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Hearst Connecticut’s resident left-leaning columnist Dan Haar is at it again.
Last Friday, the self-described progressive who once registered Republican solely to vote against Donald Trump trained his sights on Amybeth LaRoche, the Republican nominee for the 28th State Senate District.
The timing and framing of Haar’s piece on LaRoche’s car-tax criticism read more like opposition research dressed up as journalism than neutral reporting.
Haar’s column highlighted that LaRoche, a Newtown Board of Finance member and mother who has spoken out against Connecticut’s motor-vehicle property tax, had unpaid vehicle taxes according to town records at the time. LaRoche maintained she had paid by mail and produced a copy of a signed check payable to the Town of Newtown Tax Collector that contradicted the core implication of the piece.
The Centinal contacted the Newtown Tax Collector, who confirmed LaRoche’s car tax has since been paid in full. The office indicated the check may not have been posted promptly in June and could have been delayed or lost in the mail. Don’t expect Haar to update or correct his story.
Dan Haar has spent years using his media position to attack conservatives, especially those aligned with President Trump. He has called Trump “unfit,” accused him of “childish bullying,” and written that the president’s presence on the ballot hurts Connecticut Republicans.
In one memorable column after the assassination attempt on Trump, Haar argued against national unity, dismissing any suggestion that the moment called for coming together. Greenwich Patriots, regular contributors to the Centinal, rightly called out that piece as textbook Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Haar has long positioned himself as a “left-leaning columnist” who favors progressive taxes, expansive reproductive rights, and immigration reform without walls—positions he has never abandoned even while briefly registering Republican for his little anti-Trump stunt.
His record shows a clear pattern of attacking Republicans and grassroots conservatives who challenge the Democrat status quo in Connecticut while declining to investigate Democrats with equal vigor. Where is Haar’s opposition research on Rob Blanchard, LaRoche’s Democrat opponent and longtime Lamont loyalist?
Blanchard served as Lamont’s communications director, later moving to a senior campaign role while running for the open seat. He is a classic Hartford insider—a chief of staff to the Comptroller, Fairfield RTM member, and career operative for the administration that has overseen high taxes, high energy costs, and the affordability crisis LaRoche campaigns against. He was among the Fairfield officials who pushed back against Linda McMahon’s planned visit to a local elementary school, citing its “politically driven” ties and supporting the cancellation of what they viewed as a politically charged event.
Clearly, Blanchard is Haar’s kind of guy.
Connecticut voters in the 28th District (Fairfield, Newtown, Bethel, Easton) deserve better than media hit pieces timed to damage the outsider Republican candidate while the Lamont machine’s preferred candidate skates free. Amybeth LaRoche is a contracts professional, Board of Finance member, and parent who talks about the real costs families face. Dan Haar is a veteran columnist whose own words consistently reveal a progressive ideological commitment and disdain for Trump and any conservatives who challenge Connecticut’s one-party rule.
When Hearst columnists spend more energy policing Republican candidates’ tax bills than examining the record of the administration’s own aides, readers should take note.
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