September 24, 2012 – RI Future

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

Obama Fundraiser Tonight at Blaze

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Want to do your part to help Barack Obama get reelected? Or maybe you’re just looking for something fun to do tonight? Now you don’t have to choose as there is a fundraiser tonight for the president at Blaze on Hope St. at 6 p.m.

“There will be great food, fun and lively conversation,” said progressive activist, RI Future founder and city of Providence attorney Matt Jerzyk in an email about the fundraiser. “And if you want Obama-Biden “swag” this is the place to be! Obama lawn signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts, buttons or Dog/Cat collars.”

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

How the Koch Brothers Would Hurt Rhode Island

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Rhode Island progressives Kate Brock of Ocean State Action and Pat Crowley of the NEA-RI join forces with the Stop the Greed agenda to call attention to how the uber-wealthy Koch Brothers are conspiring against Rhode Island.

According to a press release from Patriot Majority, the Koch Brothers’ right-wing agenda would hurt the Ocean State by “cutting Pell Grants by over $800 for every RI student, privatizing Social Security for RI’s 200,000-plus recipients, and take away health insurance of over 40K who would get it under Obamacare.”

Patriot Majority’s “Stop the Greed” bus – which is touring the eastern part of the country and will meet up near St. Louis with its western-states counterpart in about a month – will be at Kennedy Plaza today at 3:30.

Here’s the full press release:

On Monday, September 24, 2012, at 3:30 pm EDT, Providence concerned citizens will call out the billionaire Koch Brothers who have threatened to spend $400 million this year on a “greed agenda” that will weaken America. The Koch Brothers have advocated for more tax breaks for mega-billionaires like themselves, while cutting needed protections and programs for middle class Americans.

Community leaders including Kate Brock, Executive Director of Ocean State Action, and Patrick Crowley, of National Education Association Rhode Island, will gather at Kennedy Plaza to argue that the Kochs’ Greed Agenda has been destructive to the Rhode Island middle class.

The news conference is part of a national initiative that Patriot Majority USA launched in August. In September, the group expanded its presence with a paid ad campaign in states, and with a national bus tour—complete with more than 30 stops in 23 states. More information about the campaign can be found at www.stopthegreedagenda.com.

Patriot Majority USA has a multi-year bipartisan primary purpose, and is working on economic solutions and encouraging job creation throughout the United States. Patriot Majority USA’s future legislative advocacy, in 2013 and beyond, at both at the national and state levels, is based on the goals of the Patriot Majority Action Plan. See more at http://www.patriotmajority.org.

In Providence, Kate Brock, Patrick Crowley and others will speak as part of a national bus tour called “Stop the Greed Agenda,” a project of Patriot Majority USA.

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

Green Party of RI Endorses Abel Collins in CD2

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The Green Party of Rhode Island has endorsed environmentalist and public transportation advocate Abel Collins in the contest to represent the 2nd congressional district of Rhode Island.

In a press release sent out by the Green Party this morning, Collins said his is “proud to be the peace candidate in the race, and proud to have the endorsement of the Green Party.”

He added, “Of course it’s possible to challenge the two-party system,” Collins declared. “What’s not possible is to sustain the unsustainable, to make more fossil fuels, or create a peaceful society when people are motivated by fear, and not by love.”

Here’s the rest of the release from the Green Party:

At a state committee meeting in Providence, the Green Party of Rhode Island has voted to formally endorse Abel Collins, independent candidate for Congress in Rhode Island’s 2nd District.

“Abel has common sense, common decency, and a plan to bring Rhode Island into the 21^st Century,” said party secretary Kathleen Rourke. “We’re proud to endorse his campaign. We urge all of our supporters in the 2^nd District to vote for Abel Collins.”

Green Party leaders said they were impressed by Collins’ commitments to reform the financial system, promote fair trade, and push legislation to fight climatechange, while bringing high-paying jobs to Rhode Island in emerging green technologies. His pledge to oppose further U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and bring all U.S. troops home, also drew enthusiastic praise from the party’s peace activists.

“Abel is without doubt the best congressional candidate Rhode Island has seen in decades,” said party chair Tony Affigne. “He’s a genuine peace candidate, and he’s absolutely determined to get big money out of congressional politics. His election would be very good news for those who love peace, and those who long for true democracy, everywhere in America. He has our complete support.”

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

Dems Disagree Doherty Can Protect SS, Medicare

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Democrats disagree that Brendan Doherty, the Republican running against Congressman David Cicilline for the CD1 seat, can offer what the conservative former state trooper calls an “iron clad pledge to protect Medicare and Social Security benefits.”

While Doherty is holing a press conference today at 10 a.m. to tout as much, the RI Democratic Party called his “pledge to preserve Social Security and Medicare an empty one, given that leaders in his party have been attempting to undermine these programs for years.”

Bill Fischer, spokesman for the Democratic Party, said in a statement released this morning:

Mr. Doherty is a Romney Republican who has clearly stated he would repeal the Affordable Care Act; raise the eligibility age on Social Security; and will vote for Republican control in Congress. This is an agenda that is bad for Rhode Island’s seniors. The hard truth is that Mr. Doherty is making a pledge to seniors today that he can’t deliver because his party has other plans in mind. The harm the GOP has attempted to inflict on the senior safety net is intensive and Mr. Doherty jumped on the bandwagon when he joined his colleagues in their goal to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

If Doherty were serious about protecting seniors, he wouldn’t be calling for the repeal of our historic healthcare reform. Maybe he doesn’t understand the enormous benefits Rhode Island seniors have already received since its passage. Thanks to President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, 128,390 people on Medicare in Rhode Island have access to preventative health care services, such as colonoscopies and mammograms. In Rhode Island’s First Congressional District alone, 7,300 seniors have saved over $4 million on prescription drugs because the Affordable Care Act closed the donut hole.

The truth is, Medicare and Social Security are under attack by a Republican-controlled House and Doherty would vote to maintain Republican control, allowing these same folks to continue their assault on programs seniors depend on. Democrats recognize Medicare as a fundamental right for seniors, who have earned it, while Republicans view Medicare as a negotiable budget item that can be cut as they see fit. Voters will see past Doherty’s empty rhetoric and realize the difference between the two views.

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

Progress Report: Voter ID vs. Health Exchange; Doherty Pretends to be Moderate; Riley’s Fib; Smithfield Patch

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Rhode Island sure is a complex place politically. While Pat Smith points out this morning that we’re the only state with a Democratic-leaning legislature and without a Republican governor to pass a voter ID bill, the New York Times points out we’re also the only state without a Democratic governor to move forward with a health care exchange. Does this make us moderate, or erratic?

Brendan Doherty’s job for the next couple weeks is to make himself seem more liberal than he actually is, or would be if elected to Congress … and while the conservative, Mitt Romney-supporting, former state cop will begin that effort in earnest today, Dan McGowan offers a great primer on the differences between him and Democratic incumbent David Cicilline.

While Ted Nesi points out that Mike Riley, the Ayn Rand acolyte running against Congressman Jim Langevin got mentioned on a national blog, Politfact points out that his message to Rhode Islanders, as evidenced by his radio ads, has included “a gross distortion of very common practices allowed by law and the U.S. Constitution.” Going back to the gold standard may well be a good idea (according to the Ron Pauls and John Galts of the world) but if anyone’s acting like a “shark” in the campaign for second congressional it’s Riley.

If you’re keeping score at home: House Speaker Gordon Fox isn’t supporting Rep. Jon Brien’s write-in campaign but conservative Woonsocket state Senator Marc Cote is … most interesting that both Reps. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt and Bob Phillips decided not to weigh in.

As we predicted on Twitter a few weeks back, there’s a new Patch site coming to Rhode Island real soon … Smithfield Patch will launch within a week, according to Johnston Patch editor Joe Hutnak who will edit both sites.

Here’s a scary statistic: 28 percent of Rhode Island parolees return to the ACI within a year. Are we letting bad people out of jail or do we need to do a better job of rehabilitating prisoners and helping them readjust to life on the outside?

Please, for the sake of our state’s reputation across the country, let this rumor not be true. Buddy Cianci is smart, well-connected and a very nice guy … but Rhode Island needs him back in office like we need another 38 Studios fiasco…

How bad is economic inequality getting in America? This from NPR: “One recent study suggests the income gap might be greater today than even during colonial times – even when you account for slavery.”

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012

Please Sign: Petition to Repeal RI Voter ID Law

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Mitt Romney could still win this election. The other day I was reading an article by Robert Reich on Four Reasons Why Romney Might Win. Reason #4:

As they’ve displayed before, the Republican Party will do whatever it can to win — even if it means disenfranchising certain voters. To date, 11 states have enacted voter identification laws, all designed by Republican legislatures and governors to dampen Democratic turnout.

The GOP is also encouraging what can only be termed “voter vigilante” groups to “monitor polling stations to prevent fraud” – which means intimidating minorities who have every right to vote. We can’t know at this point how successful these efforts may be but it’s a dangerous wildcard.

Except in RI where it was a Democratic legislature and an Independent Governor!! It struck me again how strange it is that RI is one of the 11 states.

The Voter ID laws are simply a new form of voter suppression, being sold as a way to end non-existent voter fraud. That’s why I created a petition to The Rhode Island State House of Representatives, The Rhode Island State Senate and Governor Lincoln Chafee, which says: “The undersigned urge the RI State legislature and the Governor to vote to repeal the state’s discriminatory Voter ID law.”

Will you sign my petition? Click here to add your name.