New Haven Independent

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a release the next day attacking U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, a Fairfield County Republican, for remarks he made at New Haven’s Belvedere Monday. The event was a “transportation summit.” Shays agreed with other speakers that roads, bridges and mass transit need billions of emergency federal dollars for maintenance and expansion. Even though tax hikes are unpopular, a boost in the gas tax is necessary to cover those costs, Shays said.

Shays is locked in another tight reelection fight, against Democrat Jim Himes.

“After more than 20 years in Congress, Shays is out of touch with hardworking middle class people struggling to pay higher gas prices,” the Democratic committee’s release stated.

At Monday’s event, Shays said he wanted to offer the kind of “straight talk” his party often avoids on taxes. (Click here for the full story on the event.)

“My party is against any tax increase,” and therefore sometimes finds itself unable to offer real solutions to some problems, Shays said at Monday’s summit.

Click on the play arrow to watch some of his remarks (in the second half of the video).

He told the Independent at the event that he didn’t have a specific amount in mind for how much to raise the tax. He supported a 50-cent hike when he first ran for Congress 20 years ago. He said Monday that if that had been adopted, prices would be lower at the pump now, because of increased demand.

“After more than 20 years in Congress, it’s clear that Chris Shays doesn’t get it,” crowed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee release. “‘Twenty cents per gallon may not be a lot of money to Chris Shays, but he simply doesn’t understand how increasing a middle class families’ gas bill will force them to go without so they can pay more at the pump and more for milk and groceries. All the while, gas companies are making record profits. The last thing hardworking Connecticut families need is Chris Shays pushing for a gas tax hike that makes it even harder for people to make ends meet.”

Shays’ campaign manager, Michael Sohn, dismissed the release as “‘so typical of the D Triple-C [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee].”

“It’s odd for the Democrats to attack a Republican on energy costs,” Sohn continued, “when Chris has” been pushing a measure, called the Energy For Our Future Act, to boost mass transit and increase energy-efficient standards in cars. “The Democrats won’t bring it to the floor for a vote,” Sohn said.

Himes’ campaign issued a separate release that was milder. Himes didn’t criticize the concept of a gas tax. He did say it’s “simply not the time” to raise gas taxes when “we are heading into a serious economic downturn in large part due to the failed economic policies of George Bush and Chris Shays.”

Click here to read the full release.