Breakdown In RI GOP
In case you haven’t heard, the election for Rhode Island Republican chair has turned into a mess. And let’s remember, this wasn’t a paid position or even a position of much influence or power. After invalidating the 94-93 vote by the party’s central committee to make Warren Republican Town Committee chair Mark Smiley chair of [...]
Quiet Conservatives by Banning Master Lever
Moderate Party chairman and possible gubernatorial candidate Ken Block is out with a new website, masterlever.org, which petitions the Governor and the General Assembly to eliminate the ability to vote solely based on party line (a.k.a., the “master lever”). As a case study for why it should be banned, Mr. Block offers up the 9000+ [...]
Progress Report: Legalized Pot’s Economic Benefits; John Loughlin and the Future of the GOP; Rabies on Prudence
It’s interesting to note that the potential piece of 2013 legislation that has garnered the most media attention since the election isn’t tax equity, marriage equality or pay day lending reform … it’s marijuana legalization. At least it’s the only bill to get front page ProJo coverage so far (though I think that story’s lede [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Don Carcieri’s 38 Studios Silence: Selfish and Foolish
It turns out even Republicans are miffed at Don Carcieri for hiding from the media when one of his signature decisions as governor blew up in the face of Rhode Island. “Former Gov. Donald L. Carcieri’s long silence on the 38 Studios bankruptcy wound up putting fellow Rhode Island Republicans on the spot this week [...]
Chris Christie’s Mom Didn’t Teach Him Enough
Chris Christie of New Jersey spoke last night at the RNC. I am not sure whose agenda he was pushing … his own or Mitt Romney’s. Interesting that after I turned off the RNC speech made by Gov. Christie, I should see this in today’s Dr Diane Ravitch’s blog: I will protect your pensions. Nothing about your [...]
Raging Grannies Protest Forbes, Hinckely Event
Steve Forbes, a multi-failed candidate for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party, will be hosting a fundraiser for Barry Hinckley’s campaign and the Raging Grannies of Greater Westerly will be present at 4:45pm to welcome them. The event will be at The Ocean House in Watch Hill on Wednesday, August 29. Mr. Forbes is [...]
NK Evades Responsibility With Custodian Contract
I woke up today to an automated phone call from the school superintendent telling me that the first day of school in North Kingstown has been delayed by a strike. The Educational Support Personnel (ESP) union has walked out over the School Committee’s action to outsource the jobs of all 26 janitors, and so my [...]
What Does Doherty Think of Akin’s Rape Remarks?
No one in America today is less popular than Republican Todd Akin, who said “legitimate rape” rarely ends in pregnancy because women can cause some sort of self-abortion to occur in their bodies when such tragedy happens. As we reported yesterday morning, it was a ridiculous thing to both say and/or believe. The fallout: the [...]
‘Lifelong New Englander’ or One-Time Floridian?
First he was accused of running for office just to boost his professional profile. Now, Democrats say Barry Hinckley may have moved to Rhode Island just to run for office. “…now Democrats are questioning whether Hinckley simply chose Rhode Island because it is relatively affordable to run for a Senate race in the Ocean State,” [...]
Chick-fil-A Supporter Allen West Comes to RI
Let’s hope that when hate-spewing Allen West, a Florida congressman known for his intolerance, comes to the Ocean State for a 1,000-per-person GOP fundraiser on Saturday, he doesn’t threaten to open a Chick-fil-A, like he did on a recent trip to Chicago. Yep, Rhode Island Republicans cordially invite the Chick-fil-A’s favorite congressman to the Ocean [...]
Doherty Was For Paul Ryan Before He Was Against Him
After pretty much declaring himself president of the local chapter of the Paul Ryan fan club, conservative congressional candidate Brendan Doherty is now trying to distance himself from Ryan’s plan to slash medical benefits for retirees. Democrats don’t buy it, though. “Paul Ryan may not be a household name to everyone in Rhode Island, but [...]
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 [...]
Why Vote Republican?
Whenever I want to take a break from reality, I go and read a column by RI “Young” Republican Chairman Travis Rowley. Now, if you’ve managed to avoid the writings of this Brown graduate, I applaud you. But to give you the idea of his writing, it’s just the right balance of out-of-touch, denigrating, arrogant, [...]
Lucky Duckies
One of the more reprehensible things that conservatives have come out with of late is the idea of the ‘lucky duckies.’ This is what the Wall St Journal’s op-ed page called those of our society who are ‘fortunate’ enough to make such a low salary that they don’t have to pay fed income taxes. This [...]
Sound Fair to You?
Cities and towns across Rhode Island have faced financial hardship over the last several years. Cities have been devastated by the economic crisis, which itself was caused by a complete lack of oversight on Wall Street, oversight that even today Republicans are fighting tooth and nail. They even oppose the idea of having an agency [...]
How To Confront a Candidate, or How to Drink Liberally.
It is often bemoaned that candidates only talk about certain issues, only debate the same topics, and hardly ever disagree on anything of true substance. “My economic package is better than yours.” “I’m tougher on our enemies than the other guy.” Blah, blah, blah. When we consider that Obama, Bush, and McCain all agreed on [...]
Santorum and Romney Square Off On Felon Disenfranchisement
Rick Santorum asked Mitt Romney point blank: “Do you believe people who were felons, who served their time, who exhausted their parole and probation, should be given the right to vote?” This was in response to an ad by Romney’s “Super-PAC” attacking the former Pennsylvania senator. The ad says Mr. Santorum voted to “let convicted felons vote” [...]
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