Politics and other mistakes
Each year, Governor John Baldacci announces his top priority in the next legislative session will be reducing the state income tax. (“Lack of political clout? What lack of political clout?”)
By AL DIAMON | August 20, 2008

Crackpot court

Taking a shot at the Supreme Court’s recent gunplay
This past week’s Supreme Court ruling, invalidating Washington, DC’s handgun ban, demonstrates just how far afield “movement conservatism” has taken our country.
By EDITORIAL | July 02, 2008

Mixed reviews: A state budget for desperate times

Talking Politics
The budget consensus reached by Governor Carcieri and legislative leaders last week represents just another marker of Rhode Island’s ongoing dire straits.
By IAN DONNIS | June 25, 2008

Taking from the poor

Democratic lawmakers show their Republican values
What values do Maine’s Democrats hold?
By LANCE TAPLEY | May 07, 2008

Chafee for governor?

Running as an independent, he could thumb his nose at the worst of both parties
For now, Lincoln Chafee has the luxury of discussing his political future as a riddle wrapped up in an enigma.
By IAN DONNIS | April 10, 2008

Shocker: RI GOP in disarray

A real two-party system requires an effective minority party
An internecine battle has broken out between the couple dozen or so people who claim to be members of the Rhode Island Republican Party.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | March 19, 2008

Jump to it

Politics and other mistakes
Tax reform is the Evel Knievel of political issues. It gives us the most pleasure when it crashes and burns.
By AL DIAMON | March 19, 2008

Iraq: Five years later

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains the punishing cost of staying any longer
Five years later, President George Bush and his minions were wrong about the need to fight in Iraq, wrong about the way to fight in Iraq, and wrong about what the war in Iraq would ultimately cost.
By PETER KADZIS | March 12, 2008

Jackson's sweet dream

Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign
This article originally appeared in the March 4, 1988 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By SCOT LEHIGH | March 07, 2008

Tax break heaven

The rich get richer, the middle class picks up the tab, and the state goes broke. Here’s why.
As the economy sours, state taxes are bringing in less than expected.
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 20, 2008

Corporate welfare state

A little change in the tax law with big consequences
In 2006, state lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to give away millions of tax dollars a year for decades to some of Maine’s biggest corporations.
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 20, 2008

Dressed up for the letdown

Politics and other mistakes
I needed to get this column spiffed up, so I headed for the metaphor closet.
By AL DIAMON | January 16, 2008

Committee of onions and failure

Politics and other mistakes
To help me decide on a topic for this week’s column, I assembled a blue-ribbon commission.
By AL DIAMON | January 02, 2008

Everyone’s a neocon now

Looking back on state politics — and forward
In the eight years I’ve covered the State House for the Portland Phoenix, I’ve been struck by the depressingly constant themes.
By LANCE TAPLEY | December 21, 2007

Conservative group lands Norquist for fundraiser

Talking politics
Grover Norquist is probably best known for saying, “My goal is to cut government in half in 25 years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”
By IAN DONNIS | November 19, 2007

Carcieri goes for his cuts

The Governor on his cost-reduction plan, the casino threat, and more
Carcieri seems to find motivation in things like a handwritten note sent by an elderly telephone company retiree, exhorting him to cut state spending.
By IAN DONNIS | October 24, 2007

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