Northeast Young Dems convene in Providence
The future of the Democratic Party was front and center at the RI Convention Center on Saturday as the Young Democrats of America (YDA) came to town to hold their New England regional conference. Nearly 50 attendees from New York to Maine met for day of talks, panels, and business (including the election of their [...]
DINO of the Year: Anthony Gemma, Jon Brien
Here in Rhode Island, where the people lean far to the left, we don’t have to worry too much about Republicans screwing up our state. Instead, we’ve got Democrats who screw up our state by acting like Republicans. RI Future has a long tradition of identifying these covert conservatives as DINOs – Democrats in Name [...]
Songs of Rage
“What do I know that would cause me, a reticent, Midwestern scientist, to get myself arrested in front of the White House protesting? And what would you do if you knew what I know?” With these questions James Hansen opens his riveting presentation Why I must speak out about climate change on TED. Hansen, whom [...]
10 Reasons to Support James Diossa for CF Mayor
I am a big fan of City Councilman James Diossa – 1 of 5 candidates running in the November6th non-partisan primary for Mayor of Central Falls. Here are 10 reasons that you should vote for him, volunteer for him and donate to him between now and Tuesday. 1. Honesty matters. As we have seen with [...]
Fundraising vs. Good Govt: Which Matters More?
Note the irony that while one prospective 2014 Democratic candidate for governor was making headlines for raising an almost unfair amount of money from corporate interests from outside of Rhode Island, the other prospective candidate was busy not making headlines for being honored by good government group Common Cause RI with its 2012 Excellence in [...]
Dems Unite Around GOP Smear Campaigns
I’m glad the Rhode Island Democratic party is finally coming together to renounce the incredibly negative campaigning the Republicans have been resorting to. Let’s hope the media picks up on this story. In my biased opinion, it’s the biggest meta-narrative of the local campaign this year, but I think it has a lot of merit [...]
Dems Say Doherty Fell Short on Pro-Women Bill
In light of congressional candidate Brendan Doherty’s Women for Doherty rally tonight, the Rhode Island Democratic Party today questioned Doherty for not supporting legislation that would expand and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Specifically, the party questions Doherty’s unwillingness to expand and strengthen protections to Native American women, members of the LGBT community and [...]
One Dem Party That Donna Perry Doesn’t Understand
First, right off the bat: anyone who uses the phrase “Democrat Party” is already showing their ignorance of the Democratic Party. You should still read their arguments, but chances are, they’re going to be off-base. And that’s what Donna Perry’s column in GoLocalProv is (the URL says Julia Steiny for some reason). Ms. Perry tries [...]
VIDEO: Cicilline Trounces Gemma; Doherty Is Next
As was widely predicted, Congressman David Cicilline handily beat his primary challenger and now moves on to face conservative Republican Brendan Doherty in the general election. Cicilline not only defeated Anthony Gemma, he destroyed him. He garnered 60 percent of the vote and Gemma got just 30 percent. In fact, Cicilline beat Gemma by more [...]
So Long, Anthony Gemma
The best thing about today being the primary is RI Future will likely not have reason to run this picture of Anthony Gemma anymore. Seriously, we’ve been recycling it throughout the campaign – whether we were accusing him of phonying up his social network following, chasing him down at his announcement to ask him a [...]
Convention Reflection: A Rant About Democrats
Get ready for a rant. I managed to engage in far less blogging than I’d hoped to over the course of my four days in Charlotte. Here’s what I was left with: The convention had its moments, for sure: What I heard of Elizabeth Warren was very good, certainly by the standards of what you [...]
Pisaturo, DaSilva Could Alter Balance of Senate
Much has been made about the what the outcome of Tuesday’s primary could mean for gay marriage in Rhode Island. The state Senate is the last branch of the government to stand in the way of marriage equality and there’s a lot that could happen in the Democratic primary to shift the landscape of that [...]
Obama Delivers Compelling Case for Re-Election
CHARLOTTE, NC — President Barack Obama, in a crisp, straight-forward speech at the Democratic National Convention last night, laid out the the central choice embodied in his re-election campaign. “Over the next few years,” said the president, “big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs and the economy; taxes and deficits; energy and education; [...]
RI Democratic Leaders Praise Clinton Speech
CHARLOTTE, NC – Rhode Island’s two Democratic Senators were effusive in their praise for the barnburner of a speech that former President Bill Clinton delivered last night nominating Barack Obama. At the delegation’s breakfast meeting this morning, there were a lot of smiles (and more than a few extra cups of coffee, given that Speaker [...]
RI Delegation Welcomes a First-Night Speaker
CHARLOTTE, NC — The Rhode Island delegation was buzzing this morning over last night’s speeches and events at the Democratic National Convention, and they had a surprise visitor when Gov. Lincoln Chafee stopped by their breakfast. “We may have our differences back home,” Chafee told the delegates, “But here, we’re all united to support the [...]
Full Text of Gov. Linc Chafee’s DNC Speech
“Good evening, and thank you for having me here to celebrate with all of you. As the nation’s only independent Governor, I am here tonight to join with my Democratic friends, on the eve of an election critical to the future of our children and their country. As a former Republican, I represent a group [...]
A Tribute to Ted Kennedy
Democrats honored the late Senator Ted Kennedy on the first night of their convention with a moving video. Here’s what John McDaid, our correspondent in Charlotte, tweeted about it: “Enormous cheers in the hall for the Ted Kennedy memorial video #dnc2012” Follow all his #DNC2012 tweets here. In case you missed the tribute, you can [...]
Livestream: Democratic National Convention
Watch the Democratic National Convention live from Charlotte, North Carolina right here on your computer.
Recovery Caucus Pushes for Mental Health Parity
CHARLOTTE, NC – Former RI Representative Patrick Kennedy was a guest speaker at this afternoon’s Recovery Caucus meeting at the Democratic National Convention and he brought his message of full mental health parity to a standing-room-only session. The panel was chaired by RI delegate Tom Coderre, who works for Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed. It [...]
Gayle Goldin for Senate
Please join me in supporting Gayle Goldin’s campaign for State Senate — she’s running on Providence’s East Side, inclusive of the Fox Point and Wayland Square portions of the district I used to represent. Over the course of my decade or so fighting for progressive change in Rhode Island, I’ve learned the crucial role that [...]
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