Rhode Island Politics
Sometimes, when assessing the political field based on available information, a commentator rightly worries that he presumes too much. And sometimes the politicians are quick to add evidence that he does not. For example, in the midst of early bantering in the RIGOP primary for the first-district Congressional race, over early support for John Loughlin…
No doubt, all but the most underdog victors of high-profile political campaigns will have similar lists of interested campaign donors (and whether they are evil sneaks or righteous activists is mainly a matter of perspective), but it’s always good to know whose calls Governor Chafee is likely to take: They included: Democratic Sen. Frank Ciccone…
Hal Meyer, Citizen Critic and former Rhode Island resident, has compiled an excellent website, RI Democrats, outlining the all of the damage that seventy years of a Democrat super-majority has inflicted on the state. Below is a selection of the evidence that he presents. My view is that, from now on, every voter should be…
I’m happy to see that this legislation (H5888)didn’t make it to the governor’s desk: As part of a broader plan to shift some of the burden of waste disposal onto private companies and away from state and local government, Governor Chafee’s administration has introduced legislation that would require national and local manufacturers to pay for…
When PolitiFact found Gary Sasse to be truthful about Rhode Island’s 52% premium for human-service programs, as compared with the national average, it offered a bit of broader speculation: The 52-percent figure could mean that the state is being overly generous with its benefits. Or it could mean that the characteristics of Rhode Island’s population…
Trying to follow public policy debates — particularly those having to do with the transfer of government money — is like trying to make sense of an incoherent dream. Whenever you hear or read that there is “confusion” or “ambiguity” related to a particular law, it’s a reasonable assumption that one or more parties are…
Throughout the legislative session just ended, the Providence Journal has been checking in with four freshman legislators, one of them being North Kingstown Republican Doreen Costa. This snippet, from the end-of-session iteration, points to one of Rhode Island’s major political problems, and the consequence of indomitable one-party rule: Lesson number two: Don’t “question or argue”…
I’ve been approaching with similar skepticism the two new faces to the RIGOP, both running for high-profile national offices based mainly on various news reports. A look at their campaign “issues” pages, however, does point to some distinctions — not necessarily huge distinctions on the stances that they take, but certainly in the extent to…
Matt and I discussed the forces affecting Rhode Island’s politics on last night’s Matt Allen Show. I expressed skepticism that the General Assembly will actually do much to reform pensions, referring to the four horsemen of Rhode Island’s apocalypse — that is, the four groups that have locked in power in RI, and which the…
Somehow I don’t find this surprising: He is running as a Republican, but most of former State Police Colonel Brendan Doherty’s biggest supporters are major Democratic donors, according to a GoLocalProv review of his first campaign finance report, filed last week. … * Nearly two thirds of the donors did not donate to a single…