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The great mentioner has had a busy day. Republican National Committeewoman Leora Levy nomination to serve as the nation’s ambassador to Chile means Levy’s seat on the slavish Trump party committee may become vacant. Levy may retain her spot on the committee while her nomination is pending before the U.S. Senate. The pace of business in Washington may slow with the commencement of impeachment proceedings against the loathsome demagogue.

Levy, who lives in Greenwich, has in recent years listed her occupation as “retired” on campaign finance reports. She has been a prolific donor to Republican candidates and committees. She also gave $1,000 to lobbyist and former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd for his 1992 re-election campaign. That’s a curious donation because Levy, who with her family fled the murderous Castro regime. Dodd was often a supporter of anti-democratic Latin America regimes.

The competition to succeed Levy will be quietly intense. On Friday, the list of a possible successor, to be chosen by the state party committee, include state Representative Themis Klarides (R-Madison, Hartford, and Derby), Fairfield Republican campaign consultant Liz Kurantowicz, former party vice chair Catherine Marx of Hebron, state party committee member Amy Stefanowski-a full time Madison resident, and former party vice chair Annalisa Stravato, of Wilton.

There will be more.

It’s that time of year again. State Representative John Frey needs to replenish his airline and hotel fund–formally known as Leadership Connecticut PAC. Chris Christie, the Dannel Malloy of New Jersey, will headline an October 3rd “Evening of Cigar, Cocktails and Politics” at a Waterbury restaurant. Christie ended his second term as governor in 2017 with a 15% approval rating.

Public revulsion at Bridgegate, a failed presidential campaign, toadying to Donald Trump, and a remarkable beach photograph combined to cause the people of New Jersey to agree on one thing: they loathed Christie.

Frey serves on the Republican National Committee and uses most of the money his committee raised to pay for flights and accommodations to and from committee events. The minimum suggested contribution for next week’s event is $140 for individuals, $1,000 for federal PACs.

In 2018, according to campaign finance records, Frey spent $16,770 on administrative travel and lodging and made $12,000 in campaign contributions.

State Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan (D-Bethel) has strong words for Governor Ned Lamont as the freshman Democrat tries to put some distance between himself and the budget he supported. As a reminder, the budget included a tax increase on food of more then $100 million in the next two years. The language that Allie-Brennan supported and the non-partisan professionals in the Department of Revenue Services interpreted by its plain meaning is still the law of Connecticut.

The higher and expanded tax is a result of the language in the budget. Unless that changes, it could be imposed at any time. The meals tax is not rescinded. On Tuesday, the tax on prepared foods at restaurants and grocery stores will rise by 15%.

Allie-Brennan concludes his post with a warning to Lamont. “I will continue to be vigilant and hold the administration accountable for enforcing the law fairly and appropriately.” Duly noted on the second floor and in other places.

Governor Ned Lamont’s administration has been expressing anger at emails from Senate Democrats to their constituents claiming they convinced the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) to retreat from its initial interpretation of the grocery tax the Democrats slipped into the state budget.

The emails, like the one above, are garnering sneers and resentment in Lamont’s office and other arms of state government, Daily Ructions has learned. This is a great post to read to understand the contempt for the Senate Democrats’ claim and how it grows from a stalwart ally–the truth. The change in the interpretation came completely from within the executive branch. The Senate Democrats did not stop the grocery tax “again”, they created it with the plain language of their budget and it remains on the books.

Others note that the email fails to mention the Senate Democrats leave out a $100 million piece of the budget pie–their support for a regressive 15% increase in the sales tax on prepared foods sold in restaurants and grocery stores.

This is the sort of weasel maneuvering that a governor’s office keeps on file for future deployment.

Deputy Secretary of the State Scott Bates will select precincts from September 10th’s municipal primary for audits. The selection will take place at 11 a.m. on September 26th at the Secretary of State’s Office on Trinity Street in Hartford.

Bates doesn’t not come to mind as a guardian of good government practices. A growing scandal at the Connecticut Port Authority (CPA) over favoring friends and family with authority funds forced Bates, an ambitious Stonington Democrat, to resign from the board.

No word on whether any officials from the Croatian consulate will attend the precinct drawing. Bates does like some pomp when he’s on display.

Dear Ructions,

I need to quell an insurrection. The boss in our office continues to engage in ostentatious displays of wealth. No one among her subordinates enjoys her means—which do not come from her labors at our workplace. Her schedule is repeat with personal pampering appointments while everyone else is at work. She may have lit the fuse by letting people know she was pondering the purchase of a $20,000 handbag while on vacation at a city known as a center for international fashion.

The incident has roiled the ranks who detect a “let them eat cake” aura from our leader. How might a few of us defuse the seething resentment? We do not want anyone to become unemployed for mouthing off about Ms. Antionette’s expensive accoutrements.

Sign me,

Hermesed in America

Dear Hermesed,

The tyranny of the handbag continues. This cannot be what Louis Vuitton and Judith Lieber intended when they created their luxury goods long ago. Still, a moment is upon us and you are right to confront it.

The benefits of capitalism will never be extinguished by those who struggle to advance themselves. The danger comes from the garish clueless. Too bad the boss has no friend outside the office who could—as Her Majesty the Queen does for her prime minister—caution and warn against ill-considered acts.

Your decision not to send a photo of the revealing handbag suggests you may possess the discretion to bring a wary peace. Vulgarity on the march remains a potent force for ill, as each day reminds us. It is not easy to make a telling point to those who believe pricey consumer goods fill their empty core. 

One or two of you must go to New York and have a wander to Canal Street. There you will find replicas of the offending handbag. Scoop up an armful. Distribute them among the budding mutineers. On the rare day when the boss is in residence at work, plan a small celebration around a birthday or leave-taking. Have everyone carry her new handbag. (If it’s a Birkin or Kelly bag, it’s always open.) One of the jolliest among you should point out that someone gave the boss one too! What a sport she is for using it. If she insists on declaring hers is an original, you have done your best and the rebellion will take root.

If you are impaled on the horns of a dilemma and want to risk receiving advice, send a message to kfr@dailyructions.com. Identities will be protected. Messages may be edited.

Bars and restaurants should consider providing this service for customers. The Liquor Control Commission could introduce it to license holders.

It may be an awkward Sunday at the Aqua Turf Club. Democrats will gather to for the 2019 Ella T. Grasso Women’s Leadership Brunch. They’ll honor a Grasso successor, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill.

Bridgeport Democrat Wanda Geter-Pataky is another honoree. There may be some awkward moments. Geter-Pataky has been credited as a leader of the team that provided the disputed absentee ballots that gave Joe Ganim his narrow margin of victory over state Senator Marilyn Moore in the city’s September 10th primary. Merrill has joined in calls for an investigation of the casting of the absentee ballots in the Bridgeport race.

By her own account at this summer’s town committee nominating meeting, Geter-Pataky has become a Ganim ally after supporting his opponent four years ago.

That alliance proved crucial for Ganim on September 10th, according to OnlyInBridgeport.com.

More here on the investigation by the CT Post into dubious ballots.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill won’t comment on the scandal enveloping her deputy, Scott Bates, the former chairman of the Connecticut Port Authority. The three-term Democrat has found time to consult the contemporary music charts. She’s found inspiration in Lizzo’s popular “Truth Hurts” for a tweet on voter registration.

A Merrill tweet with a burglary theme has been deleted.

The nation’s attorneys general have been in prolonged litigation with opiod manufacturer Purdue Pharma. The attorneys general recently divided largely among partisan lines on whether to proceed with a settlement of claims. Republicans have favored the deal, Democrats have not. The partial agreement prompted the Connecticut-based company to file for bankruptcy as part of a resolution of claims.

Attorneys general of both parties agree that they like Purdue’s political contributions to their partisan associations. The OxyContin manufacturer has made generous donations to the Republican Attorney Generals Association (RAGA) and the Democratic Attorney Generals Association (DAGA) in recent years. Between 2014 and 2018, Purdue contributed $680,000 to RAGA and $210,000 to DAGA, according to the AP.

The contributions have not stopped though the company’s bankruptcy appeared imminent. Purdue Pharma has made contributions to both DAGA and RAGA this year. Daily Ructions has learned the company donated $25,000 to DAGA in 2019. This will require some explaining from the attorneys general.

The money is used by the organizations to support candidates and also to underwrite junkets to gatherings with deluxe accommodations that some of the attorneys general, including Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, appear to enjoy. The most recent DAGA event occurred at Vermont’s Equinox Golf Resort and Spa earlier this month. The group gathered at the Four Seasons in Denver in June. The attorneys general get to live for a few days like the Sacklers, the billionaire family that owns Purdue.

The Louvre erased mentions of the Sacklers, for whom a wing of the famed Paris museum was named, this summer. Purdue’s aggressive marketing of the OxyContin has long been seen as the drug that started the opioid epidemic plaguing the nation. The stigma of opioid manufacturing has not extended to political contributions from the Sackler’s company. In any other realm but politics, a company contributing large sums of money to lawyers suing it would raise urgent ethics issues. Like addicts themselves, the attorney generals would rather have the money and soil their reputations than do without the dough from the Sacklers.