Rhode Island Politics
Those who missed it (and are interested) can hear my WRNI Political Roundtable appearance here. (A preemptive admission: The different format from AM talk radio threw off my oratorical pacing, leaving me something to keep in mind next time.) The speed of the show necessarily leaves many worthwhile thoughts unspoken, but one that I really…
Roger Williams University Political Science Professor Matthew Ulricksen provides an impressive list of public-sector functionaries in Rhode Island: Rhode Island claims a population of slightly more than one million people in a territory of about 2,000 square miles. Yet, it is feudalized into 39 municipalities, governed by nine elected municipal chief executives, 25 appointed chief…
Odds are that readers of Anchor Rising have come across it, already, but Ed Achorn raised the apropos problem, yetserday: Rhode Island, according to Forbes, suffers from job-killing regulatory burdens, high taxes and steep energy costs, reflected in an astonishingly poor growth rate in gross state product of 0.9 percent over five years. The only…
Isn’t there something fundamentally dishonest about the sort of calculation that RI House Majority Leader Gordon Fox is making in his campaign for speakership? … with one notable exception, he is guarded about where he stands on some of the more volatile issues the 2010 legislature is likely to face, including casino gambling, gay marriage…
The RIGOP this week filed an ethics complaint against Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch (D) for violating the state’s $75 gift cap by accepting a roundtrip plane ticket worth $428.50 from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association The genesis of this complaint – the impetus for the RIGOP to look more closely at the…
I’m happy to see Brian Hull making sure that it isn’t only the Rhode Island right that’s always on camera. Over on Rhode Island Future, he’s posted video of the Democrat Primary Debate in Providence’s District 10. ADDENDUM: On a related topic, I haven’t rushed to publish my footage of Rep. Loughlin’s healthcare forum, because…
I wonder if revelations about House Speaker Bill Murphy’s intention to step down change the context in which we should consider Dennigan’s drama. The previous common assessment had held, I believe, that Dennigan’s challenge to Langevin was (on the issue of abortion or just generally) a shot from the progressive faction — either to move…
The AP is reporting that State Representative Elizabeth Dennigan (D – East Providence/Pawtucket) has resigned her (now former) state legislative seat, in order to devote more time to her Second District Congressional campaign against incumbent Democrat James Langevin. Will Ricci at the Ocean State Republican is quoting a source saying that a special election will…
Current RI House Speaker William Murphy announced his retirement and it sounds like he’d like to get gambling done before he exits the stage (via 7 to 7): A day after confirming his plans to leave the rostrum after next year, House Speaker William J. Murphy is saying the General Assembly needs to “revisit” casino…
I’m about a half hour late, but I’ve made it all the way across town in Tiverton for John Loughlin’s healthcare town hall event, as part of his campaign for Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s seat. There are quite a few people here — somewhere around 130 or 140 — with a high local contingent. I can’t…