I'm not here to defend Joe. That's Joe's responsibility. Chris hiding behind Joe is irrelevant.

It reflects a realism that women are going to have to take more responsibility. It also said to us, we want to educate women, and work with them on long-term planning.

We know that (Bush) is not very popular in our state. But I think Chris has been loyal to the presidency and this is the president's reward to Chris.

Chris Shays' tie-breaking vote for the Bush/Congressional Republican budget cuts is yet another example of his being out of step with the priorities of the citizens of the 4th District. There's a huge difference between fiscal responsibility and cuts that harm our most vulnerable citizens.

Not only will these tax cuts - mainly for the super wealthy and big corporations - wipe out the savings from the budget cuts, it will actually balloon our deficit even further.

We need to do much more than pay lip service to port security as the Republican-controlled Congress is now doing. We must put in place both the funding and the personnel resources to ensure that all cargo containers entering U.S. ports, especially high-risk ports, are screened for radiation and other dangerous substances.