Is Chafee a Democrat on economic policy?
While Gov. Chafee’s party affiliation flip-flop has been near-universally declared a political ploy, it’s also been near-universally declared that he is now in the party that matches his political ideology. But is he? Chafee certainly has bona fide progressive credentials when it comes to non-economic policy. As our senator his principled and at-the-time unpopular stand [...]
Linc Chafee: Democrat of convenience, not conviction
Policy-wise, Linc Chafee might best belong as a Democrat, and he often finds common ground with the progressive movement, but personally my favorite thing about our governor was how he seemed to relish his independence. He seemed to have no friends or natural allies on Smith Hill and he didn’t seem to care. Chafee had [...]
RI: Not As ‘Blue State’ As It Is ‘Not A Red State’
House Minority Leader Brian Newberry had some simple wisdom when the Providence Journal asked him why Democrats do better than Republicans in Rhode Island. “The answer to that is easy: there’s a lot more Democrats than Republicans,” he was quoted as saying. Of course this is true. The Journal then went on to surmise that [...]
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 [...]
Democrats, Don’t Throw My House Off the Fiscal Cliff
With the election over, across the country progressives are wondering, will the 2nd Obama administration be more progressive than the first? I’m not holding my breath on that one. Of particular concern for me and for you if you’re a home owner, is the potential for a disastrous change in the home mortgage deduction. We’re [...]
Cicilline Beats Doherty
While the campaign was heated, the actual election was less so. Congressman David Cicilline easily held onto his seat defeating Brendan Doherty 50% to 42. Without further adieu, here’s some video of his victory speech: His fellow Rhode Island progressive Senator Sheldon Whitehouse also won, handily beating Barry Hinckley 64.3 to 35.5%. I’ll have video [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Demanding Progress in Charlotte at DNC
I’m en route to the Democratic Convention in Charlotte, where I’ll be doing a combination of work for Demand Progress, taking part in assorted progressive rabble-rousing, and hopefully blogging for RIFuture and the Daily Dose. Demand Progress’s efforts to secure Internet freedom language in the Republican platform were successful: Anybody abiding by the new platform [...]
DNCC Lays Out Convention Themes in Opening Presser
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Democratic National Convention kicked off this morning with a press conference previewing the week and repeatedly stressing two key messages: that the convention is the most open and accessible in history, and that a key Obama campaign theme will be “rebuilding America from the middle class out.” The 50-minute presser featured [...]
Why America Is Screwed, but How RI Can Help
I’m in a particularly foul mood this evening, so I thought I’d share. And I’ll get right to the point: America, you’re screwed. With growing frequency, I’ve heard or read conversations between people of opposite political philosophies that go something like this: Sap #1: X is bad and ruining the country. Sap #2: Yeah, well [...]
Progress Report: RI Is Most Democratic But Not So Liberal; RISC Dumps Don Carcieri; Gamblers Need New Casino
We may be the most bluest state, according to a new study done by Gallup, but keep in mind that distinction doesn’t mean any more than the D after Jon Brien or Doc Corvese’s name on the ballot. Especially in the northern parts of the state, Rhode Islanders will instinctively vote for Democrats, even if [...]
Anthony Gemma Should Drop Out of CD1 Race
The campaign to represent Rhode Island’s first congressional district in Washington DC will surely be the most interesting and scrutinized local race this year and, so far, there is only one thing that is certain: Anthony Gemma won’t win. He could, however, potentially damage David Cicilline enough in an ugly primary to leave the incumbent [...]
It’s a Showdown in CD1
Elections didn’t used to be this way in Rhode Island. If you ran for federal office and won, you were pretty much guaranteed an unassailable position from which to plot your next step in life; be that a higher federal office, a cabinet position, retirement, or death. In fact, for roughly three out of four [...]
Gemma Said He Wouldn’t Vote For Cicilline
Anthony Gemma says he running against Congressman David Cicilline to help keep the CD1 seat in the hands of the Democrats. But he also said that he wouldn’t vote for Cicilline in the general election if the incumbent beats him in the primary. “I said in good consciousness I cannot support David Cicilline,” Gemma told [...]
Governor Chafee On RI: ‘We’ve Hit Rock Bottom’
In an Economist article entitled “Bankruptcy in Rhode Island“, Governor Lincoln Chafee is quoted as saying “We’ve hit rock bottom in this state”. And, frankly, I don’t know how to take it. The article is about the municipal budget problems that are cropping up across the Rhode Island. Essentially, as we well know, Rhode Island is [...]
Americans Care for Political Parties More than Policies
Imagine turning on your car radio and hearing of the baseball trade of the century. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox had just traded their entire rosters to each other. That’s right, Jeter and Rivera are now Red Sox and Pedroia and Lester will suit-up for the Bronx Bombers. How do you [...]
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