Mickey Raimondi has been a registered Democrat for 38 years. He still is. But he doesn't sound like it.
"I am definitely steadfast set on getting rid of the Democrats, because they've lied to me," said Raimondi. He voiced his opinions during a Tea Party protest rally across from the Marriott Hotel Thursday evening. President Barack Obama spoke there for a fundraiser for Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is running for the U.S. Senate.
Protestors hoped the president would see them when his motorcade passed by. However, Obama did not arrive via the main entrance, and by the time he left a harsh downpour had scattered many of those waiting, Tea Party protestors included.
But the event brought together like-minded people from in and outside the state. Raimondi, 56, lived in Stamford for about 12 years and moved to Norwalk in 2009. Three years before that, he lost his job due to cutbacks. He hasn't been employed full-time since. That year, 2006, was a pivotal one for him. It's when he realized he'd been supporting the wrong party, he said.
"The Democrats seem to use the same slogan, blaming Bush. [Everything is] his fault. But in 2006, the Democrats took over the House and Senate."
Raimondi said he's for "fairness, fiscal responsibility and definitely small government," which are not, he said, on the Democratic agenda.
Now, although a registered Democrat, he's a Republican supporter, he said.
"I trust the Republican Party and I'm supporting the Republican Party," he said.
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