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.
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.
