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As a 40-year resident of Connecticut I can tell you that the Democrat strangle-hold on Connecticut politics during that time has done great damage to many parts of the state. Hartford, once a thriving small city, is now becoming a basket case.

A majority of the population are poor. Hartford schools are terrible. A 42% high school graduation rate - compared to 95% statewide. Crime is rampant. The Hartford murder rate is 4x the national average. The auto theft rate is 3x the national average. Per capita income is under $14,000. and under $30,000 for families. The once-bustling downtown is gone. As in so many small cities across American, the major stores and small shops have fled to the suburban malls. The Hartford Courant, once a fairly prestigious daily newspaper (two Pulitzer Prizes) is just another liberal rag, aping the New York Times in it's skewed view of the news and always backing Democrat candidates in every election.

It's telling that two-thirds of Hartford's registered voters are registered Democrat and the entire state, long controlled by a government employee union-subservient legislature votes Democrat in every election. Republican governors come and go, but they are always RINOs and can't override the legislature, even if they wanted to...which they usually don't. Oh, the insurance companies still keep their home office addresses in Hartford - and a few buildings, but most insurance company employees work outside of Hartford in 'satellite' office parks where the real work is done. There have been some outrageously expensive taxpayer-funded 'projects' that have brought some nice buildings to Hartford but if the streets aren't safe, schools are abysmal and jobs are few, the city will never revive because the people and the neighborhoods that once made Hartford a pleasant place to live, work and shop is gone - never to return.

Hartford was killed by Democrat politics that drove out the working middle class and brought in the dependent class and all their attendant problems. Constant infusions of taxpayer money to 'fix' Hartford are a scam on Connecticut workers that pay those taxes. The mayor of Hartford, Eddie Perez, was recently convicted on 5 corruption charges and promptly resigned. His successor is Pedro Segarra, an openly gay native of Puerto Rico.

Hartford is a classic example of how socialist policies can destroy a city - and a nation. Let it be a warning.