Photo courtesy of 630wpro.com
As I’ve argued here, outside of being a member of a major political party, there’s no good reason why WPRI would include Mike Riley in its CD2 debate and not Abel Collins.
Unlike the ultra-conservative Riley, Collins espouses some pretty mainstream ideas. The independent wants citizens more involved in their government and corporations to be less involved. He wants to shift away from an economic policy that caters to the 1 percent to one that caters more toward the middle class.
Mike Riley, on the other hand, thinks people who believe in such policies are communists.
Tom Sgouros detailed as much in a post showing Riley’s correspondences with him when he was writing for the Narragansett Times.
But berating Sgouros isn’t the only time Riley has confused being progressive with being a communist. In July Ian Donnis quoted him as equating progressive political positions to “time-release communism.”
Calling progressives communists is as narrow-minded as it is mean-spirited. And it doesn’t bode very well for Riley’s potential to work across the isle.
But don’t expect much bipartisanship from the former Wall Street hedge fund manager. He once wrote in GoLocal, “Government exists to protect and preserve our individual freedoms and property rights so that we may pursue our dreams and our happiness. Real leaders will accept this limited role of government and seek to constrain its growth and influence over our lives.”
If this reads like creepy Ayn Rand weirdness that’s because it is. Riley is the worst kind of conservative: he espouses to be a libertarian but he’s really a tool for the corporate interests.
He won’t comment to RI Future, but here’s how Congressman Jim Langevin described him.
“Michael Riley clearly plans to go to Washington to fight for the wealthiest one percent of Americans,” said the incumbent. “He’s going to Washington clearly to fight for tax advantages for major corps and oil and gas companies. He’s going down there to support the Ryan budget. and he’s going down there to turn medicare into a voucher system.”
And here’s a comment from Abel Collin’s new campaign manager Dave Fisher:
“The fact that Mike Riley has not supported the inclusion of Abel in the WPRI debate is indicative of his hardline right-wing policies that would squelch free speech and many of our other rapidly eroding freedoms in the U.S. There is only one candidate in the race that offers a real option to the baton passing between the two major parties that goes on in Washington, and that is Abel Collins. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; the only difference between Democrats and Republicans is this: Republicans want to drive the bus toward Armageddon with the gas pedal on the floor. Democrats are willing to obey the speed limit.”
For more on Riley, listen to him on Political Roundtable this morning.
Judging by his own press set-up–two signs, one on the stairs–and a couple of Radio Shack mini-mikes, Mr. Riley doesn’t seem to pose much of a threat.
He does seem like a bit of a pinko, though. Maybe, it’s high blood pressure.
Riley is just so out of step with RHode Islanders as the proud representative of the 1% and Collins is is a proud representative of the 99%. Remember these numbers? Haven’t heard much of them in the election season have you? Collins 4 platform points Wall St Accountability, Green Works, Fair Trade (Not NAFTA’s) and Fair Election
(money out of politics, reverse Citizens Unites-Corporations are not people) all enjoy 70% popularity and are the foundation of Abel’s platform. Why would WPRI make the editorial decision to exclude a candidate with popular ideas and included a candidate with ideas that favor the elite minority. Why would Projo put their name on the debate too?
I am sure Riley would join RMoney in deriding as slackers because they are too poor to pay taxes all live in “right to work” (for nothing) states but there is no discussion of that unless we get Abel in the debate. What about spying on citizens and repression of free speech which is what keeping Collins out of the debates is- censorship- nothing less.
With out Abel’s voice, you will hear Riley bragging about crashing the USS Titanic into the iceberg of bankers dominance full steam ahead and Langevin worring about who will get the Liveboats. Only Collins wants to change the boats course, which to a Wall Street banker like Riley is Communism. Will someone please tell the Red Baiter that the cold war is over, there are no communist countries left (China is state sponsored capitalism in a communist frock), and what we have is corporate globalization with the likes of Riley boldly championing this.
Let Abel debate, insist on it, the future of our democracy depends on it. Why now? Because we can’t wait.
Sweetheart, it was McCarthyism.
an old jam from the cache you’d love to slash.
Riley’s a true extremist and, like the aforementioned Ayn Rand, a clear butt boy for the corporate interests. If this right-wing, pro-corporate ideology actually worked, we’d see some indication of it, but the fact is that, ever since the late 70′s, the rich have gotten richer and the poor and middle class poorer as the country has drifted to the right and away from the true golden years of post WWII America. The greatest advances in equality the country has ever seen was from the end of the war until the rise of Reagan, much of it thanks to the GI Bill, the national roads programs of Eisenhower and other decidedly non-capitalist adjustments. I’m not anti-capitalist, just for a mixed economy that works for most people. Life is not static, technology is not static and you’ve got to make adjustments.
“. . . a clear butt boy . . .”
another press release from the Doherty campaign?