Botelho campaigns against socialism as a non-politician

Brookfield CT

22 December, 2021

5:53 AM

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Michelle Botelho George Logan Joe Biden Donald Trump Barack Obama By Scott Benjamin DANBURY – "Well to me it's not about Democrats or Republicans anymore," Republican congressional contender Michelle Botelho said when asked about trying to reduce the Democratic pluralities in the cities - Waterbury, Danbury, New Britain, Meriden and Torrington. "If you're happy with the current trajectory of the way this country is headed, with out-of-control spending, inflation and foolish policies that will cause the decline of our country and no more middle class then by all means vote Democrat or even Republican in name only," she declared. "I am the non-politician that will fight against all that and put Connecticut and America first," exclaimed Botelho In an interview with Patch.com, Botelho, 51, of Danbury said she is running in the sprawling, 41-municipality Fifth Congressional District to "stand up to this government socialism." that has grown under Democratic President Joe Biden. "The government cannot be totally in charge of everything," said Botelho, who is challenging former state Sen. George Logan of Ansonia for the GOP nomination. The seat is currently held by two-term Democrat Jahana Hayes of Wolcott, who was the 2016 national teacher of the year. Botelho, who has worked as a tutor and a para-legal, said she opposed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that Biden signed this fall. Instead, she said that the states should pay for the road repairs by trimming bureaucratic costs and not by increasing taxes. She said she also is against the proposed $1.8 trillion Build Back Better proposal from the Democrats that is in limbo after U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WVA) said he would not sign on. "They're trying to turn this country into Europe," she declared. Former W. Bush White House Political Director Karl Rove in his Wall Street Journal column stated that according to the Congressional Budget Office Build Back Better would add "$3.01 trillion" to the federal budget deficit, a much larger figure than what the Biden Administration had advertised. Botelho said that she also opposes the president's plan to boost the corporate tax rate from 21 to 28 percent. "If you increase corporate taxes it is going to have an impact on jobs and an impact on consumers," she remarked. She praised former Republican President Donald Trump for slashing taxes and taking a hard line on free trade. "The economy grew," she explained. "There were jobs for people." In February 2020 the unemployment rate was at 3.5 percent, the lowest it had been since 1969. Inflation was at 2.3 percent and 65 percent of the people surveyed in a CBS News poll thought the real estate mogul would win a second term. However, at that time, weeks before the pandemic, the federal government was running annual budget deficits of more than $1 trillion a year. "I am definitely concerned about the debt," Botelho said. There hasn't been a balanced federal budget since September 2001. Botelho commented, "Under [former Democratic President Barack] Obama there was a decline in the economy. There were not as many jobs." However, the unemployment rate, which soared to 10 percent in 2009 in Obama's first year in office during the Great Recession improved to 4.7 percent when he left the White House in January 2017. Obama also lowered the annual federal budget deficit to about $600 billion by the end of his tenure. In a recent C-SPAN poll of journalists and presidential scholars, Obama was ranked ninth among the 45 former presidents in the category of Economic Management. Trump was ranked 34th. The current unemployment rate of 4.2 percent under Biden is lower than it ever was under former Republican President Ronald Reagan or Obama, and in the same ballpark as it was under former Democratic President Bill Clinton, who lowered it to 3.8 percent. However, CNN has reported that, apparently largely due to the soaring costs for gasoline and groceries, Biden's poll ratings on handling the economy are even lower than those of former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, who suffered from high inflation and unemployment. In a phone interview with Patch.com John Morris of Litchfield, who has the longest current tenure on the Republican State Central Committee, said "the biggest issue in the Fifth Congressional District is inflation. In particular, it is difficult for the lower income people who have to pay a much bigger share of their salary for gasoline when they don't have much money to begin with." Botelho explained that "we are [partly] being forced into inflation because" of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package that Biden signed this spring. In November inflation was at 6.8 percent, the highest rate in 39 years. Remarked Botelho, "A lot of it [the inflation] is due to closing down our oil and gas pipelines, the biggest sector of our economy, energy. I believe you cannot run an economy/country on electric, solely. Europe is failing right now because of it. I've seen it first-hand. At the same time handing over 80% of our manufacturing and manufacturing of EV batteries for all the electric vehicles to China." Voters in the Fifth District have elected nine congressmen – five Democrats and four Republicans - since 1972, none of whom have served in the district for more than six years. The Democrats under three different congressmen have held control since the 2006 election. Over that span, the Republicans came closest when it was an open seat in 2012, and former state Sen. Andrew Roraback of Goshen annexed 31 of the 41 municipalities but lost 51.3 percent to 48.7 percent to Democratic former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty of Cheshire. She was elected largely on the strength of her pluralities in the cities. Brett Broesder, the Executive Director of Democrats Serve, which has endorsed Hayes, has said that the Fifth District is the only one in Connecticut that is considered to be a swing district. Hayes has garnered slightly more than 55 percent of the ballots in each of her two races, which he said is impressive in a competitive district. Morris has endorsed Logan and indicated that he is the likely nominee. Morris said he has not met Botelho, commenting that she seems "almost invisible" in the district. A photograph of Logan at a political or social event or hobnobbing with customers at a restaurant appears almost daily on his campaign Facebook page. He has been endorsed by eight Republican town committees, more than half of the 41 Republican Town Committee chairmen and by a raft of current and former elected officials in the district, which stretches from Newtown to Salisbury. Botelho said she has spoken to three Republican town committees and expects to escalate that number after New Year's. She said that she been "always interested in politics" and following her entry into the congressional race she did canvassing this fall for Danbury Republican Mayor Dean Esposito's campaign. Botelho is a graduate of Northeastern University in Boston, which has one of the premier Cooperative Education work-study programs. She said that she acquired valuable experience and helped offset some tuition costs by working in law offices, the Department of Labor and the Department of Commerce. Botelho and her husband, Jim, a business owner, have lived in Danbury for 21 years and have a daughter and a son, both in college. Sacred Heart University Government Department Chairman Gary Rose, who has written books on Connecticut politics, has told Patch.com that former Republican President Donald Trump hurt GOP candidates in the 2018 and 2020 elections, partly because suburban women, who had been voting in equal numbers for candidates of both major parties were starting to trend toward the Democrats. "Connecticut is not Trump country," he has said. However, Morris said the former president is no longer an issue in the Nutmeg State. "The Democrats in some of the recent [2021] local elections tried to make it be an issue about Trump and they looked silly," he said in a phone interview with Patch.com "They tried it in New Milford and Brookfield, and it didn't work. Trump is not president any more, their guy is in there." On a separate issue, Botelho states on her campaign web site that she is concerned about the teaching of "critical race Theory and Equity (code for redistribution) ideology claims that America is bad and racist." She declared, "It divides us and takes away our trust in our nation (each other). Not to mention, it is a national security threat. When we break down society, we break down the rule of law." Botelho continued, "Instead of fighting the biology that makes us men and women and undermining the nuclear family, let's teach our children proper science and strengthen the family. Our children need to learn to love God, one another, and their country." References: https://www.wsj.com/articles/t... https://www.c-span.org/preside... https://www.wsj.com/articles/this-inflation-defies-the-old-models-11638978991 SHU professor insists state should reduce individual taxes | Brookfield, CT Patch https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/20/joe-manchin-kill-joe-biden-agenda-or-open-way-build-back-better/ https://www.michelleforconnecticut.com/ https://patch.com/connecticut/... https://patch.com/connecticut/... https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/02/23/poll-two-thirds-trump-will-win-reeelection/4850074002/ Biden's economic ratings are worse than Carter's - CNNPolitics Jen Psaki Tries to 'Fake' Out the CBO's Build Back Better Score - WSJ