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An Issue of Facts

As Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”

In his endorsement of Democrat Steve Gifford for state representative (“An Effective Advocate,” Oct. 13), North Haven Democratic Town Committee Chairman Attorney Walter Spader stated that “Republican leaders have steadfastly refused to take part in budgeting…” and instead remain “on the sidelines offering criticism without solutions.”

The Sept. 6 Waterbury Republican American editorial “Legislative Election-Are Democrats Running Scared?” stated that in 2015 the “Democratic legislative leaders and Gov. [Dannel] Malloy kept the GOP out of budget negotiations.” It also stated that “…as policymakers revised the 2016-’17 budgets, Republicans made two budget proposals that had similar aims. The GOP was again excluded from budget talks.”

These reports are confirmed further by the Hartford Courant’s June 4 article, “Senate, House Approve $40 Billion Budget” and The Wall Street Journal’s Oct. 19, 2015, article “Connecticut Gov. Malloy Calls for Bipartisan Talks to Close Budget Gap.”

Michael P. Maturo

North Haven