Congressman John Larson: Chris Dodd's Apologist and Face of All That Is Wrong In Congress

In a debate, or should I say, a forum, on WFSB's Face The State Sunday, long-term incumbent Democratic Congressman John Larson, who represents Connecticut's First Congressional District, gave viewers a crash course in exactly what is wrong in Washington, D.C. - primarily, him.

Squared off against West Hartford Councilman and GOP challenger Joseph Visconti in a forum moderated by WFSB's Dennis House, Larson began by defending his pal Sen. Chris Dodd. To most other residents of the USA with working IQs Dodd is a primary cause of the financial collapse that is costing taxpayers billions, and should be investigated.




Joseph Visconti


While others are calling for Dodd's scalp, along with that of Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, New York Senator Charles "Chuckles" Schumer, and let's not forget Barack Obama, what we got Sunday from Larson was a staunch defense of Dodd. Rather than seeing him as the recipient of thousands upon thousands of dollars of donations from those he should have been regulating, Larson says Dodd "has shown leadership! I'm proud of his efforts!"

Wow. That has to be the quintessential example of misplaced loyalty!

Then we had Larson claiming that he has made Congress accessible to the average citizen, and by that I guess he wasn't talking about campaign contributions. I guess. In the context of that statement, Larson said he has had more meetings and forums with residents of the 1st Congressional District than any other Congressman.

Now, I don't know if he meant that no other Congressmen held that many forums in their districts, or that no other Congressman held that many forums in Larson's district.

But I do know that when Visconti launched his campaign in May, the mayor, the general public and even the media in Torrington said they simply had never seen Larson in their community. Period.

Maybe he counts it as a forum when he has a few pals over to his place in East Hartford for Sunday afternoon football?

Then, in a commentary that had me rolling on the floor laughing, Larson said he has been responsible for bringing jobs to Connecticut, even as every other politician in the state is screaming from the rooftops that jobs are leaving in record levels!

Where has this guy been hiding? The collapsing job market in Connecticut is one of the major items on the state and local campaign trails, and Larson says he has been bringing jobs to our state? Where are they?

He even had the temerity to say he had "fought for" the Air Force tanker contract that would have used Pratt & Whitney engines and meant plenty of work right there in his own home town! But wait! That contract did not go to Boeing and therefore is not using Pratt engines. Larson forgot to mention that little factoid.

Even though an appeal has been lodged, Pratt workers need jobs NOW! Next year, or next decade is not cutting it. Where on earth are all those First Congressional District jobs that he is claiming?

I also liked it when Larson bad-mouthed George Bush for giving tax breaks to corporations, then later said he has pushed for $1 billion in corporate tax breaks himself. Hypocrite.

But the best of Larson's bogus claims is that he is an advocate for veterans.

Of course he is advocating for veterans; he has to after standing mute when Nancy Pelosi tried to steal the honor of this generation's vets, just as Larson's Congressional pals did in the Vietnam era. Pelosi couldn't bring herself to admit that the surge worked in Iraq, she was wrong, we have won, and terrorism is on the run there.

So she said that our troops didn't really win, "the Iranians let them."


John Larson and Nancy Pelosi in a "descriptive" moment.


If Larson wants the respect of the veterans' community, he isn't going to get it by handing out rebate checks. Most of us don't want to be on the government dole.

But when we win a war, even one that someone like Larson - or Joe Biden - ducked out on, we don't want Congress screwing it up, falsely labeling us as cold-blooded murderers, and denying us the respect that we deserve for our efforts.

If Larson really wants our respect he has to grow a backbone and tell a loud-mouth loser like Pelosi, the worst Speaker of the House of Representatives in history, to stow it when she is deliberately denigrating the honor, dignity and accomplishments of our military.

Oops, too late. The moment came, he stood mute, and it went on down the road.

Don't you just love these politicians who stayed in college during Vietnam then found something else to do after they graduated, but now just love us vets to death? That gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling.

But I would have felt much better if he had torn into Pelosi instead of letting her set the agenda.

Gee, thanks John. What a guy! What would we do without you?

Well for one thing, we wouldn't owe so much in taxes, which means we probably wouldn't need rebates in the first place. How's that for out of the (Congressional) box thinking?

So, what else did Visconti nail Larson on?

Let's see, the Constitution! Visconti gave Larson a miniature copy and suggested he read it! I thought that was a nice touch.

Then there was the issue of rewriting the IRS tax code to reduce the burden it has placed on individual taxpayers, as well as businesses. Visconti has some pretty well-thought-out ideas on that one, including allowing homeowners and renters to deduct energy costs such as heat and electricity from their income taxes. Personally I'd like to see them make it through Congress.

All in all it was quite the forum, even if Larson did get at least 60 percent of the air time compared to Visconti. It really didn't work in Larson's favor, though, since every time he opened his mouth Larson showed how completely out of touch he is with what is going on in the First District, the state and presumably the country.

There are a lot of people in this country who say they are not going to vote for any incumbents on either the state or national levels. Watching John Larson on Face the State Sunday gives us a perfect example why.