Politics

Head Scratcher: Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy Raised Taxes, Increased Spending, Demonized Guns. So Why Isn't He More Popular?

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Dan Malloy Is Progressives' Dream Governor. So Why Isn't He Winning?

From immigration to gun control and the minimum wage, Connecticut's Dan Malloy signed into law a wish list of lefty priorities. But he's locked in a tie with his Republican challenger.

That's the actual headline and sub-head to a Daily Beast piece about Dan Malloy, the incumbent governor of Connecticut whose re-election is looking pretty shakey.

Higher taxes on the rich? Check. A state earned income tax credit for the poor? Check. A higher minimum wage? Connecticut was the first state to raise it to $10.10 an hour after President Obama called for it. There is more: mandatory paid sick leave, repeal of the death penalty…strict new gun control laws, and massive new spending on public education, higher education, and infrastructure.

Full Beast piece here.

Here's a hint as to why Malloy is in a pickle: Most of the things he did, especially when it comes to taxing and spending more, are genuinely unpopular. Indeed, just 23 percent of Americans (a recent high, by the way) see themselves as liberal.

He's not in a tight race despite his legislative victories but because of them. You know, kind of like the way Barack Obama's first two years of complete free run led to a GOP-controlled House.