As some have already noted in Anchor Rising’s play-by-play, some significant and interesting things were said at Operation Clean Government’s spring forum. Last night, I posted audio of Governor Carcieri’s unscheduled speech; thereafter, the panel took the stage:

• OCG President Arthur “Chuck” Barton introduces the panel, points out some significant people in the audience, and gives brief opening remarks: stream, download (2min, 9sec)
• WPRO talk show host Dan Yorke kicks off the discussion, asking the panelists to give their diagnosis of Rhode Island’s illness: stream, download (3min, 53sec)
• Dan directs the question to RI General Treasurer Frank Caprio, who gives a solutioning speech (state must be “user friendly” to business), leading Dan to drive the conversation to the question: stream, download (4min, 10sec)
• John Hazen White, Jr., President & CEO of Taco, Inc., repeats the governor’s take, “We are creating a much bigger tax burden; at the same time depleting the tax payers”: stream, download (41sec)
• Unfortunately, an attempt to locate a beeping noise (which turned out not to be my equipment), rendered the short response of Director of Administration Gary Sasse, as well as the beginning of Rep. Dennigan’s response, inaudible.
• Representative Elizabeth Dennigan (D., East Providence, Pawtucket) points the finger at efficiency and transparency, saying “I can tell you as a long-time member of the finance committee that we don’t know how we are spending millions”: stream, download (29sec)
• University of Rhode Island Economics Professor Leonard Lardaro blames an endemic approach of Rhode Islanders, specifically that “Too many people in this state have a very exogenous view of the world; things just happen; they don’t really associate actions now with outcomes later”: stream, download (2min 32sec)
• Yorke redirects the question redirects the question to define Rhode Islanders: stream, download (3min 20sec)
• Caprio mentioned the sacrifice of our parents and noted an inclination to help each other, to which Yorke responded that he’s describing Americans: stream, download (2min 33sec)
• Hazen White lauds ingenuity, creativity, etc: stream, download (1min 31sec)
• Yorke specifies that he’s looking more for the philosophical in order to resolve RI’s status as “submerged”: stream, download (50sec)
• Dennigan says that we should stop “complaining and encouraging our young students to leave and go somewhere else” and market the state: stream, download (1min 58sec)
• Yorke suggests that Rhode Islanders must and can be honest about themselves; “The doctor doesn’t say, in his mind, you’re dying of cancer, but you know what? You’re a good egg.”: stream, download (1min 34sec)
• Lardaro says that Rhode Islanders are “deeply caring” but are “consumption oriented” and are “way too trusting of our leaders”; “Tone always seems to supersede accuracy”: stream, download (1min 33sec)
• Sasse expands that “what happened is we became an entitle-mentality state” based on political decisions, which fostered “an inferiority complex”: stream, download (1min 42sec)
• Yorke asks Dennigan whether Rhode Islanders have courage; the crowd says, “no”; Dennigan points to the people in the room as an example of courage: stream, download (33sec)
• Yorke defines the question as having the grit to change our lifestyle, making it healthier; “Would Rhode Islanders rather die than do the things that the doctor has prescribed?”; audience member: “They don’t believe it”: stream, download (1min 9sec)
• Hazen White says there’s “a tremendous lack of courage and maybe an uninformed path” and that he was “dumbfounded” that the Democrats expanded their power in the last election; and another thing, “we’ve got a union problem”: stream, download (1min 56sec)
• To laughs from the crowd, Caprio shifts to call it “a special interest problem” in that there’s no opposing force for the taxpayer against them: stream, download (1min 8sec)