By: Trevor Loudon
New Zeal

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro is a powerful and influential woman…

DeLauro has been the co-chair of the House Democratic Steering Committee since 2003, where she makes committee assignments. This position gives Rep. DeLauro the power to determine the makeup of powerful House Committees, to stack them with those Congressmen she deems most appropriate.

She is also a member of the far left Congressional Progressive Caucus, which may help to explain why that organization is so well represented on several powerful House Committees.

Rosa DeLauro Left, Nancy Pelosi Center

The representative from Connecticut’s 3rd Congressional District is the second-highest ranking woman in the U.S. House, after her close friend and colleague, Speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi.

Rosa DeLauro’s Congressional District is centered on the City of New Haven, which happens to be a stronghold of the Communist Party USA. For many years the Connecticut Communist Party has been very influential in the local labor movement, “peace” movement, city government and the Democratic Party.

New Haven Peoples' Center Celebration

The Communist Party’s activity is centered on the New Haven Peoples Center, (established 1937), which houses Party front groups and hosts Party functions.

Communist Party member Al Marder is president of the Peoples’ Center, while his comrade Joelle Fishman serves as a board member.

On August 11, the Party allied local chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans (Joelle Fishman is a board member), hosted a function to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Social Security.

Guest of honor was local Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.

Rosa DeLauro Cuts the Anniversary Cake

Listening to the first few minutes of this speech makes it very clear that DeLauro is familiar with many of those in attendance.

Photograher at the event, which was well covered in the Peoples’ World, was long time Party supporter Henry Lowendorf.

Celestino Cordova, at least a Communist Party supporter, presented DeLauro with postcards, calling on Congress to reject any proposals to raise the retirement age or cut benefits.

Cordova serves on the City of New Haven Peace Commission with Party members Al Marder and Joelle Fishman and indicates his support for the Party paper Peoples’ World on his Facebook page.

In June this year, DeLauro presented Celestino Cordova with medals for his Korean War service at a ceremony at the Fair Haven Elderly Apartments community room.

Rosa DeLauro with Celestino Cordova

Rosa DeLauro may have a thing about hugging communists.

Below is a picture taken at the August 11 function, of DeLauro embracing confirmed communist Joelle Fishman.

Rosa DeLauro Embraces Joelle Fishman

Unfortunately Joelle Fishman is not just any communist. Fishman chairs the Connecticut Communist Party and is a member of the Communist Party USA National Board.

Most importantly, however, she is Chair of the Party’s Political Action Commission. This is a highly important and influential post.

Fishman has the responsibility for organizing Party support for “progressive” Democratic Party candidates at the state, congressional, senate and presidential levels.

This means that Fishman is very important to the Democratic Party, as she has the power to influence where communist-led unions, “community groups,” churches and “peace” groups throw their money and manpower.

The fact that Fishman clearly has a personal relationship with a key leader of the Democratic Party should be raising eyebrows and ringing alarm bells.

Like virtually all Communist Party USA members, Joelle Fishman actively campaigned for Party “friend” Barack Obama in 2008.

Joelle Fishman writing in the Connecticut Communist Party’s CT People Before Profits Blog, November 2, 2008:

It was enjoyable to knock on doors and find voters who were enthusiastic and inspired by Obama’s historic candidacy, like the teacher who said her whole family was spreading the word. There were several families of divided opinion and others who declined to say. The most challenging conversations were with voters who did not want to support Obama because they were caught up in the lies and rumors undermining his integrity and patriotism. Those who were ready to discuss appreciated the comparison of McCain’s anti-worker record with Obama’s near perfect score.

It was exciting to be part of the quarter million union volunteers across the country, the biggest election mobilization in labor’s history, which has influenced the political climate in working class swing states and districts, laying the basis for a much larger labor movement.

The example set by labor’s top leaders talking directly with white sisters and brothers about how Obama represents their best chance for a secure future will have a lasting impact…

This year the chance to uproot ultra-right corporate political dominance is much greater. Voters want to be part of history. They see that the policies of the Bush administration, which McCain-Palin would continue, are bankrupting the country and endangering the world.

Labor’s giant effort along with massive organizing by African American, Latino, women’s and youth groups has turned historically Republican states’ House and Senate seats into battlegrounds, including the Senate seat in New Hampshire.

A landslide victory for Obama and Congress will open the door for big new struggles to organize workers into unions and place the needs of working families front and center in this economic crisis.

Incidentally Joelle Fishman is also the daughter-in-law of the late Victor Perlo, an economist and Party member who spied for the Soviet Union inside the U.S. government in the 1930s and ’40s.

Below is a video of Joelle Fishman speaking at the New Haven Peoples’ Center at the Communist Party’s 2009 Amistad award dinner. Listen to Fishman praise Barack Obama and the communist effort to elect him.

At the end, Fishman hands out awards to Party members Brian Steinberg and Dorothy Johnson on behalf of the Connecticut Communist Party.

Rosa DeLauro is no stranger to communist causes.

In the 1980’s she was executive director for Countdown ‘87 a national campaign to stop U.S. military aid to the Nicaraguan Contras – who were then fighting the Marxist-Leninist led Sandinistas.

A decade later, Congresswoman DeLauro was a co-sponsor of H.R. 950, the Job Creation and Infrastructure Restoration Act of 1997. This Bill was promoted by the Los Angeles Labor Coalition for Public Works Jobs and the New York Coalition for Public Works Jobs – both of which were led by Communist Party USA members or supporters.

In recent times DeLauro has co-sponsored, H. Res. (House Resolution) 68, calling for the U.S. to abide by the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. This Resolution is supported by several Communist Party USA influenced organizations, including the Greater New Haven Peace Council, which is led by Party linked activists Al Marder and Henry Lowendorf.

The Greater New Haven Peace Council is affiliated with the Communist Party initiated U.S. Peace Council which is in turn affiliated with the communist dominated and former Soviet front World Peace Council.

New Haven’s Al Marder is a vice president of the World Peace Council.

Rosa DeLauro clearly has ties to the Communist Party USA, including to Joelle Fishman, the Party official specifically charged with organizing support for “approved” Democratic Party candidates.

We should also not forget that the Communist Party USA maintains close ties to several U.S. adversaries including the governments of China, Cuba, Venezuela and with the still powerful Russian Communist Party – many of which have records of spying on the United States, or attempting to influence internal U.S. policy.

DeLauro has the ear of the Speaker of the House and has the power to influence the makeup of Congressional Committees.

Should her ties to Joelle Fishman and the Communist Party USA, be a cause for concern? Are there security implications here?