Ct. State park closure for presidential fundraising angers Republicans

A week after his visit to the Big Apple, the president is hitting Connecticut Mondayfor two fundraisers, and not everyone is so thrilled about it.

Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., the state's Republican house minority leader, told the Westport News it was "outrageous" that Sherwood Island State Park, the 238-acre beach on Long Island Sound, would be closed during the height of vacation season to accommodate the president. The park will also suffer a loss of parking revenues ($9 for state residents; $15 for out-of-state cars) for the day.

Jonathan Steinberg, a Democrat in the state's Senate, countered to the Westport News that the Supreme Court decision permitting super PACs has "enshrined big money as part of the political process" and that Obama needs to rake in the cash to compete against Mitt Romney, who benefits from deep-pocketed donors such as the Koch brothers.

Obama is attending a $500-per-head shindig at the Stamford Marriott (with a $10,000-per-person photo opportunity), followed by a $38,500-a-ticket gala at the Westport estate of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.