Samuel G. Howard
The governor’s gaffe about the local media landscape
Over the course of nearly an hour-long talk given by Governor Gina Raimondo at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, you might’ve assumed that the headlines coming out it would be the moment where she questioned whether President Donald Trump was fit to serve as President of the United States, considering Trump’s effect […]
You should oppose the line-item veto
Now that the master lever has been consigned to its grave, right-wing “reformers” turn their sights on the other thing on their wishlist: the line-item veto, a constitutional amendment that would give the governor the power to slash items from a budget.
Where are the down-ballot Republicans?
Eliminating the master lever was supposed to assist the RI Republican Party (and strengthen RI’s democracy) by assisting in one of the most important things a party needs: candidate recruitment. The problem, as it was posed, was that the prevalence of the master lever basically acted as a deterrent for potential Republican candidates for the […]
The tension of the American third party
Because I grew up in Rhode Island, am below the age of 30, and am a liberal, a lot of my friends this election season have abandoned following Bernie Sanders into the Democratic Party (however briefly) and instead pledged their support to Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for President. This strikes me as poorly […]
FBI or ransomware? You be the judge
Lost in the aftermath of the budget was this gem (start at around 2:54; for fun, pay attention to Reps. Shekarchi and Morin reactions) from last Friday’s House debate over Budget Article 1. In it, Rep. Karen MacBeth claims that the FBI temporarily seized control of her home computer for reasons unknown. Now, I’m not a […]
RI House provided argument against home rule
Of great concern last Thursday night for some members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives was the potential of there being something like 39 different minimum wage laws. Again and again, representatives warned of economic disaster if the City of Providence passed a law mandating $15 an hour for hotel workers; and so in […]
Rhode Island Graphic Design Challenge: Oops, you forgot Block Island
In the course of my job, I spend a lot of time with budding graphic designers, marketing students, and the like. Often, they’ve received some Rhode Island-centric assignment that will include a logo. Drawing a logo that represents Rhode Island can be relatively difficult if you’ve given it some thought. The anchor can be too […]
When does the right to petition become lobbying?
Candidate for Democratic nominee for Secretary of State Guillaume de Ramel in The Providence Journal 5/26/14 (emphasis added): Rhode Island’s special distinction for “limited activity” lobbyists has created A gray area in the law prone to causing confusion or even unintentional noncompliance. Anyone who lobbies state government should be registered with the secretary of state’s office, regardless of […]
Toward a Loyal Opposition in Rhode Island
Data shows us that Rhode Island has one of the least polarized legislatures in the country. It is governed by a centrist consensus that fails to please policy demanders on the wings. Yet those demands from the wings are essential to maintaining the consensus – politicians can portray themselves as fighting against so-called “special interests” […]
Conservatives and progressives both wrong on ideology of RI General Assembly
I take a pretty dim view of the way most of RI’s political commentators describe the situation at the General Assembly. On the left, you tend to hear the argument that conservatives within the Democrats have at least veto power over the Democratic agenda (and often it’s claimed conservatives control the GA) and these conservatives […]
The warped politics of a 38 Studios default
Rhode Island’s politics are often pretty messy. But with the 38 Studios bonds, they party lines are crystal-clear. There’s a pro-default party and there’s an anti-default party. I’m am clearly on the anti-default party. I think it tends to be a more coherent; it’s solely about protecting Rhode Island’s credit rating. There’s a lot of […]
38 Studios sucks, but we need to pay the bill
Let me ad some very insightful commentary on the whole 38 Studios saga: it sucks. It sucks that much of the legislature feels they were conned into providing the cash for the deal. It sucks that Don Carcieri would recruit Schilling to bring his company here. It sucks that anyone in the then-EDC would believe […]
Rare dramatic corruption distracts from real issues
Gov. DiPrete dumpster-diving for his bribe, Mayor Cianci convicted for running a corrupt criminal enterprise, and a myriad of law enforcement agencies raiding Speaker Fox’s office. It’s easy for any of RI’s even casual political observers to rattle off a handful of dramatic events of convictions for or allegations of corruption. Among the exhortations to […]
Pro-convention reasons against a constitutional convention: Balance of power
The March 29 conference on the convention was perhaps the whitest crowd I’ve ever been in in my life. And I’m not exaggerating there. That to me is demonstrative of what’s going on in the debate about the convention. Let’s stop and remind ourselves that constitutions do not change how power is distributed in a […]
Pro-convention reasons against a constitutional convention: Status quo bias
One of the most common refrains I hear from Pro-convention people is the need for a line-item veto for the governor’s office. Others argue for the need to re-assert the Ethics Commission oversight over the General Assembly. And maybe it’s just me, but I do not foresee voters citing these as their top concerns when […]
Pro-convention reasons against a constitutional convention: The ‘unlimited’ convention
One of the major stumbling blocks to supporting a constitutional convention is the fact that it’s an “unlimited” convention. It’s important, as Prof. Robert Williams of Rutgers University told the March 29 Conference, to remember that state constitutions don’t function like the US Constitution. The US Constitution grants power to the federal government, whereas state […]
Pro-convention reasons against a constitutional convention: Why now?
The reason the debate about a constitutional convention is happening now is because RI is constitutionally obligated to do so. The 2014 election will mark 10 years since Rhode Islanders were last asked to have a convention. Since 1984, they’ve rejected it at each election. It’s unclear how they’ll vote this time. To some extent, […]
March Madness: Genuine, bonafide politics in RI House of Reps
The orderly transition of Harwood>Murphy>Fox has meant an astounding amount of discipline on the part of the RI House’s Democratic caucus. That discipline has been enforced in unsavory ways; the loss of committee chairs and seats, the holding up of bills, loss of party endorsement in primary races. But punishment for defying party leadership is […]
Conservatives shouldn’t scapegoat their losing streak
Justin Katz is really out in right field with this post. He starts off by making a decent point: Even if every Rhode Islander disagreed with a person’s policy suggestions, that doesn’t mean that those suggestions are wrong or are not the wisest thing that the state could do, in a particular instance. That’s right, […]
Do we consume news or a narrative when it comes to foreign affairs?
Like many this past week, I watched the results of the Euromaidan movement in Ukraine with some fascination. A street movement seemed to oust a pro-Kremlin stooge, succeeding in bringing about rapid change to a country. It’s fascinating to watch. Also in the international news about protests was Venezuela, where an opposition leader was taken […]
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