In Depth

Bush v. California

By Justin Katz | November 10, 2004 |

Froma Harrop walks a strange line between liberal and conservative principles in a recent column about economic differences between the Red States and the Blue States, and the tax-cut implications thereof. It’s a thick topic, even when it isn’t encumbered by an underlying theme of pinning something undesirable to President Bush’s back. Consequently, I’m not…

AG Lynch: Preview of Gov. Lynch?

By Marc Comtois | November 9, 2004 | Comments Off on AG Lynch: Preview of Gov. Lynch?

Edward Achorn has a column in today’s ProJo denouncing state Attorney General Patrick Lynch for his confusing and specious written justification for not prosecuting Cranston Firefighter Union head Paul Valletta for threatening Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey at a City Council meeting in August. The incident is on tape and no reasonable person would argue that…

Well, Hem, You Know, Haw

By Justin Katz | November 9, 2004 | Comments Off on Well, Hem, You Know, Haw

U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee (RINO, RI) has promised to remain a Republican, offering the supremely confidence-inspiring declaration: “Yes, at this stage, that is my intention.” In a sad echo of President Bush’s overused phrase in the first debate, Chafee says it is also his intention to “work hard to regain the support” of Republicans. Personally,…

Opening Stages of the RIGOP Revolution

By Justin Katz | November 9, 2004 | Comments Off on Opening Stages of the RIGOP Revolution

A pre-election comment from the Edward Achorn piece linked in the previous post is worth a follow up: Now, Mayor Laffey and GOP candidate Jim Davey are working to send another powerful statewide message. They hope to defeat state Rep. Frank A. Montanaro (D.-Cranston) — Boss Montanaro’s son — on Nov. 2. A quick look…

Politics… Bad for Your Health

By Justin Katz | November 9, 2004 | Comments Off on Politics… Bad for Your Health

Writing in the Providence Journal, Emily Harding of the Rhode Island Association of Health Underwriters lays out the general argument for some suggestions for improving the healthcare near-crisis in the state: What made [national health insurance carriers] leave the state had nothing to do with the inability to compete with Blue Cross (which they had…

One-Party States

By Carroll Andrew Morse | November 9, 2004 | Comments Off on One-Party States

John Fund documented in yesterday’s Opinionjournal, that more and more states are tending towards one-party rule at the state level. This is an intersting trend. If you believe what people say about voting for “the best candidate” instead of party affiliation, you would expect, at the local level, less dominance by any single party, because…

International Troops Enter Iraq

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2004 |

It’s entirely possible that my media-cynicism adjuster is tuned too high, but whether rightly or wrongly, the following caption for the photo currently on the Providence Journal‘s home page surprised me. In big, bold letters on the picture itself is the word “Captured,” and beneath it: In this image from television, troops oversee captives at…

Out with the Old, in with the New

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2004 | Comments Off on Out with the Old, in with the New

I’d been considering republishing a June entry from my own blog here, mostly so that it would be in the archives for future reference, and Marc’s latest post makes the topic more relevant. It’s my “coverage” (including video) of the RIGOP convention. Even if the reality of last week’s election has thrust the GOP revolution…

Quantifying the Anchor’s Weight

By Marc Comtois | November 8, 2004 |

Turning to local politics, it seems that one of the first things to be done is to concisely show the size of the task we conservatives/Republicans face. With the latest election in the rear view mirror, the following numbers should clarify our perspective (taken from this story): Republican State Representatives – 12 out of 75…

Goading the Opposition

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2004 |

It has become a commonplace among right-leaning pundits that Democrats’ greatest problem is their reluctance to objectively assess the causes of their defeat and, more importantly, to reconsider their positions accordingly. Of course, that the observation is commonplace doesn’t make it untrue. Here’s Matt Russo, from Exeter, in a letter to the Providence Journal: The…