STEFANOWSKI UNCENSORED: Bob Tells Tea Party Extremists that a Gov. Stefanowski Would Be Like “Christmas Morning” For Them

 

Hartford, CT – Bob Stefanowski has avoided public events, refused to hold a single press conference the entire campaign, rebuffed requests to meet with editorial boards, and refuses to take reporters’ questions. But in a lengthy, rarely-seen video from the primary campaign from the Quiet Corner, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski shares his unfiltered opinions with a room of tea party activists — showing all of Connecticut where he really stands on the issues.

In the video, Stefanowski promises members of the extreme right that he would “make some real hay” and “go through everything,” vowing it “would be like Christmas morning” for the far right (1:04:58) if he were to become Governor and Republicans took back the Senate and House.

Already-released excerpts from the video identified several presents that would be under the tree for Stefanowski’s radical base: repealing the common-sense gun safety law adopted after the Sandy Hook tragedy (1:04:00), abolishing the minimum wage (37:32), and allowing parents to expose their children and their children’s peers to life-threatening, vaccine-preventable diseases (38:40).

The full, 75-minute video — parts of which appear to have been edited out by the Tea Party — captures additional uncensored promises from the Republican candidate: “shut down” New Haven and other sanctuary cities (42:50), block a responsible paid family leave plan (38:15), support President Trump (1:06:55), take unilateral executive actions to bankrupt Hartford (1:08:05), and more. It also captures Stefanowski making private promises sharply different from those he has shared publicly with voters and the press–for example, he vows in the video to veto a bill (00:20:28) he told the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association he supported.

“This complete video is nothing short of totally shocking, and it’s proof that Bob Stefanowski is a radical Trump Republican who plans to decimate Connecticut values. This is who he really is — and voters need to know it,” said Democratic Party spokesperson Christina Polizzi. “A Stefanowski victory would be a great day for the Tea Party — and an extremely bad four years for Connecticut.”

 

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Minimum Wage (00:37:34)

Q: Minimum wage. They put a bill on your, to increase–
BS: Let the private sector decide what the right level to pay people is — not the government. We gotta get the government out of our life.
Q: Even if they just wanted to raise it 50 cents?
BS: No. No. Because the next year it’ll be a dollar and the next year it’ll be five dollars. It’s a slippery slope.
Q: Alright, see, I personally agree with the New York Times in 1987 that said the proper minimum wage is $0 per hour.
BS: Supply and demand!

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Guns (00:44:04)

Q: Do you believe that schools should be gun-free zones and who do you believe should be making this decision, the feds, the state, or the local BOEs?
BS: I think the problem with gun-free zones is the people who have the guns in those zones are the bad guys and not the good guys . . . But gun-free zones can be a bad thing.

(01:04:01)

BS: In my view, 1161 is not a good bill. I will veto any legislation that makes it tougher on gun owners.
Q: Check! (Chortles and applause)

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Sanctuary Cities (00:42:50)

Q: I leave the good ones for last. Sanctuary cities.
BS: No! [audience clapping] . . .
Q: What do you do about the cities that want to ignore the laws?
BS: We cut off funding. We hold them accountable, and we shut it down. New Haven? Shut it down.

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Laying Off Employees (00:18:10)

BS: I’ve been negotiating for 30 years. You need a credible threat, and this Janus case helps us a lot. I’ll sit down with the leaders and I’ll say, “We either do my way, or we do it the hard way.” And we’re going to file Hartford for bankruptcy. And they’re gonna say, “There’s a new sheriff in town.” You want to take it all the way to the courts, we’ll do it . . .

(01:04:29)

BS: The SEBAC has another three years of no layoff… the last two years of my term, I can lay off and I will, because we got to privatize some of this stuff.
Q: Wait, do the unions get a say over that? Can you turn around and just say, “We’re going to take that job, I’m going to put an RFP, we’re going to get a bid?”
BS: Well, right now you got a four-year no-layoff provision, but by the second part of my term I can start laying people off, and I’ll do it!

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Paid Family Leave (00:38:15)

Q: Paid family medical leave?
BS: No. Let the market determine this.

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His Personal Wealth (11:37)

BS: First of all, I’m not a rich guy.

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Anti-vaccination (00:38:42)

Q: So a big concern for many is the state-mandated vaccinations.
BS: Yeah.
Q: So parents want the right to decide for themselves whether to vaccinate, whether to take a subset of vaccinations. They don’t like the list of 30, 40, 50 vaccines that the government can pump into kids.
BS: Yeah.
Q: So, do you believe that states should be mandating that?
BS: My starting point is it should be decided by the family . . .
Q: You know, it’s gonna come down to, if your kid’s not vaccinated, you can’t go to a public school. So, you think the state should dictate that or should local BOEs handle that?
BS: I think it depends on the vaccination, I mean, you know we shouldn’t be, be, be dumping a lot of drugs into kids for no reason . . . In general, I’m against the government telling you to do anything with your family. They’re usually wrong.
Q: Yes, they are . . .
BS: I don’t think we should be forcing people to inject a ton of chemicals into their kids, but I’d want to see more about it.