romney – RI Future

November 6, 2012November 6, 2012

Progress Report: Election Day! Dixville Notch Results In; Baited Breath in CD1; Obama Enjoys 92% Chance of Victory

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The votes are already coming in … up in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, traditionally the first town in America to report its results, Obama and Romney have battled to a draw among the 10 voters there.

Let’s hope the David Cicilline fares better in the 1st District than Obama did in Dixville, though it could be as close. It’s really the only statewide campaign that is still in doubt. Dan McGowan says , which is a good point.

Let’s also hope it isn’t too close to call … the Ocean State might not be able to handle that.

Speaking of hope … remember four years ago when us progressives were filled with hope? It’s not quite the same feeling this year, is it?

But there is good news … forget what the pundits and the national polls are telling you – and the Dixville results, for that matter – the presidential race isn’t nearly as close as it may appear to the lay observer. Numbers guru Nate Silver says Mitt Romney has only an 8 percent chance of winning today … roughly the same odds as drawing an inside straight in poker.

Now, remember, people do pull inside straights in poker, so it’s not over yet. And even if Obama is very likely to win, it doesn’t mean he’ll win by a lot and it also doesn’t mean we’ll know particularly early. Consider the country, and yours truly, lucky if we know who our next president is by the time we all go to bed tonight. Assuming of course Romney doesn’t pull an inside straight of electoral politics.

ProJo columnist Ed Fitzpatrick looks into the controversy surrounding Silver’s projections ginned up by GOP talking heads who are understandably trying to stave off a self-fulfilling prophecy. Still, it’s worth pointing out that Republicans have resorted to ignoring the laws of science, economics and now math to push their agenda … how can this be good for America??

In case you are very much unlike me and are going to miss the 2012 campaign season, you can review the 10 best moments of it here.

I can’t add enough links to this post to capture all the great stuff Rhode Island Public Radio bloggers Ian Donnis and Scott MacKay have cranked out over the past couple days … if you, by chance, aren’t a regular reader of their stuff, it’s all right here.

The ProJo helps you figure out “how and where to cast your vote.”

Ted Nesi breaks down how many people vote in Rhode Island, and who they are … and how the number of people who show up today could swing the Cicilline/Doherty campaign.

I know many of you moderate Rhode Island Democrats have forgotten why the labor movement is your ally, so here’s a practical reason to stop crapping on unions: if and when Obama wins his second term, it will be organized labor most responsible for the win in Ohio.

I disagree with today’s ProJo editorial arguing that all the negative ads and smear campaigns we’ve had to endure are actually a sign of a healthy democracy … while they are a part of our Democracy, that doesn’t mean they are a good part of it. Fixes for this problem aren’t easy to come by, but that also doesn’t make it a good thing.

On this day in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president.

October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

Romney Lauds RI, But Would Cut State Medicaid

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You probably listened with great interest in the debate Monday night when Mitt Romney complimented Rhode Island for running its innovative Medicaid program better than does the federal government. This may be true, and Rhode Island certainly deserves credit for its well-run, innovative Medicaid system.

But as it turns out the Romney/Ryan plan for Medicaid would be detrimental to Rhode Island’s well-run, innovative Medicaid system.

According to an article in the Huffington Post today:

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney cited Arizona and Rhode Island as models for a redesigned Medicaid system that states control during his debate with President Barack Obama Monday. What Romney didn’t say is that his own plan would slash funding for the program in those states along with the rest of the country.

…Romney supports a plan that would reduce federal Medicaid funding for states by 38 percent. Arizona and Rhode Island, like other states that have reformed Medicaid with federal approval, did so by tapping funding above what Romney’s proposal would allow.

And an article in Politco today puts it this way:

The Romney Medicaid plan would cap the growth of the program’s spending to the consumer price index plus 1 percent and essentially give states a lump sum to spend as they see fit. The Rhode Island and Arizona Medicaid programs, while enjoying more flexibility, are still backstopped by the federal government.

“We’re really talking about two different things,” said Judy Solomon of the left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. “We’re talking about a proposal for huge cuts for federal funding, versus states that have used [federal Medicaid] waivers to do things a little bit differently.”

Rhode Island’s 2009 Medicaid waiver has become a political football in health policy circles. Conservatives who’d like to see states completely take over the program are eager to point to Rhode Island as an example of a block grant that’s working. Liberals argue the Rhode Island program doesn’t count as a real block grant because it doesn’t have the same fiscal constraints. They contend the GOP plan would slash Medicaid spending and cast millions off the program’s rolls.

In the case of Rhode Island, the Global Waiver it obtained in 2009 wasn’t intended to control costs, as a Lewin Group report commissioned by the state explained last December. “The Global Waiver is not a block grant meant to control costs but a demonstration aimed to improve health care quality built on the core foundation of shared state and federal costs,” the report said. The feds still have oversight and approval powers for program spending.

Think Progress quotes the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the plan:

A Congressional Budget Office analysis of Paul Ryan’s proposal to block grant Medicaid found that if federal spending for Medicaid decreased, “states would face significant challenges in achieving sufficient cost savings through efficiencies to mitigate the loss of federal funding.” As a result, enrollees could “face more limited access to care,” higher out-of-pocket costs, and “providers could face more uncompensated care as beneficiaries lost coverage for certain benefits or lost coverage altogether.”

It’s great that Mitt Romney thinks more states should run their Medicaid system like we do, but it’s not so great that if he were elected presidents he’d make it so our Medicaid system wouldn’t run as well as it does.

October 23, 2012October 23, 2012

Progress Report: Horses and Bayonets for the Win; Profiles in Candidacy; Alexion Gets Tax Break, Amount Unknown

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President Obama makes his case for re-election at DNC

Good news, Democrats … Obama easily won the rubber match debate last night. And as a bonus, the president’s foreign policy poise coupled with Romney’s obvious lack of similar acumen will likely become a talking point for liberals and conservatives alike during the final 14 days.

“Obama succeeded because he conveyed his unique view of the world from the Oval Office,” according to Taegan Goddard of PoliticalWire. “For undecided voters watching, all they probably heard was that he’s the commander-in-chief. And that’s what Team Obama wanted.”

Goddard calls it “President Obama’s best moment in the campaign so far” and I think that’s a fair assessment.

Both the Huffington Post and the Drudge Report lead with stand alone Obama shots this morning. HuffPo headline: “Chief in Command” Drudge headline: “Grand Finale”

In an unnecessary attempt at balance, here was the best Politico’s lead piece could offer as far as positives about Romney’s performance: “But many Republicans – and some neutral commentators – believe Romney held his own in a difficult format. His aides think he passed the acceptability test and that Obama didn’t disqualify him (and Republicans desperate for a win were sighing deeply that Romney didn’t have any gaffes).”

The New York Times eviscerates Romney’s performance and campaign in an editorial this morning. And instant polls largely agreed that Obama won hands down.

But watch this video clip of Obama’s instant classic about horses and bayonets to see for yourself:

Speaking of debates, we get to see Senator Sheldon Whitehouse finally square off against his conservative carpetbagging challenger Barry Hinckley. I’m really looking forward to this debate as it pits a real progressive vision for the future against the ideas of Wall Street and the 1 percent.

Speaking of Wall Street …. the Journal’s Mike Riley profile falls a little flat, I’m sorry to say …. the candidate goes unquestioned in saying his experience as a Wall Street hedge fund manager makes him uniquely qualified to address the nation’s economic woes. Actually, it makes him uniquely unqualified to fix the economy. Electing a hedge fund manager to fix the economy would be like employing an arsonist to fight a fire!

That said, we’re even more disappointed with the profile of Abel Collins – his platform and biography are every bit as relevant to Rhode Islanders as is Riley’s, if not more so. (We also appreciate the ProJo mentioning RI Future in the piece!) While this website might endorse Langevin, we think it is very important that Rhode Islanders understand Collins’ politics. I’m pretty sure a plurality would largely agree with his philosophies.

This is great writing by Andy Smith on a story we covered yesterday: “The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation on Monday unanimously approved a state tax incentive for Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. that would reduce its corporate tax rate from 9 percent to 6.75 percent. How much the tax break will cost the state is still unknown.”

While we think it’s ridiculous that the ProJo invests so much effort reporting on the youthful indiscretions of the governor’s son, we fully stand behind the newspaper in its lawsuit against the State Police for records the police refuse to make public.

Notice in the four above pieces, the disparity in emotions the ProJo has riled in me already this morning! Now that’s a great newspaper! Us Rhode Islanders who love the ProJo should be demanding that Belo not cut any more resources from the single most important force in our local marketplace of ideas.

File this one under stuff only reporters care about: WPRO says Jim Hummel broke the PEDP story but this timeline indicates Dan McGowan was the first to report on the story.

October 17, 2012October 17, 2012

Local Co. Links Romney, Bain to Outsourcing, China

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A Bain Capital-created company based in Attleboro will be ground zero today for shining a light on two things Mitt Romney doesn’t want America to know about him: his tough talk last night on China doesn’t match his free market actions, and the company he once ran is bad for America’s working class.

Employees from Illinois will rally today at Sensata headquarters in Attleboro to protest their jobs being outsourced to China. Sensata is not only partly owned, and created by, Bain but Mitt Romney owns stock in the company and he recently profited from transferring his Sensata holdings to a foundation, according to a New York Times expose on Romney and Bain’s ties to China.

“About a dozen workers from the Freeport plant and other businesses associated with Bain Capital say they will show up at the headquarters building at 11 a.m. to seek an explanation why their jobs are being sent to China,” reports Rick Foster of the Attleboro Sun Chronicle.

Tom Gaulra, one of the employees who is losing his job, recounted his experience working for a Bain-created company in the Huffington Post today.

I’ve worked at the same factory in Freeport, Ill. for thirty-three years, making sensors and controls for the auto industry. It’s tough work, but it pays a living wage with health benefits that folks can count on, and it fuels our town’s economy and tax base.

That’s been changing since Bain Capital came to town. Two years ago, our factory was sold to Sensata Technologies, a company created by Bain Capital, and they told us that by December 2012, all 170 of our jobs would be shipped to China. They even made us train our Chinese replacements.

Gaulra writes that while Romney didn’t work at Bain when they created the company that outsourced his job, he is making money off of his misfortune.

…Mitt Romney’s connection to Sensata is even more direct. He is also personally invested in Sensata Technologies, according to his 2010 and 2011 tax returns, and last year got a huge tax break by moving some of his Sensata stock to one of his foundations.

That’s right: Mitt Romney got a big tax break on his investment in his company that’s shipping my job to China. My pain is Mitt Romney’s gain.

The New York Times wrote about Mitt Romney’s ties to Sensata in an article last week titled “As Romney Repeats Trade Message, Bain Maintains China Ties.”

Mr. Romney also has millions invested in a series of Bain funds that have a controlling stake in Sensata Technologies, a manufacturer of sensors and controls for vehicles, aircraft and electric motors that employs 4,000 workers in China. Since Bain took over the operation in 2006, its investment has quadrupled in value. Bain continues to own $2.6 billion worth of Sensata’s shares.

Two years ago, Sensata bought an operation that made automobile sensors in Freeport, Ill. At the first meeting with the plant’s 170 workers, Sensata managers announced that by the end of 2012 all the equipment and jobs would be relocated, mostly to Jiangsu Province. Workers have staged demonstrations, pleading for Mr. Romney to intervene on their behalf.

Chinese engineers, flown to Freeport for training on the equipment, described their salaries as a pittance compared with Freeport wages. Tom Gaulrapp, who has operated machines at the factory for 33 years, said he fears he will go bankrupt after he loses his job on Nov. 5.

“This goes to show the unbelievable hypocrisy of this man,” he said of Mr. Romney. “He talks about how we need to get tough on China and stop China from taking our jobs, and then he is making money off shipping our jobs there.”

It is often difficult to determine precisely how much Mr. Romney benefits from specific investments by Bain funds, since his money goes into a pool used to buy stakes in companies. In the case of Sensata, however, it is clearer because he reported a charitable donation of $405,000 in Sensata stock that he received as “partnership distributions” in 2010 and 2011, according to his tax returns.

Jiangsu Province, where most of the Freeport jobs are moving, is one of China’s designated “export bases” for auto parts. Asimco, the other auto parts manufacturer in Bain’s portfolio, also has factories in Jiangsu Province and three other regions designated as export bases.

The Chinese government incentives offered to companies in those “bases” set off a complaint from the United States to the World Trade Organization last month. The United States asserted that in 2011, China spent $1 billion on grants, tax preferences, lowered interest rates and other subsidies to increase exports of auto parts in violation of fair trade rules.

Mr. Romney has been critical of these types of Chinese incentives to bolster exports.

October 4, 2012October 4, 2012

Progress Report: Romney False Appeals to Middle Class; True the Vote Update; Taveras v. Raimondo; Mark Binder

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downtown from providence river — Downtown Providence from the Providence River. (Photo by Bob Plain)

Presidential challengers almost always prevail over the incumbent in the first debate of the campaign, and to that end Mitt Romney and Barack Obama did not buck tradition as they faced off last night. But winning the Wednesday night battle might may come with some strings attached for the Republican candidate.

Despite his empty rhetoric about trickle down government (a meaningless phrase, by the way) Romney continually invoked the ideals of trickle up economics in his attempt to woo voters. The guy who deplores the 47 percent and thinks corporations are people made overtures to the middle class all night long … if you think anything about a Mitt Romney administration would benefit the middle class rather than the 1 percent, I’ve got some swamp land in Florida to sell you, and I’ll bet Dems use this flip-flop to their advantage throughout the rest of the race.

But that’s just one take … here are a slew of others, none so favorable to the president as mine…

The ProJo gets wise to the shady ways of True the Vote, a tea party-started group that is trying to purge voter rolls.

Ted Nesi on how close the polls show Angel Taveras and Gina Raimondo, the odds-on-favorites to be the next governor of Rhode Island: “they’re exactly tied at 57.9% statewide and exactly tied at 59.3% among Democrats. Raimondo’s approval rating among union households is slightly higher than Taveras’s, but Taveras has a bit more room to grow since fewer voters have a negative opinion of him and more don’t know him at all.”

Frequent RI Future contributor Mark Binder has turned to a former friend of his opponent Gordon Fox to run his campaign, according to GoLocal.

“I’m not going to say there’s a racial angle, but I’m not going to rule it out,” said James Vincent, president of the Providence chapter of the NAACP told the ProJo about embattled RIPTA head Charles Odimgbe’s suspension.

Planned Parenthood and local Dems tied Brendan Doherty to the Republican-fuled war against women. He attended a Women for Doherty event at the Westin, while outside liberal activists held a Women Are Watching counter-event.

Call me crazy, but I don’t think the fact that Claus von Bulow was accused of poisoning his wife in a Newport mansion necessarily makes it a more desirable place to own.

In the name of all things sacred in New England, please let Curt Schilling keep his bloody sock.

On this day in 1970, Janis Joplin died way too young … how can you not love a woman who sings with this much soul…

September 18, 2012

Mitt Romney and the 47 Percent Movement

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If you were considering voting against Mitt Romney because of his disdain for the 99 percent; it turns out there’s only 47 percent of America that he isn’t interested in representing as POTUS.

In a statement that pits him squarely against the middle class and will certainly serve as another nail in his presidential ambition coffin, Mother Jones released a video yesterday that has Mitt Romney saying: “There are 47 percent … who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”

He added, “My job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

I don’t know what additional evidence one would need to conclude that Romney’s campaign is little more than a thinly-veiled war against the working class.

But don’t take my word for it, here’s what conservative columnist David Brooks said about Romney’s telling statement in a piece aptly headlined Thurston Howell Romney. He writes:

Romney, who criticizes President Obama for dividing the nation, divided the nation into two groups: the makers and the moochers. Who are these freeloaders? Is it the Iraq war veteran who goes to the V.A.? Is it the student getting a loan to go to college? Is it the retiree on Social Security or Medicare? The people who receive the disproportionate share of government spending are not big-government lovers. They are Republicans. They are senior citizens. They are white men with high school degrees. As Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution has noted, the people who have benefited from the entitlements explosion are middle-class workers, more so than the dependent poor.

But forget for a moment the political reality that Romney was effectively campaigning against a huge number of people who were potential supporters, a larger point is he was actually low-balling the percentage of America that relies on the public sector.

We all are. Elizabeth Warren describes how we are all dependent on public sector programs far better than I can in this famous Youtube video:

So why does Mitt exempt 53 percent of America from his ire? Because despite what they say it isn’t government Romney and the Republicans don’t like, it’s the middle and working class.

July 17, 2012July 17, 2012

Progress Report: No Olympic Glory for Local Manufacturing

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egret greenwich cove — An egret takes off from a cedar tree in Scalloptown Park and flies across Greenwich Cove.

One of the main reasons our nation’s economy is failing is because people don’t buy stuff that Americans make anymore. Indeed, even the U.S. Olympic team has its uniforms made in China, by Ralph Lauren no less. Congressman David Cicilline, speaking at Northwest Woolen Mills in Woonsocket yesterday, said parts of those uniforms could be made right here. The company said they could get the uniforms to the athletes before the start of the games, but the US Olympic Committee said maybe next time. Thus, China gets to thrill of victory and American manufacturing the agony of defeat.

Two developmentally disabled men, a war veteran and the RI ACLU are challenging a state law that forbids sex offenders from living within 300 feet of a school. They say that if the state makes them move, they are likely to become homeless. It’s a very interesting constitutional question about cruel and unusual punishment and exclusion zones.

Self-described progressive Linda Dill Finn is challenging Dan Reilly to represent Portsmouth in the General Assembly … this will be an interesting race.

You’d think the Rhode Island Republican Party would be sympathetic to the plight of the poor, being how they are the most cash-strapped GOP in the nation.

Like Mitt Romney, I’d like to retain the right to retire retroactively … therefore if RI Future happens to do or say anything that, in hindsight, I might second guess, I can just say it has nothing to do with me.

Speaking of Romney, one of the myriad of reasons that his success at Bain Capital doesn’t translate into good experience for public service is the rules are different … as president, you can’t improve the economy by outsourcing jobs overseas, like Romney did at Bain.

Get ready for a hot and humid one today … any maybe do like this egret did and get on the water:

April 24, 2012April 24, 2012

RI Progress Report: Primary, Busy Day at State House

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Polls are open today in Rhode Island, and even though it’s still not yet 6 a.m. we’re going to go out on a limb and call the primary for Obama. If you need a hand figuring out which delegates to support for the Democratic Convention, see our endorsements here. But it’s also a hugely busy day at the State House.

The House Finance Committee will take up the controversial tax equity bill that would raise income taxes for Rhode Island’s richest residents. And Rhode Island’s environmental coalition will hear from Gov. Chafee in the rotunda this afternoon before it unveils its 2012 legislative agenda, expected to include transportation funding, voter referendums for open space and clean water and a better way to discard of garbage.

Additionally, two House members from very different sides of the aisle will have their very different bills on in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants heard in committee at 1 p.m. Rep. Grace Diaz’ bill will codify into legislation the decision made by the Board of Governors for Higher Education last year allowing anyone who finished three years of high school in RI to qualify for in-state tuition “regardless of immigration status.” And Rep. Doreen Costa’s bill would “prohibit anyone who cannot prove U.S. citizenship or permanent residency from receiving in-state tuition rates and fees at public higher education institutions.”

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras unveiled his budget proposal last night, which could help right the fiscal ship in the Capital City. But it’s contingent on some factors beyond the city’s control, such as the outcome of the inevitable lawsuit over his pension reform efforts. Here’s the brief that appears in today’s New York Times.

Conservatives like to defend Citizens United by claiming that it gives liberal groups the right to raise unlimited campaign money as well, which is true but irrelevant since the majority of big time donors support the GOP. In fact, 8 of the ten biggest Super PACS support Republicans.

California will vote on banning the death penalty this November. Too bad a plurality of executions in the US take place in Texas.

Had Rhode Island partnered with instead of fighting the Narragansett Indian Tribe, the state would have been well ahead of the regional casino trend rather than well behind it. Can’t blame the Narragansetts for suing us.

This page may be updated throughout the day. Click HERE for an archive of the RI Progress Report.

April 10, 2012April 10, 2012

RI Progress Report: Romney in RI and Wildfire Warnings

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Mitt Romney will make his second campaign stop in the Ocean State today. The GOP presidential hopeful will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick for what his campaign calls a Small Business Town Hall. The last time Romney was in Rhode Island he held a fundraiser at a Newport mansion, where the millionaire famous for being out of touch no doubt felt more at home than he will at a hotel in Warwick.

Meanwhile, yesterday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, business owners disagreed with the congressional delegation on the reasons for RI’s high unemployment rate.

Not the AFL-CIO, though, which endorsed the three Democrats running for re-election to Congress this year.

I thought we only got springtime wildfire warnings in the West? Not only is it a particularly dry year here in Rhode Island, it’s also the warmest year on record.

Speaking of putting out fires … Ozzie Guillen, the new manager of the Miami Marlins, displays how NOT to ingratiate oneself to baseball fans in Florida by praising Fidel Castro.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation becomes the latest organization to sever ties with ALEC, the business (and, evidently, non-profit)-backed political powerhouse that authors right-wing model legislation for state legislatures.

Need a free bike? Head to South County on Saturday for the Bicycle Recycle, part of Bike Day in South Kingstown.

Gov. Chafee tells the Johnston City Council that the state didn’t do enough over the past three years to help struggling cities.

This page may be updated throughout the day. Click HERE for an archive of the RI Progress Report.

April 5, 2012April 6, 2012

RI Progress Report: Teachers v. Tuition, Ciccone, RIP Peter Lord

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Rightfully, Sen. Frank Ciccone is emerging as the biggest loser in the incident in which his senate colleague Dominick Ruggerio was arrested for allegedly driving drunk and refusing a breathalyzer. Ciccone is accused of attempting to coerce Barrington police officers to let Ruggerio off by threatening legislative retribution. We’re not sure exactly which is more dangerous to society: inebriated elected officials operating motor vehicles or inebriated elected officials using their positions to gain personal favor. Neither should be taken lightly.

Rest in peace, Peter Lord, the hugely-respected Projo environmental reporter who died yesterday of a brain tumor, and thank you so much for your years of explaining our natural world to us.

Thank you Gov. Chafee, for declining to give URI professors 3 percent raises at the same time that tuition is going up 9.5 percent. (I’m sure to hear from an ex-prof or two for this line, but oh well…)

As Providence is asking retirees to take a cut in benefits, the city failed to apply for $1.6 million in federal reimbursement from the Affordable Care Act to help offset these kinds of costs. Remarkably, the Capital City said it asked two health care providers to complete the application for it! I guess the old saying is true: if you want something done right, do it yourself. If you don’t, hire a health care provider.

More bad news for Barry Hinckley’s campaign for Senate. His spokesman John Loughlin has resigned after an erroneous attack on Sheldon Whitehouse’s Buffett Rule bill. No word yet on whether Loughlin will be replaced by Hudson Hinckley, the previous campaign insider to give the candidate some bad press…

Congrats to Allan Tear, founder of Betaspring, who was asked by President Obama to join him at the White House today when he signs a bill into law that will help small businesses like his raise ore investment money.

Sen. Jack Reed will be at the soon-to-be-operational Wickford Junction train depot this morning, which is slated to start service later this month. The developers of the project have been waiting some 30 years for rail service in North Kingstown.

Turns out ALEC, the secretive business-backed group that quietly pushes for local legislation often bad for democracy and citizens, was behind the law that allowed Trayvon Martin’s killer to walk away without being charged.

Please, local media, give us less updates on lottery winners …. after all, lotteries are little more than a “cheap tax on the poor.”

Congrats to President Obama, who now seems guaranteed to get to run against Mitt Romney for re-election. “I’ve yet to meet a single person in the Republican establishment that thinks Mitt Romney is going to win the general election this year,” GOP cheerleader Joe Scarborough said yesterday.