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The Wheelhouse: Gauging The Direction Of The State Budget And The Democratic Party

Chion Wolf (File photo)
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Connecticut Public Radio
State Sen. John Fonfara, co-chair of the legislature's Finance Committee, says a proposal to raise the capital gains tax for top wage earners has been shelved for now, but could resurface before the end of this year's session.

For all the recent attention bestowed on Democratic Party progressives, there's new evidence so-called centrists aren't going to just fade away.

Not with former Vice President Joe Biden taking a commanding early lead over the many 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls running to his left. National polls released Tuesday cast Biden well ahead of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and others vying for the party's nomination.

In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont scored his own early victory this week over progressives in the legislature clamoring for him to raise taxes on the state's wealthiest residents. The General Assembly's Finance Committee is backing away, at least temporarily, from a 2 percent capital gains tax hike for top income earners.

With weeks, if not months, of state budget negotiations, still ahead, there's plenty of time for liberals in the legislature to wrestle back momentum. The same thing goes in the presidential race.  The question is where should they pick their battles.

This week, we set out to gauge where the true center lies in Democratic Party politics on issues ranging from taxes  to healthcare.

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