Senator Judith G. Freedman (R 26) today sharply criticized Democratic leadership of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee for its pattern of misinterpreting the rules to prevent committee votes on Republican amendments.

“Connecticut residents who are paying attention – and thanks to CTN, there are a lot of them – have to be asking themselves what the Democrats on the Appropriations Committee are afraid of. The Democrats have the numbers to control this committee, actually all of the legislature’s committees, along with the General Assembly, yet they have been working mighty hard to make sure they don’t have to vote on our amendments. Clearly, voting our ideas down isn’t good enough. They want to prevent Connecticut residents from hearing an honest debate on these very important issues. How is that in the public’s best interest,” said Senator Freedman.

Senator Freedman directly challenged the Democrats during today’s meeting of the Appropriations Committee when it became clear that they were using their majority numbers to rule out voting on any Republican amendment that made their members uncomfortable.

“When I asked what rules they were using, they could not give me a clear answer. That is because they are making up the rules as they go along to suit their purposes. This would be wrong at any time, but it is especially horrific today when we have a 5 p.m. deadline to complete our business for this legislative session. This is a horrible abuse of power,” said Senator Freedman.

Senator Freedman offered to read the Declaration of Independence during the committee meeting to remind Democrat legislators of their obligation to the people who elect them.

 “Not surprisingly, they didn’t seem all that eager for me to do that. But, I hope they get the message regarding the “establishment of an absolute tyranny over . . .” They are actually far worse than King George,” said Senator Freedman.