Re: Cicione Takes on RI Insiders

Marc's already mentioned RIGOP Chairman Gio Cicione's op-ed in yesterday's Providence Journal, but two related points are worth making.

First, Gio reins in his argument a bit more than is accurate. This is dead-on:

We face a choice between a centrally planned economy run by and raided by the leadership on Smith Hill, or an economy where all Rhode Islanders can pursue the American dream and actually keep what they earn for themselves and their families. One choice has driven us to the brink, where we can no longer even afford to provide the most basic government services. The other choice lies in front of us.

What goes unsaid is that basic government services are also (and more so) impeded by the surfeit of non-basic government services as well as the unreasonable cost of our government's provision of them. In other words, he doesn't attack government handout programs or public-sector unions.

The second point is that this is precisely what the GOP chair ought to be doing. Calculate a message and drive it home for the broadest possible audience. Then leave it up to folks like us to fill in the gaps and explain to our sub-constituencies why our objectives fit within (and will be easier to achieve in cooperation with) the Republican Party.