President Barack Obama has invited Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy to sit in First Lady Michelle Obama’s box during the State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
According to the White House, those invited to sit in the First Lady’s box “represent the progress we have made since the President first delivered this speech seven years ago – from the brink of a second Great Depression and two costly wars to an economy that is growing and renewed American leadership abroad.”
“The guests personify President Obama’s time in office and most importantly, they represent who we are as Americans: inclusive and compassionate, innovative and courageous,” the announcement from the White House said.
Last fall, according to the Quinnipiac University survey, Malloy’s approval rating had plummeted to 32%, the “lowest score for any governor in the nine states surveyed” in 2015.
With the state’s Democrat-led legislature and fully Democrat congressional delegation, the Hartford Courant – which had endorsed Malloy in his re-election bid in 2014 – referred to Connecticut as “an incubator for progressive policies.”
The White House, in fact, touts Malloy’s pursuit of “many of the progressive priorities that the President laid out to make America stronger.”
The announcement of Malloy’s invitation to Obama’s final State of the Union address continues:
From his criminal justice reforms, including a “Second Chance Society” initiative that emphasizes successfully reintegrating individuals with nonviolent offenses into society, to common-sense gun safety laws following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, Gov. Malloy has balanced important social reforms with strong economic priorities: Connecticut led America as the first state in the country to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 and pass legislation guaranteeing paid sick leave. Gov. Malloy also oversaw the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act, driving down the state’s uninsured rate to historic lows and delivered the best job growth since the 1990s…
Despite advancing liberal social justice policies – such as Medicaid expansion for Obamacare, one of the nation’s strictest gun control laws, transgender bathrooms, and driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants – the Quinnipiac poll showed what the Hartford Courant referred to in October as “a stunning rebuke” of Malloy by Democrats, Republicans, and independents for raising taxes and mismanaging the state’s budget.
“Gov. Dannel Malloy’s job approval rating has plummeted to 32 percent, close to the historic 24 percent low hit by disgraced former Gov. John Rowland in January 2004, and Gov. Malloy is not in the middle of a corruption scandal,” said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D. “Malloy is getting hammered on the critical pocketbook issues, taxes, the budget and the economy and jobs.”
“Only 36 percent of voters are satisfied with the way things are going in the state, one of the lowest scores since Quinnipiac University started asking this question in 1997,” he added.
The poll shows Connecticut voters sharply disapprove of Malloy, 58-32 percent, with 4-1 negative scores for his management of taxes and the state’s finances.
Only 58% of Democrats in the state approve of Malloy, while 86% of Republicans and 61% of independents disapprove. Men disapprove of the Governor at 62% and women at 55%.
A full 75% of Connecticut voters give Malloy a “not so good” or “poor” rating on the state’s economy, with only 5% of voters finding Malloy’s policies have helped them.
A Gallup poll in 2014 found Connecticut had dropped to dead last place in the nation in job creation, as workers reported the worst climate for hiring. CNBC also ranked the state among the five worst states for business in 2014.
In an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, Bloomberg News found that Connecticut is one of the states people are fleeing the most.
The downward poll numbers and trends for Connecticut under Malloy, however, are mirroring those for Obama.
As Breitbart News reported last week, a new poll from FoxNews finds Obama preparing to leave office with every poll finding his approval rating underwater.
Breitbart News reports:
In this latest Fox poll, 61 percent of voters say they are unhappy with the direction of the country. Only 38 percent say they are largely satisfied. This is consistent with most other recent polls. A CNN/ORC poll last week found that 75 percent of Americans were “dissatisfied” with the governing of the country, with 69 percent at least “somewhat angry” about the situation.
Only 23 percent of Americans describe the economy as “good” or “excellent” in the Fox poll. More than three-out-of-four Americans, 76 percent, describe the economy as “fair” or “poor.” Just 27 percent say America is strong and confident today.
“This isn’t simply the weariness of voters with a President entering his eighth and final year, but a growing sense that he has failed on every major issue and leaves office with America weaker than when he arrived,” the report states.
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