I questioned personnel at the Democrat HQ on Main, and sage councilman Michael Colangelo and the astute Michelle Cook candidate for the 65th seat, told me they can’t keep up with the thievery. Doesn’t surprise me. McCain/Palin supporters are apparently as desperate as their pseudo-maverick idols.
I walk the Riverside Avenue, Norfolk Road, Migeon Avenue loop almost daily and see lots of McCain/Palin signs. Personally I don’t care what someone sticks in their own lawn, they can die and plant themselves for all I care. But when a business stumps for a political favorite, that’s a different story to me. Five businesses in that area have deemed it appropriate to use their land to display Republican signs (I’m Republican myself) so as an anti-support gesture I’m making it my goal to not patronize any of them now or in the future. Call me Vito Corleone but whatever happened to, It’s not personal it’s business? Whatever happened to the idea that the business of business is business? If any Torrington small business wants to mix profit with politics they can do it without me.
Since I don’t normally patronize any of these but the family style eatery, my one-man- one-family protest will be fairly meaningless, but it’s important to me. The businesses I will be supporting down the road will be the ones that don’t serve up my eggs and hash on a placard. Nothing ruins a meal, or insurance policy, or straightened fender, or dropped tree, or electrical wiring like a political message. And that’s my message. Call it a no vote, or better still, call it my upfront 1-ply message.

Regards,
Paul Bentley
Torrington, CT 06790

Click below to check out The Register Citizen's candidate endorsements so far this year:

Still to come, the District 65 House seat coming tomorrow (Sunday), and the District 8 state Senate seat, coming Tuesday.

EDITORIAL: Roraback for senate
By far the easiest choice for us to make in endorsing candidates this election season is in 30the District of the State Senate, where incumbent Sen. Andrew Roraback stands out as the rarest of politicians.

EDITORIAL: Murphy for Congress
Unseating long-serving and well-respected incumbent Nancy Johnson two years ago was no small task, and voters did not capriciously entrust the job to the then-young and earnest state senator from Southington, Chris Murphy.

EDITORIAL: McCain for president
Today we are endorsing Sen. John McCain for president, not because of the tremendous amount of experience and wisdom he brings to foreign policy and national security in this post-9/11 world of terroristic threats, but because of his approach to the economy and government's role in our everyday lives.