Former Republican Congressman Chris Shays Endorses Harris and Trashes Trump

                           August 22, 2024

     Former Congressman Chris Shays served Fairfield County honorably for twenty years until he was defeated by Democrat Jim Himes in 2008. He was the last of Connecticut’s moderate Republicans to hold a Congressional district. Like Nancy Johnson and Rob Simmons, he was swept away by the inexorable Blue Wave that has engulfed the Northeast in the past fifty years.

      And like many moderate Republicans, he makes no bones about his disgust for Donald Trump and is a prominent member of Republicans for Harris.

     He recently endorsed Kamala Harris stating: “I am excited about her. I am not just happy. I am just thrilled... It’s honesty versus deceit.” He even flew to the Democratic Convention in Chicago to show his support for Harris.

      But Mr. Shays should be willing to take his endorsement a step further and explain the advantages a Harris presidency has over a Trump presidency. Let’s look at some of the issues.

    Harris has pledged to put price controls on groceries. Does Mr. Shays agree with this? Will this control the price of groceries, or will it result in empty shelves as it has done in so many other countries? She even wants to give $25,000 to poorer individuals for a down payment on a house. Moderate Republicans tend to be fiscally conservative and respect the marketplace. Mr. Shay’s should explain why these policies are preferable to President Trump’s plan.

     As “border czar,” Harris did little to prevent millions of illegal immigrants from entering the country. While Harris now states she will protect the border, does Mr. Shays believe her? Or does Mr. Shays believe ignoring the rule of law and misleading the voters is preferable to forcing corporations to pay higher wages to Americans? Is this preferable to Donald Trump’s plan to seal the border and deport those here illegally?

    Harris is pledging to forgive many students loans, ignoring the Supreme Court decision that this is not within her power. Does Mr. Shays believe that it is fine to ignore a Supreme Court decision? Does Mr. Shays think it is fair for those who did not attend college but work and pay taxes to subsidize these defaulters?

     Kamala Harris believes in abortion on demand for all nine months. Her vice-presidential pick Tim Walz as Governor does also and signed legislation to allow this in Minnesota.  Late term abortions involve dismembering the unborn child under ultrasound visualization with a scalpel, crushing the unborn child’s head with forceps and pulling the body parts out piece-by-piece so that a nurse with a strong stomach can reassemble this macabre jig-saw puzzle.  This is to make sure no body parts are retained in the uterus where they can become a source of infection.

    Mr. Walz signed a law that allows abortionists to permit a baby who survives an abortion attempt to die. This has already happened eight times in Minnesota. Does Mr. Shays agree with this? Is this why Mr. Shays is “thrilled” about Kamala Harris?

      The Biden/Harris administration ordered 29 law enforcement agents to invade Donald Trump’s house with orders to “use deadly force if necessary” over a disagreement over classified documents. This is the first time in American history that a president ordered the invasion of a political opponent’s house. Does Mr. Shays believe this was justified? Does he believe future presidents should behave in such a fashion against potential competitors? Or is Trump so odious that such actions are justified?

     Mr. Shays describes this election as “Honesty versus deceit.” Perhaps he is referring to Trump’s attempt to overturn the election results of 2020. Or perhaps he is referring to Trump’s conviction for sexually assaulting Jean Carroll or his conviction for cooking the books to hide his affair with Stormy Daniels.

     But Kamala Harris had affair with a 60-year-old man, Willie Brown, when she was 29 even Brown’s wife was pregnant at the time. Furthermore, Mr. Brown then arranged for Harris to obtain political appointments and financing of her political career.

Kamala Harris with legendary San Francisco political insider Willie Brown

      How does Mr. Shays differentiate the “deceit” of these behaviors by Harris and Trump? Does he believe that we should teach our daughters and granddaughters that they too can become President of the United States if they are willing to behave like Kamala Harris?

     What does Mr. Shays think of the Biden/Harris foreign policy? Can he explain why world peace dominated Trump’s presidency while Ukraine and the mid-East erupted during Biden/Harris’s tenure?

     I could go on. But you get the point.

Mr. Shays, like any voter, has the right to be disgusted with a candidate’s personality and vote accordingly. But as a man who is lending his name and prestige to Republicans for Harris, he has a duty to explain why Harris, who was part of the administration that gave us inflation, crime, wars and an invasion of illegal immigrants, is preferable to a man who gave us four years of peace and prosperity – no matter how flawed that man is.

     And if Harris wins because of the support of Mr. Shays and his ilk, things better improve quickly and those wars in Ukraine and Israel better end. Otherwise, as Desi Arnez used to say to Lucy, Mr. Shays will have some “splaining” to do.