The Connecticut Democratic Party has removed the names of Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson from the title of its annual fundraiser dinner, reportedly because the two presidents were slave owners.
The Jefferson-Jackson-Bailey (JJB) Dinner will now be known as the Connecticut Democratic Progress Dinner.
For the past 67 years, the event had honored the two presidents and former Democrat Party boss John Bailey.
“Let’s work together to show the rest of the state exactly what it means to be a Connecticut Democrat,” said Party chairman Nick Balletto when he introduced a resolution for the name change last July, reports the Hartford Courant.
Bailey’s name was removed as well, though the Democrats in the state have kept an award in his honor.
“As members of the Democratic Party, we are proud of our history as the party of inclusion,” he said. “Democrats have led the way on civil rights, LGBT equality and equal rights for women … It is only fitting that the name of the party’s most visible annual event reflects our dedication to diversity and forward-looking vision.”
Connecticut Democrats are in control of the entire state legislature, the governor’s mansion, and the entire congressional delegation.
Currently, state lawmakers are staring at a more than half-billion dollar budget deficit.
Last fall, according to the Quinnipiac University survey, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy’s approval rating had plummeted to 32 percent, the “lowest score for any governor in the nine states surveyed” in 2015. The Hartford Courant — which had endorsed Malloy in his re-election bid in 2014 — referred to Connecticut as “an incubator for progressive policies.”
Despite advancing liberal social justice policies — such as Medicaid expansion for Obamacare, one of the nation’s strictest gun control laws, transgender bathrooms, and driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants — the Quinnipiac poll showed what the Hartford Courant referred to in October as “a stunning rebuke” of Malloy by Democrat, Republican, and independent citizens for raising taxes and mismanaging the state’s budget.
“Gov. Dannel Malloy’s job approval rating has plummeted to 32 percent, close to the historic 24 percent low hit by disgraced former Gov. John Rowland in January 2004, and Gov. Malloy is not in the middle of a corruption scandal,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D. “Malloy is getting hammered on the critical pocketbook issues, taxes, the budget and the economy and jobs.”
“Only 36 percent of voters are satisfied with the way things are going in the state, one of the lowest scores since Quinnipiac University started asking this question in 1997,” he added.
The poll shows Connecticut voters sharply disapprove of Malloy, 58-32 percent, with 4-1 negative scores for his management of taxes and the state’s finances.
Only 58 percent of Democrats in the state approve of Malloy, while 86 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of independents disapprove.
A full 75 percent of Connecticut voters give Malloy a “not so good” or “poor” rating on the state’s economy, with only 5 percent of voters finding Malloy’s policies have helped them.
A Gallup poll in 2014 found Connecticut had dropped to dead last place in the nation in job creation, as workers reported the worst climate for hiring. CNBC also ranked the state among the five worst states for business in 2014.
In an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, Bloomberg News found that Connecticut is one of the states people are fleeing the most.
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