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Rachel Maddow: my ‘political crush’ is Sheldon


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RachelMaddowShowLocal liberals share Rachel Maddow’s infatuation.

The extremely popular and progressive MSNBC host, told the Bravo network this week that she’s kinda got the hots for Rhode Island’s junior senator and the undisputed leader of the unofficial lefty caucus here in the Ocean State.

At the 5:00 minute mark, a caller asks Maddow “what politician’s creativity and courage gives you hope…?” She takes it one step further.

“I am going to tell you my secret politician crush which I’ve never talked about publicly before, Sheldon Whitehouse,” she said. “There are actually a few senators who I think are pretty impressive guys. Sheldon Whitehouse because nobody knows who he is and he is always sort of quietly plotting along doing the right thing, being smart, thinking big thoughts while everyone else is thinking partisan thoughts. I have a little crush on him. He won’t come on my show. This won’t help.”

Whitehouse responded via Twitter yesterday.

It’s high time Rachel Maddow got something right about Rhode Island. Previously, she’s misled her viewers into thinking we have a left-leaning legislature by assuming the Democratically-controlled General Assembly would support a gun control bill. As Sam Bell, chair of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats, pointed out in the this post, MSNBC seems not to understand that many a local Dem falls far to the right of the object of Maddow’s affection. And despite her assumption, the bill died in committee. The Progressive Dems have been a leader in calling attention to this issue and filed a campaign finance complaint against the NRA, as reported by the Providence Journal. Maddow, on the other hand, is telling the rest of America that Rhode Island Democrats are winning the war against gun violence.

No wonder she thinks Sheldon is flying under the radar. Whitehouse been a leading voice in Congress on campaign finance and climate change – next to war, these are the two biggest dilemmas facing the nation in the 21st century. He’s even been mention as a possible Supreme Court nominee. Sheldon’s about as unknown as our local legislators are anti-NRA!

When Sheldon appears on her show – and here’s hoping this happens real soon – he should bring a map and see if Maddow can find us on it.

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MSNBC doesn’t understand Rhode Island


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photo id lawMSNBC does some great reporting.  But when it comes to Rhode Island, America’s left-leaning news channel is missing a good scoop.

For example: Last night, All In with Chris Hayes (incidentally, a fantastic show) displayed a map showing the states that with photo ID laws in effect and the states where laws are going into effect in upcoming elections. Rhode Island was missing.  We should have been on the list of states with photo ID beginning in future elections.

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Hayes attributes the information to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but the NCSL confirms what we already know–the photo ID portion of the Ocean State’s voter ID law phases in in 2014.

According to legislative spokesman LarryBerman, the 2012 non-photo voter ID rules will apply in Woonsocket’s November election, but the 2014 election will require a photo ID unless the General Assembly repeals the law during the 2014 session.  

To be honest, I have a lot of sympathy for Hayes and his team.  In the midst of working flat out to deliver some truly stunning reporting on the government shutdown, I can understand how All In might not think to check whether a deep blue state like Rhode Island would have passed such a Republican law.

Also understandable is Rachel Maddow’s April segment on gun control in Rhode Island:

Nine bills that include a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines and improving the reporting of mental health information to the state’s background check systems. It’s fairly comprehensive package, these nine bills.

Now, in terms of whether or not this fifth state is likely to pass the legislation they’re considering, it may helpful (sic) to consider the partisan background of what the legislature looks like in Rhode Island.

Yes, do not adjust your television sets. It really is that lopsided.  There are eight Republicans for the 29 Democrats in the state Senate. And there are six Republicans for the 69 Democrats in the statehouse. Wow.

Rhode Island will have a debate over these measures and some may be changed by virtue of the debate, but this partisan breakdown in the state means these measures will likely pass.

Maddow’s bold prediction was wrong.  The bills failed spectacularly.  The assault weapons ban and even the patch that would have closed a loophole that helps minors access guns never even got a vote.  The only bills that moved were two token bills to increase penalties for having a stolen gun or a gun with the serial numbers shaved off and a third to set up a study commission.  As tea party Rep Doreen Costa (R-North Kingstown) said in her floor speech on the bills that did move, “we’re all really happy.”

Maddow’s prediction was not so absurd.  In any other state, she would have been completely correct.  But not in Rhode Island, where the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, the House Majority Leader, and the Senate Majority Leader–all Democrats–have each taken thousands of dollars from the NRA.  And I believe those contributions were illegal.  (The Board of Elections is still deliberating on my complaint.)  As Doreen Costa put it, Speaker Gordon Fox (D-Providence) was “very, very kind to us gun folks.”

See Costa’s speech here:

I should note that there are two small errors in Maddow’s piece.  Her party numbers for the Senate seem to be the old breakdown from before the 2012 election, with the one Independent left out for some reason.  The second error had to do with the package itself.  There was no bill to fix mental health information reporting in the package.  Instead, there was a bill to set up a committee to think about maybe putting in a bill to do the reporting.  It’s a pretty important difference.

I hope MSNBC will issue a correction.  But what I really want is for them to cover the real story, the story of right-wingers taking over the Rhode Island Democratic Party.