Letter: Beware of political hyperbole

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To the editor,

Tis the season for grilling, flowering plants, hay fever and political hyperbole. It is wise for the voter to be wary of feats of slight of hand in which candidates’ claims of courageous leadership vanish when the voter sees the broader picture.

Case in point: A recent mailing from state Rep. Leonard Greene, Jr. He declared that, “House Republicans Lead the Way on Capping Gross Receipts Tax,” an act that limits our, “Pain at the Pumps,” by not allowing the gross earnings tax to rise unchecked with the price of gasoline and other petroleum products. Rep. Greene states that, “I recently co-sponsored,” the bill and implies that this was a House Republican initiative with him as a key player.

Perhaps if Rep. Greene had had more room on his taxpayer funded flyer he would have noted that: The bill was introduced by Donald E. Williams, Democratic President pro-tem of the state Senate, and by Christopher G. Donavan, Democratic state representative 84th District; the bill was signed into law by our Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy; that Rep. Greene was one of 52 Democratic and Republican co-sponsors of the bill, a feat of political leadership that requires little more that signing one’s name onto the bottom of the bill.

We are only at the early stages of our political season here in Connecticut, and it would suit us well to examine closely the claims of candidates from both parties for accuracy and exaggeration.

Ned Grace

Beacon Falls