Another victory for Democrat hegemony.

We have one of the highest tax burdens in the country, thanks to the Democrat machine.

We have one of the worst state economies / business climates in the country, thanks to the Democrat machine.

We have public schools that, in spite of having some of the highest financial inputs in the country, perform below average ... year after year, decade after decade.

We have a national (indeed international) reputation as a welfare magnet, so thanks to the Democrat machine we're importing poverty and exporting college graduates (who can't make a decent living here).

We have a national reputation for political corruption, thanks to the Democrat machine and its decades of corruption, preceding RISDIC and continuing through today's Operation Dollar Bill.

We pay some of the highest gas taxes in the country, but have bridges failing due to lack of maintenance, and potholes galore, thanks to the Democrat machine siphoning the money into the general fund to please its union and welfare constituencies.

We pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, thanks to the Democrat machine using "school aid" as a slush fund to please union and urban constituencies.

Not satiated with the monies coming in from the onerous tax regime it's constructed, the Democrat machine has fomented a $450 million (and climbing) projected budget deficit next year.

Not satiated with the monies coming in from the onerous tax regime it's constructed, instead of putting sufficient money aside to fund the giveaways it's given to the unions, the Democrat machine has fomented a $5 billion unfunded pension liability.

That $5 billion doesn't include the unfunded liability for other giveaway to the unions - retiree benefits such as health care - for which the Democrat machine has put nothing aside.

Nor does the $5 billion include the unfunded liabilities for pensions and other union retiree benefits that the Democrat machine has racked up in municipalities across the state.

RISDIC was over 15 years ago. We've had all the other "issues" described above, and yet our fellow citizens continue to reelect the corruption machine.

It's sad to say, but I've concluded that it's going to take the total fiscal collapse of government in this state before the electorate will even contemplate political change.

This was obviously a disappointing result for everyone involved (least of all, Jon), but it's hardly the end of the story. There's another election in the district in just under a year. People understand that in RI, Republicans are always the underdog, simply because the other side can trade promises of favors and influence for votes.

Jon was able to build a very good network of supporters from all over the party who worked hard, but this time, fell a little short. There were a lot of variables in the race which were very hard to effectively plan for, especially given the condensed time frame of a special election. We did well considering the overall circumstances.

Unfortunately, unlike the other side, we can't write big checks and import legions of outside volunteers and consultants on a moment's notice. We expect to learn a lot from this race, and we'll be doing a lot of postmortem analysis over the coming weeks, to make sure that any mistakes which may have been made, don't get repeated in the future, in this and in other races. It was a productive learning experience.

As Henry Mencken once said, "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard." Just pray that the winner doesn't do too much damage during the year ahead. Given the kind of people who currently populate the General Assembly, he'll be in good company.

PS (Shameless plug alert!) I have the unofficial breakdown of the voting results by precinct on The Ocean State Republican at http://oceanstaterepublican.com ;)

It's sad to say, but I've concluded that it's going to take the total fiscal collapse of government in this state before the electorate will even contemplate political change.

Posted by Tom W at November 27, 2007 10:30 PM
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That's exactly right Tom. But, the "fiscal collapse" just happened 2 weeks ago. The seeds have been sown. Harvest Day is here. They can elect Grace Diaz as governor-it will make little difference. The taxes cannot support the geometric increases in spending. The game is over. As always (think East Bloc) the "progressives" both win and lose. They win the "will to power" race but their unsustainable economic policies come crashing down like a house of cards. This is what we are seeing play out in RI as what will soon be America's highest taxes prove unable to support the union/welfare kleptocracy.

Can't blame this one on East Side liberals, or the Murphy-Lynch machine. It's not like Ferri had the benefit of straight-ticket voting, either.
I thought Pisaturo, being the best known of the three candidates, would be a bigger factor than he was. Did he just run a lousy campaign, or not put in the effort Ferri and Wheeler did?
Finally, to Wheeler backers: do you blame the outcome on Pisaturo's presence in the race?

Actually, we can blame it [in part] on East Side liberals. Take a look at his big campaign contributors.

While Pisaturo was a factor, it wasn't enough to make the difference. He ran virtually no campaign that I could tell, but he was a previous city council member, so he had some name ID. If you add up the votes, you had about 53% for Ferri, and 47% for the other two. It was mainly a matter of GOTV, and the democrat/union axis have a well-oiled machine to do that. Ferri also hired a ton of consultants doing God knows what. He also spent the equivalent of more than two years of General Assembly pay, for a job that will only last for the next 11 months (now, that's a true liberal!).

There were a lot of outside lefty special interest groups involved in the race, who might not otherwise be so involved during a regular election. Ferri's their guy; they got what they paid for. Hopefully, he won't do any harm.

Will, the whole party/big union axis had already been repudiated in that district. Murphy, AFCSME, and that whole crowd lined up behind Ferri's primary opponent.
And Wheeler had Carcieri out for him, which is more effort than The Don put into any '06 legislative races. Face it, a gay man getting elected to the GA is killing The Don (on more than a Democratic-Republican level - he'd be feeling the burn no matter what letter Ferri had next to his name on the ballot).

Good old predictable Rhody, attributing homophobia in everyone that doesn't embrace upending thousands of years of civilization's consensus that marriage is an institution that is, should be, and must be between a man and woman.

Not everybody, Ragin, but the guv's certainly proven himself in that regard.

Hi!
I think in electoral analysis, it is important to look at an area's voting history which usually is a better predictable of electoral success.tHis part of Warwick includes what wards? How does this district vote in competitive races state wide? I believe this district very much trends Democratic? I assume Republican Mayor Scott Avedesian carries it as his margins are large.
I assume Mr.Wheeler will still remain active in politics!I do not really know him.
Regards,
Scott

Scott, the district includes much of Oakland Beach and Conimicut (arguably the poorest areas of Warwick), plus some of Warwick Neck (which gets pretty wealthy after you pass Rocky Point Ave.) The Dems, I read somewhere, have about a 3-to-1 registration advantage there.
I grew up in Warwick, and can't recall any Republicans being elected from that area (generally, GOP winners have come from either the northern or southern parts of the city). Pisaturo, if I remember correctly, went independent during his council tenure after first being elected as a Democrat.

Rhody, Actually, the district changed when the GA shrunk. Very little of Conimicut is in district 22 (I just happen to be part of that sliver, by the way) and it isn't really that poor. A lot of the district is, though.

It looks like Ferri and Wheeler split Warwick Neck (St. Mary's), a fairly upper-to-middle class neighborhood (Putting Warwick Neck in this district was a testament to gerrymandering skill, by the way). Then Ferri beat Wheeler 2:1 at John Greene (Longmeadow, Bayside, Rocky Point) and Jonah (Oakland Beach), which may be a little poorer, as you indicated. Ferri also took Sherman (Lockwood/Church Avenue area) by 3:1. Incidentally, there is a major elderly community right in the Sherman neighborhood (lifelong Dems all, I'd bet).

That's my armchair breakdown.

Its a democracy and the people have spoken. Bush would have glorified such a percentage margin as "a huge mandate". It appears at least there was some passion among the voters.

I wonder if that passion will be the case in the next Presidential Election or if it will be another of the lessor of two evils event?