Want to keep subs? Stop attacking Trump

It appears our congressmen and senators are up in arms over the proposed elimination of one attack submarine in President Trump’s budget plan. A scathing letter penned by Connecticut’s two senators, directed to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, demands to know why.

Let me try, and perhaps save the Defense Department the cost of a stamp.

Trump is “Biglee” annoyed with the entire Connecticut delegation and this Commander and Chief holds a grudge. The Democrats in our anti-Trump delegation are astute at improving their personal political positions in the party, but it often comes at the expense of state residents.

The Magnificent Seven consists of Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy along with veteran Congresspersons John B. Larson, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes, newcomer Jahana Hayes, and our own Second District representative, Joe Courtney.

These seven Democrats have been going for Trump’s throat in full throttled attack mode, resulting in the overly vindictive president taking great glee in denying the state access to resources and/or potential future military jobs. Politics 101 clearly states: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

The story made me reflect and question on just how much our Connecticut federal representatives have accomplished.

Blumenthal and Murphy are very comfortable with appearing, seemingly nightly, on national cable news networks, throwing their considerable clout around whenever they recognize a crisis that can be used to the Democrats’ advantage. Media-fed firestorms involving the Kavanaugh hearing, Russiagate, the Ukrainian debacle and failed impeachment — along with the misguided outrage over the death of Iranian Major General Qassim Suleimani — all featured Connecticut’s two senators, front and center, leading the charge against the president in MSNBC and CNN appearances. And what has all the noise brought for Connecticut residents? Murphy and Blumenthal have perfected the art of the squeaky wheel, but do they ever get the grease?

To the senior senator’s credit, maybe out of guilt, he is the primary sponsor of nine bills that were enacted with a majority focusing on military improvements. Kudos for that for sure, but remember, in addition to holding more press conferences than any other Connecticut politician, Blumenthal is ranked sixth overall as the wealthiest member of the United States Congress, with a net worth around $100 million. And, by the way, his family owns the Empire State Building.

Maybe Blumenthal’s limitless prosperity would be easier to digest if the senator had succeeded in making the Nutmeg State a better place. To be fair, most senators have a net worth well above what the average working stiff would consider rich. The three wealthiest members of congress are all Republican. Still, there is something lacking in Blumenthal’s priorities.

Connecticut’s junior senator, Murphy, has served since 2013 and has been the primary sponsor of five bills, none of which moved the needle in the slightest for Connecticut. Murphy’s latest escapade has him dancing dangerously close to a violation of the Logan Act after his meeting with an Iranian official was exposed. The Logan Act is a United States federal law that criminalizes negotiation by unauthorized American citizens with foreign governments having a dispute with the United States. Murphy was never authorized to speak to a foreign leader on behalf of the country, so that sure looks like a clear violation of the law.

Meanwhile, Murphy was overthe-moon giddy while talking to CNN’s Jake Tapper about the prospect of Bernie Sanders being the Democratic candidate for president. Murphy fails to realize that Bernie wants to eliminate all health insurance carriers and go strictly with a plan of Medicare for all, essentially eliminating the approximately 60,000 insurance carriers and related full-time employees in Connecticut that are reliant on the insurance industry. How is that good for Connecticut?

As a group, the five sitting Democratic congresspeople and the two senators have been the primary sponsor of 33 enacted bills. Ninety-eight years of federal experience in Washington and a total of 33 enacted bills with almost zero impact on Connecticut. (Information about bill sponsorship was taken from the govtrack.us website.) If you remove post office dedications and currency mint manipulations, you’re talking about one piece of enacted legislation every four years for all seven of them. That is shameful. I thought the goal was to better the lives of Connecticut residents.

Stop playing dress-up, decked out in $4,000 suits, face covered in pancake makeup — I’m talking to you, Richard — and answering softball questions from Anderson Cooper. Our elected representatives must put aside what’s best for their political profiles and think about what’s best for us.

Lee Elci is the morning host for 94.9 News Now radio, a station that provides “Stimulating Talk” with a conservative bent.