On Sunday the BeloJo tried to get "Frankie cute" themselves by endorsing Caprio for governor. After presenting news stories for the past couple of months that have been particularly harsh on Caprio and much less so on Chafee, the BeloJo might have seemed in the bag for Chafee. After all, there has been a long relationship between the Chafee and (his wife Stephanie's) Danforth families and the Urinal. WPRO talk show host Dan "The Towering Genius" Yorke accurately noted that the BeloJo did this to create a perception of "balance." Everybody knows that about as many people are influenced by the Other Paper's endorsement as are swayed by P+J's endorsement.
That's all standard issue political activity. We do, however, take real umbrage at whoever in Frankie's campaign went out of their way to smear former Chafee campaign manager J.R. Pagliarini, a good man. And don't think for a second that it wasn't an agent of the Caprio campaign that is responsible for that outrage.
Ultimately, we endorsed Linc Chafee last week because of his honesty and integrity and courage. He may be wrong about some things but there's no bullshit here. If you want someone who'll tell you what you want to hear and suggest we can get out of this mess without pain (ATTENTION: there will be pain), then go ahead, vote for Caprio and then be shocked, SHOCKED! when the pain arrives. As for Robitaille, he's a nice fellow but we remember the Warren G. Harding administration so, thanks, but no thanks. Like George H.W. Bush, we don't buy voodoo economics.
SOMEONE ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT!
As the gubernatorial candidates continue to show their lack of understanding when it comes to the link between the environment and the economy — or their total lack of interest in that rather vital part of our state's future fiscal health — a shout-out to one candidate who gets it: state Senator Sue Sosnowski in District 37 (New Shoreham, South Kingstown).
Senator Sue is a real-life farmer who also happens to be chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture. She has long been a champion of natural resources issues and that's the type of person we need in a post like hers, never mind in the General Assembly overall. If you live on Block Island, where protection of the environment courses in everyone's veins, or in South Kingstown, where it is at least in the majority of residents' brains, make sure Sosnowski returns to Smith Hill.
INTERPLANETARY QUOTES OF THE WEEK
P+J's Donald Rumsfeld Straight Talk Award goes to Chicago Bears line coach Mike Tice on the problems his team is having this year: "There's a reason why sometimes young linemen don't look like they know what they're doing because usually they don't. On the field, they don't speak because they're not positive they know what they know what they think they know they know."
Roll over, Mr. Bartlett.
And our "Hitler Had Some Good Ideas, Too" Award to climate change denier Kelly Khuri, founder of Indiana's Clark County Tea Party Patriots, compliments of the New York Times on October 20: "This so-called climate science is just ridiculous . . . Carbon regulation, cap and trade, it's all just a money-control avenue. Some people say I'm extreme, but they said the John Birch Society was extreme, too."
