Where’s the outrage?
A literal haze of factual, indisputable information ready to be explored and utilized was effectively ignored by the GOP and underreported or avoided altogether by the media.
Can you hear that? It’s the deafening sound of Republican silence, occasionally sprinkled with faint chatters of inconsequential, random, meaningless lip service.
Two weeks ago this column focused on an array of bizarre business arrangements, sanctioned by Gov. Ned Lamont, which directly or indirectly benefited hedge funds and other entities associated in some capacity with his wealthy wife, Ann. Documentary materials that raise questions, if not downright controversial issues, were presented, delivering information on no-bid contracts, huge profits and multiple Cayman Islands accounts: all of the moving chess pieces neatly coupled together with sinister levels of political influence. A literal haze of factual, indisputable information ready to be explored and utilized was effectively ignored by the GOP and underreported or avoided altogether by the media. Why so?
Maybe the subject matter is too complex, with way too many moving parts, to be adequately absorbed into our collective psyche. How can you expect anyone to know anything about “Oak HC/FT,” “Sema4,” “Truepill,” “1Life,” “Lemonaid Health” or, for that matter, have any susceptibility or awareness pertaining to the potential manipulation of hedge funds and the involvement of Pennsylvania state employee retirement accounts?
Hell, it took me five separate explanations from the stories’ original sleuth, Tony De Angelo, before it made sense to me. (De Angelo is the managing director of the Paragon Trust Company, an accounting and financial services company in Pomfret and New Haven.) Maybe the ugly truth is that it’s simply not sensational enough to move the proverbial needle. Maybe we may need more sex to make it worthwhile. Possibly.
In any event, I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that if this exact same scenario presented itself and Florida’s governor, Ronald Dion DeSantis, were in the story’s crosshairs, both Lester Holt and Anderson Cooper would be racing down to the Sunshine State, banging on the front door of the governor’s mansion demanding an explanation. Or imagine the impact if DeSantis’ wife, Casey, were using tax haven locales for family profit generated from murky municipal sources? I am quite sure we would be seeing a quite opposite trajectory.
Obviously, the well-oiled political monstrosity of Democratic politics is fortified, secure and isolated, and unless the story has glamor, flash, sex (or a Republican), the “60 Minutes” stop watch will find a softer landing spot.
However, I am at a loss as to why the local political hierarchy continues to tacitly accept the Lamont situation without outrage and immediate and aggressive action. Officials are elected to guard the welfare of the electorate, and the longer silence persists, the mind will continually pose added questions. Nonetheless, it is certain that this is one situation that will not be destroyed by neglect. To my knowledge, The Day paper, my radio station 94.9, WTIC in Hartford and the Hartford Courant are the only outlets that have deemed this topic worthy of more than a whisper. Everywhere else, all you hear is “crickets.”
Meanwhile, the dollars will run with increasing speed as the mainstream media and the besotted legislative produce additional red herring issues in the hope this all goes away. Unfortunately, elephants in a living room can only travel so far.
Maybe I have a warped craving for honesty and political sincerity. Maybe you feel similar and hope for simple straight-forward transparency. I defer to the wisdom of the words of John Lennon : “I’m sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites / I’ve had enough of reading things by neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians / All I want is the truth/ Just give me some truth.”