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Monday, May 12, 2008
Kathy Gregg offers some info familiar to readers of the RI blogosphere in her roundup today on the 2010 governor's race, but she does score a scoop by reporting on how Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian is backing away from the contest. These are the most specific remarks Avedisian has made about 2010, and quite a contrast from the time last year when Linc Chafee was talking up the mayor as a gubernatorial candidate:
On the Republican side, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian flirted with the idea of running for state office, with Chafee, on an independent slate, but said early last week that he was most interested in running for Rhode Island’s 2nd Representative District seat should James R. Langevin, the Democratic incumbent, opt out. Langevin spokeswoman Joy Fox says the congressman has no plans to leave.
But Avedisian, who is up for reelection as mayor in November, said: “I don’t see myself running for governor at this point…. My first choice is to still wait for a chance to run for Congress.” Lest there be any doubt where his party loyalties lie, he is also burnishing his Republican credentials by running for a seat on the Republican National Committee.
Chafee, meanwhile -- in what I recently tabbed as a dream contest for local political junkies -- seems to be edging ever closer to a gov run.
. . . as he goes from one stop to another on his book-selling tour, Republican-turned-independent Chafee talks about what he calls the “magnet pull” to jump back in. “Even in the supermarket, I’ll be looking at a head of lettuce and someone will say … I am sorry I voted against you for the Senate. They feel compelled to tell me: ‘Don’t take it personally … I hope you run for governor.’ ”
Monday, April 28, 2008
Robert Manning, RI's GOP National Committeeman, says the varying alliances of himself (with Steve Laffey) and Scott Avedisian (with Linc Chafee) are unrelated to Avedisian's challenge to his position.
Last week, N4N reported that Avedisian and Joe Trillo are challenging Manning for the National Committeman post. The election for the position will be held in June.
Asked what this about, Manning told me a short time ago, "They're interested in extending their service to the party." Asked if it has any relation to maneuvering for the 2010 gubernatorial race, he said, "No."
Manning defeated former LG Bernie Jackvony for the Committeeman slot four years ago, after it was discovered by Laffey allies that the previous holder of the post, Mike Traficante, had disaffiliated in Cranston and was therefore ineligible.
Manning confirmed that he intends to fight for the National Committeeman post. He claims credit for helping to put Rhode Island on the path to be included in Super Tuesday voting in the next presidential election cycle -- a move that would have to be approved at the Republican National Convention. Manning says he has also worked to get funding from the Republican National Committee for the state party, in part through a coalition of smaller states.
Calling the RNC "basically a seniority-based organization," Manning says that if someone were to replace him, "we're going to [have to] start all over again."
Dan Barry, former ProJo scribe-turned-NY Times reporter-and-acclaimed author, makes another one of his occasional forays back to Rhode Island, offering a sharp column today on Buddy Cianci and his perch at WPRO:
At first, Mr. Cianci says, “I was rather docile on the air,” calling a couple of new buildings ugly, criticizing a tax break. But when a city official took the Cianci name in vain again before the City Council, the former mayor chose a road — it wasn’t the high one — and he zeroed in on his successor’s administration.
“When I was locked up, I don’t recall those guys having any qualms saying things about me,” he says. Of course, “those guys” were cleaning up the mess created in part by his betrayal of the public trust.
On the air, Mr. Cianci, 66, tends to tiptoe past the circumstances behind his racketeering conviction (other than to joke that he has a pet dog named Rico); past the corruption that infected his administration, reflected in the F.B.I. videotape of his top aide taking bribes; past the police scandal in which favored officers received advance information about tests for promotions.
Instead, he gleefully attacks Mayor Cicilline and his police commander, Dean M. Esserman. Intermixed with sharp analysis and legitimate criticism — of the city’s poor response to a snowstorm, for example — are taunts and half-truths, released into the radio air like toxic puffs. ....
When asked about this, Mr. Cianci says his job is to be an entertainer, and his on-air persona should not be confused with the real — and changed — Buddy Cianci. Besides, he adds, because he cannot help himself: “I do think they like each other.”
Thursday, April 24, 2008
UPDATE II: AVEDISIAN, TRILLO COMMENT (I've left a message for Manning).
Avedisian, Trillo, and the RI GOP's Donna Perry all downplay the significance of the three-way Republican National Committeeman race in relation to particular candidates and the 2010 gubernatorial race. They might be playing it straight. "Basically, it's a figurehead position," says one Smith Hill Democrat. If someone's running for governor, says the source, it could be a waste of their time and effort.
As Perry explains it, the National Committeeman post carries with it membership in the Republican National Committee and the role as chief liaison to the RNC. "It's an important post," she says. "[The Committeeman is] our person to attend informational meetings with the [national] party. We rely on the national party for institutional support." In terms of 2010, and a possible Chafee-Laffey matchup, Perry says, "I don't think it's relevant to focus on who's been aligned with who." It's more about who's going to work hard for the party, she says.
The matter is slated to be decided June 12 by the RI GOP's state Central Committee. Perry says that party chairman Gio Cicione will remain publicly neutral, but that the RI Republicans' nominating committee, chaired by Mia Caetano Johnson, will make a recommendation.
Avedisian tells me that his Committeeman run "does not change anything" in terms of making a 2010 gubernatorial campaign any more or less likely. "It has no bearing on [2010] whatsoever."
After 28 years of involvement in the RI GOP, 25 of them on the state Central Committee, "I decided this was the next thing that I wanted to do," says Avedisian.
Trillo says the party needs fresh blood in the Committeeman post. "I think I have done a lot to help this party, and I would like to do more," he says. "In the past, I just haven't seen the job done at the level that I think it could be done. The place we have continually run short is in raising money. I think the National Committeeman is in a better position to get money out of the RNC. Our current people haven't been able to get any money of any significance. I don't know what they're doing."
Trillo says a small state such as Rhode Island could be "a prime experiment" of whether the national GOP can takeover a blue state.
Asked about implications for 2010, the Rep. says, "[For] either one of them" -- Avedisian or Manning -- "it could be, but I don't see it necessarily for the upcoming gubernatorial race. I'm more concerned with working on the party on legislative races."
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UPDATE: State Representative Joseph A. Trillo of Warwick will also be competing for the RI GOP National Committeeman post. "He's definitely in," says Donna Perry, executive director of the Rhode Island Republican Party . . . More to follow.
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Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian is challenging Robert Manning of Charlestown for the RI GOP National Committeeman post, N4N has learned.
This is an interesting development, considering how Avedisian is pals with Linc Chafee, and Manning is a Steve Laffey guy. The vote for the position is in June. As we know, Chafee is a possible gubernatorial rival for Laffey in 2010.
On the female side of the equation, longtime GOP National Committeewoman Eileen Slocum is not seeking reelection, and a number of contenders, including former RI GOP chair Patricia Morgan, are in the hunt.
I have a call in to Avedisian, and will report back if I get more on this today.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Speaking of Laffey, he, during his Channel 10 appearance, outlined a bold plan to grow GOP representation in the General Assembly. Why isn't it happening? asked Jim Taricani.
As I recall, Laffey said the responsibility belongs, in part, with the governor's office.
In related news, the state GOP has this announcement:
WARWICK, RI – The Rhode Island Republican Party today announces the appointment of Ivan Marte of Cranston to a diversity outreach leadership post within the Party. Marte will become the new Chairman of the party’s RI Republican Hispanic Assembly. He replaces David Quiroa who resigned several weeks ago.
“Ivan Marte is an active leader in the Hispanic community, is active within his own Cranston community and is an energized Republican who will serve us well,” states Chairman Giovanni Cicione. “We are thrilled to bring him on board to this leadership post which is very important to our ongoing outreach efforts to the Hispanic and other diverse communities.”
Marte says he is pleased to take the chairman’s post for the Party. “I am glad to serve the state Republican Party in a Hispanic leadership post because I support the Party’s goals,” Marte says. “I want to help them fight the Democrat leadership at the statehouse and fight to help the family run small businesses which many Hispanics own, which are struggling in Cranston and across the state.”
Marte will also play a pivotal role with the Party’s ongoing candidate recruitment effort, having been a candidate himself who is eyeing another run this year. Marte ran unsuccessfully for Cranston Senate District 28, losing to incumbent Josh Miller in 2006. He expects to announce his intentions about a race this year very soon.
“Ivan has run for office, knows the issues, knows the shortcomings of the opposition, and is well positioned as a candidate himself,” Cicione adds.
Marte, a native of the Dominican Republic, is a professional banker who has worked at the Dominican counterpart of the Federal Reserve Bank and currently is in management with Domestic Bank locally. He has served on the Cranston Mayor’s office Cranston Diversity Advisory Committee, has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at the Cranston Public Library and is a past recipient of the Dominican American Award. He is married and the father of seven children.
Steve Laffey makes for entertaining TV, so would he make for an entertaining (and effective) governor? These questions will come front and center as we move closer to 2010.
During an appearance yesterday on 10 News Conference, Laffey repeated many of the talking points that he shared during an interview for my recent story on Lincoln Chafee:
Laffey says Rhode Island could become “a wining place” by bringing state spending on social programs and other needs into line with the average of the other 49 states, and he supports remaking the state pension system as a 401(k) program, creating a more competitive tax structure, and increasing school choice, among other things.
During the show broadcast yesterday, Laffey strongly endorsed Governor Carcieri's executive order on immigration.
Yet as Matt notes, there some good followup questions that could have been asked of Laffey on this subject:
Question #1 that was not asked: Your executive order in 2005 as Mayor of Cranston stands in stark contrast with Gov. Carcieri's recent executive order. The key component of many city's "Sanctuary City" policies is to issue government-sponsored ID cards - which is exactly what you did in issuring an executive order giving out ID cards in cooperation with the Guatemalan and Mexican consulates while you were Mayor (ProJo article here). .... If you support this policy to this day and you said that you did. Do you stand by this policy decision and would you issue state ID cards to undocumented immigrants if you are Governor?
Question #2 that was not asked: Many advocates for undocumented immigrants signed the "Draft Laffey" letter urging you to run for the Senate, including, Maria Alvarado, President, Guatemalan-American Association of RI; Julio Cesar Aragon, President, Rhode Island Mexican- American Association; Humberto Castillo, President, Central American United; Juan Garcia, Coordinator, Immigrants in Action Committee at St. Teresa's Church; Aida Hidalgo, Director Hispanic Ministry, Catholic Church and David A. Quiroa, Chairman, Newport Republican Party and President, Latino-American Outreach Project. Do you support the efforts of your supporters above (including Aragon, who you traveled to the Mexican border with) to have Gov. Carcieri rescind his executive order and do you still count these immigrant leaders as supporters for any future campaign efforts?
Thursday, April 10, 2008
As we know, former US senator Lincoln Chafee has kept his options open for 2010, variously talking up his prospective interest in being general treasurer, mayor of Providence, or governor. But as I write in this week's Phoenix, the most tasty choice for voters and for us political observers would be if he were to go for the big enchilada:
"I will say that I enjoy the challenges that elective office brings, and I am starting to think about it, and it is starting to loom on the horizon now,” Chafee adds during a recent interview, offering more of a nod to the real world of politics than when he called 2010 “a long way away” during an appearance on WJAR-TV’s 10 News Conference a few weeks ago. After doing whatever he can to help Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, the former senator says, he hopes to make some decisions at the end of this year.
Coming from most politicians, such hedging would seem suspect. Yet there’s little question that Chafee — to the delight of his admirers, and to the chagrin of his critics — marches to the beat of a different drummer. For a guy who spent years shoeing horses in Montana and Canada after his graduation from Brown in 1975, it wouldn’t be completely out of the question for him to take a walk.
Yet for connoisseurs of Rhode Island politics, the most tantalizing possibility would be an unprecedented three-way gubernatorial battle royal featuring a Democrat to be named later; Republican Stephen P. Laffey, Chafee’s hard-charging GOP primary opponent from 2006; and the independent Chafee, who embodies an appealing Ocean State tradition that blends liberalism, moderation, and fiscal conservatism.
With the state facing crushing budget deficits and continued partisan warfare between Republican Governor Donald L. Carcieri and the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, the grim fiscal outlook can be expected to persist through the next statewide election.
Considering this, the three-way gubernatorial scenario would offer a provocative choice to voters.
Laffey, who isn’t shy in describing his skill set as the answer for Rhode Island’s woes, would wield a sharply confrontational approach against legislative Democrats. A yet-to-be-determined number of Democratic candidates will tout an ability to get more done than the departing Carcieri. And Chafee — with a golden name and a credential as the only Senate Republican to vote against the war in Iraq — could offer both a collaborative approach and a demonstrated ability to go against the political grain.
Click here for more.
Friday, April 04, 2008
As part of the ongoing publicity rounds for his new book, Linc Chafee taped WPRI-WNAC's Newsmakers this morning. The show will be broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12 and at 10 am on Fox 64.
Here's a short version of some of the highlights:
-- Why aren't people more upset about the Bush presidency? Chafee points to the lack of a draft and the lack of appetite for dissent following 9/11.
-- Chafee says he's been having conversation with Ken Block of the Moderate Party.
-- In response to those who criticize him for not being more vocal, earlier on, in his criticism of the Bush White House, Chafee said he was getting "roasted" and facing accusations of being a modern-day Neville Chamberlain just for questioning the White House line following September 11.
Miguel Sanchez-Hartwein, executive director of the Center for Hispanic Policy & Advocacy (CHisPA), also appears on the show, taking part in some spirited dialogue about the ever-popular immigration issue.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Linc Chafee, as we all know, has said goodbye to the Republican Party and embraced the Obama campaign. And in a letter to the editor in today's ProJo, he asserts that his late father, former governor and US senator John Chafee, would not have supported the presidential bid of Hillary Clinton.
I believe that writer Carl Bernstein has it right in his book on Mrs. Clinton, A Woman in Charge.
He writes of the health-care debate in 1993 that “when Republican Sen. John Chafee and Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper introduced their own separate alternative proposals, the Clintons overlooked what may have been their best opportunity to compromise on a health-care plan. Chafee, a liberal Republican with no animus towards the Clintons or their politics, introduced his plan with 20 Republicans already pledged to support it in the Senate. House Republicans pitched a similar bill on the same day. And when Cooper and his principal House co-sponsor, Iowa Republican Fred Grandy, came forth with their bill, they were already endorsed by 46 other Democratic and Republican co-sponsors. Both Chafee’s and Cooper’s proposals would have given huge numbers of Americans adequate health-care coverage for the first time . . . and had enough support to make passage in the House and Senate likely. At such a pivotal juncture, Hillary could have thrown her support behind either bill. Later, Bill Clinton said perhaps he should have intervened.”
As the historic chances for passage of a bipartisan health-care-reform bill evaporated, Bernstein writes, “Hillary had earlier showed some willingness to compromise with Chafee, but when push came to shove, her unwillingness to compromise further undermined any chance of implementing real reform.”
For all her good intentions, Mrs. Clinton was unable to work with veteran friendly legislators and an opportunity was lost. Contrary to Ms. Rubiner’s hypothesis I am confident my father would not have supported Mrs. Clinton’s presidential candidacy.
So, would the elder Chafee have supported McCain? Linc's not saying, at least not in his letter.
In related Chafee news:
-- He's slated to appear on Dan Yorke this afternoon.
-- Fresh from a recent visit to 10 News Conference, Chafee will headline WPRI/WNAC-TV's Newsmakers this Sunday.
-- He's scheduled to do an appearance related to his new book tomorrow today at 6:45 at the Barnes & Noble on Bald Hill Road in Warwick.
-- The peripatetic Mr. Crowley will be hosting a "book salon", featuring the new Chafee book, on firedoglake this Saturday, starting at 5 pm.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
I visited with Lincoln Chafee at the Watson Institute at Brown this afternoon. (He's still not saying what he's going to do in 2010.) One of the things I asked him about was his reaction to Governor Carcieri's executive order last week on illegal immigration. Here's what Chafee had to say:
I think it's a diversion from the real issues, the priorities we should be talking about here in Rhode Island -- realizing our economic potential, getting DOT functioning better, getting the train station built [in Warwick], taking advantage of our tourism industry, working on our ethical issues that we have here in Rhode Island. Immigration is going to whip up a lot of emotions and divert us from real priorities.
To play devil's advocate for a second, the people who are very activist on the issue in supporting the governor would say that there are a lot of costs of government spending associated with illegal immigration. They say it is an important issue because of that. How do you respond?
I understand. I heard someone else say, "We're a land of laws and we're a land of immigrants." You got to adhere to both -- welcome our immigrants, but make them adhere to the law. On the economic side of some of the social costs of illegal immigrants, I'd say there are a lot of economic contributions going on also that you just can not deny. And it's just a reality.
In other news, Chafee seems pleased with the publication this week of his book, Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President. He says he was told by his co-writer, former ProJo scribe Tony DePaul, that the Borders in North Attleboro has been selling out as quickly as copies are stocked.
Monday, March 31, 2008
You've got to love how Chafee's new book, Against the Tide, is being released tomorrow -- on April Fool's Day.
Darrell West had a review in yesterday's Sunday ProJo:
In meetings with the administration, Chafee describes Bush as being “ruled by emotion” and having a “juvenile streak” that he found unpresidential. When Chafee in an Oval Office meeting questioned Bush’s abortion policies by interjecting, “even Laura is pro-choice,” Bush snapped back, “Don’t you bring my wife into this.” Cheney fares no better. He is prone to long monologues that betray little interest in listening to anyone else’s points of view. These were personal traits at the very top of the administration, Chafee says, that led the country into a disastrous foreign policy.
With little respect for the national Republican or Democratic parties, Chafee now concludes that the nation needs a “third way.” In his final chapter, he expresses hope for a centrist third party that will resurrect moderation in American politics and end the polarizing excesses of the past decade. Practicing what he preaches, Chafee has left the Republican Party, but leaves us wondering about his next step in public service.
Friday, March 28, 2008
With much attention devoted to Governor Caricieri's immigration plan, not to mention the budget, it's easy to forget about some of the other big issues facing us. One such case is global warming.
According to a report issued earlier this week by Environment Rhode Island and Clean Water Action:
The authors found that global warming emissions in Rhode Island are still drastically far from reaching the voluntary reduction goals set in 2001 when the New England governors agreed to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2010, 10% below by 2020, and 75-85% below 2001 levels by 2050. The report shows the state’s global warming emissions are still exceeding 1990 levels by 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2E), or almost 32%.
Furthermore, the report points out that recently Rhode Island’s energy production has dropped, which may seem to indicate energy use has declined in the state. In fact, consumption has risen and the state is meeting its need for energy by importing more of its fossil fuel based energy from other states in the region, inaccurately depicting a drop in local emissions.
“If Rhode Island is serious about protecting our environment and cutting global warming pollution, we need to take strong action now by passing enforceable limits on statewide emissions,” said Agatha Wein, Global Warming Associate for Environment Rhode Island. “The voluntary agreements are not cutting it. We are falling behind, and now is the time to make the reductions necessary.”
In order to achieve more substantial reductions in global warming pollution the groups are advocating for the development of a statewide plan to reduce global warming pollution at the rates insisted upon by scientists: 20% reductions by 2020 and 80% reductions by 2050. The Global Warming Solutions Act, a bill that has already been introduced in the General Assembly (H7884 and S2629), will require these reductions across all sectors, while also focusing on clean energy solutions.
Treasurer Frank Caprio has a program planned for Monday evening, at the Save the Bay Center in Providence, to look at the fiscal impact of climate change.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Former Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey says he'd outflank legislative Democrats, if elected governor, by making far more effective use of the bully pulpit than Governor Carcieri. The Republican, who emitted a loud laugh when I noted that he's expected to run for governor in 2010, made the comment during a taping this morning of WPRI/WNAC-TV's Newsmakers.
For the record, Laffey told me, off-camera, that he's not ready to divulge his plans for 2010.
Yet in response to my question during our taping, he pointed to how he mobilized citizens during his time as mayor in Cranston, and says that he would do the same thing if he were in the governor's office. The galvanization of the public, he says, would be sufficient to have an impact on the majority Democrats in the General Assembly.
Laffey seemed in campaign-mode, talking up the state's budget problems and quickly changing the subject when I asked about the source of the foreclosure crisis, and whether it's due to a regulatory failure. (He said he could talk all day about the federal government's role in economic bubbles, but turned the subject back to the state.)
Earlier in Governor Carcieri's tenure, it seemed as if his communication skills would help to advance his political agenda. Now, though, the governor appears bogged down and it's open to question if things will improve, particularly with a likely growing amount of staff departures, before he leaves office in 2011. When previously asked on Newsmakers about his inability to outflank legislative Dems, Carcieri has pointed to the paucity of Republicans in the General Assembly.
Also joining Steve Aveson, Arlene Violet, and myself were URI economist Leonard Lardaro, and, in a separate segment, Teny Gross, executive director of the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence. Newsmakers is broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12 and at 10 am on Fox 64.
In a lighter moment before we began taping, Laffey indicated he got a chuckle out of my recent bit describing his uncanny similarities to muckraker Greg Palast.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
We don't want to diss Local 121's Lara, since she pours a mean drink and is reputedly running hot and heavy to be best bartender in the Phoenix's Best issue, but the mixologist is a bit behind the times in insisting that myspace.com is still the social-networking place to be.
David N. Cicilline and his media-savvy coeterie of advisers know this, and that's why the Providence mayor is up with his own bit on Facebook, sharing for all the word his love of his Harley and David McCullough's John Adams (don't forget to tune in on HBO tomorrow night, btw).
Also in today's ProJo is a short unbylined piece describing how Providence Parks' czarina Alix Ogden has gotten the nod as David Cicilline's Operations' chief. This is no small news, since her brief will certainly include preventing a reoccurence of anything resembling the December 13 snow mess. Like I've noted before, the departure of hands-on types, such as Mike Mello and Carol Grant, worsened the city's handling of that event.
Friday, March 14, 2008
One of the questions that bears watching this year, with the fiscal crisis and legislative elections, is whether voter discontent will yield significant turnover in the General Assembly.
A related question is whether grassroots activity of the GOP/conservative persuasion will have a tangible effect.
It seems like there's a growing level of this kind of activism, encompassing Anchor Rising, the Ocean State Policy Research Institute, the College Republican Federation of RI, Young Republicans (who plan to meet at the Wild Colonial next Thursday, March 20, starting at 5:30 pm), and the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition, to name a few of the most visible efforts.
RISC holds its annual winter meeting tomorrow. Here's a look at the program:
THE OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE RHODE ISLAND STATEWIDE COALITION (RISC) INVITE MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA TO ATTEND RISC’S FIFTH WINTER MEETING ON SATURDAY, MARCH 15 AT THE TOWERS, 35 OCEAN ROAD, NARRAGANSETT, RI. A CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST WILL BE SERVED, BEGINNING AT 9 A.M.
AMONG OTHER ATTENDEES:
RI SENATORS JAMES SHEEHAN AND LEONIDAS RAPTAKIS
RI REPRESENTATIVES STEVEN COATY AND DOUGLAS GABLINSKE
RI DIRECTOR OF REVENUE, GARY SASSE
LEGAL COUNSEL TO GOV. CARCIERI, KERRY KING
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR GOV. CARCIERI, JOHN ROBITAILLE
FORMER MAYOR OF CRANSTON, STEVEN LAFFEY
EDUCATION CONSULTANT AND PROJO COLUMNIST, JULIA STEINY
THE PROGRAM FEATURES:
• FINANCING OUR FUTURE – JAMES T. BEALE, JR.
• SAVING PUBLIC EDUCATION – THOMAS C. WIGAND
• IT’S GAMBLING, NOT GAMING – HARRIET S. LLOYD
• ENERGIZING THE ELECTORATE – ARLENE VIOLET
• WALKING THE WALK – TOGETHER – HARRY L. STALEY
THERE WILL BE A QUESTION/ANSWER SESSION, AND GOVERNOR CARCIERI WILL SPEAK.
PLEASE RSVP TO HARRY STALEY 322-2051 OR HARRY@RISC-RI.ORG
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Former LG Charles Fogarty, now ensconced at J&W, and House Minority Leader Bob Watson are the lead guests this week for WPRI/WNAC-TV's Newsmakers. Not surprisingingly, the two clashed in discussing Governor Carcieri's level of responsibility for the state's budget woes, with Fogarty ascribing part of the blame to the man he nearly beat in 2006, and with Watson saying that legislative Dems are entirely at fault.
We also discussed presidential politics. In evaluating Hillary Clinton's win here on Tuesday, Fogarty, an Obama supporter, says his own mother decided to vote for Hillary, even though it meant that she couldn't vote for her son as a delegate.
When I asked about the newfound alliance between John McCain and George W. Bush, Watson noted that the art of forgiveness is part of politics.
Fogarty hinted that he will be a gubernatorial candidate in 2010, saying that we haven't seen the last of him.
Joining us in a separate segment, to discuss gang-related crime, is Lieutenant Jeffrey Silva of the New Bedford Police Department.
The show will be broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12, and at 10 am on Fox 64.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
To the surprise of no one, all-but-declared gubernatorial candidate Patrick Lynch sidestepped an answer when WPRO-AM's Buddy Cianci asked him a short time ago if he would accept an appointment as US attorney, if Barack Obama is elected president in November.
In related news, the Obama conspiracy theorists have been well represented among Cianci's callers today.
Here's a knockdown by ABC News of the rumor that Obam refuses to pledge allegiance to the American flag.
"This was not during the pledge of allegiance," Obama said of the picture taken at Senator Tom Harkin's, D-Iowa, annual steak fry and first published by Time. "A woman was singing the Star Spangled Banner when that picture was taken.
See the original photo by clicking here.
"I was taught by my grandfather that you put your hand over your heart during the pledge, but during the Star Spangled Banner, you sing!" Obama said.
ABC News has video of the event in question which can be viewed by clicking here.
Obama called the circulation of such pictures a "dirty trick" and mentioned other emails accusing him of being "a Muslim plant."
Monday, February 25, 2008
Speaking of Chafee, he was his idiosyncratic self during his appearance yesterday with Rappleye on 10 News Conference.
It sometimes seems like some of the gubernatorial hopefuls for 2010, including David Cicilline, Patrick Lynch, and Steve Laffey, have been preparing forever. Yet Chafee, citing a mixed message about a return to public life, is very, very relaxed about the whole thing. Asked about the next statewide election cycle, in 2010, he told Rappleye, "That's a long way away." Rappleye responded, correctly, by saying it's not that far away.
Chafee repeated his prospective areas of interest as mayor of Providence, general treasurer, and possibly governor.
"I don't understand it," he said, when asked about the Carcieri administration's axing of his popular former aide, J.R. Pagliarini.
Asked earlier in the show about Governor Carcieri's job performance, Chafee said, "He's got a tough job. I'm not looking at that. That's 2010."
Later, Chafee said he is putting all his energy into his job at Brown's Watson Institute. As it stands, he said, "I'm not thinking tactical terms about 2010."
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Don't just take my word for it. Check it out:
Published an anti-establishment polemic last year
LAFFEY: Primary Mistake: How the Washington Republican Establishment Lost Everything in 2006 (and Sabotaged My Senatorial Campaign), published by Sentinel, an imprint of Penguin Group.
PALAST: Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans — Sordid Secrets & Strange Tales of a White House GONE WILD, published by Plume, an imprint of Penguin Group.
Rigorous academic credential
LAFFEY: Harvard Business School.
PALAST: University of Chicago.
Special talent
LAFFEY: Best retail political skills this side of Buddy Cianci.
PALAST: Best muckraking skills this side of George Seldes.
Past accomplishments
LAFFEY: Made waves, using his financial-services background, emerging as a self-styled municipal messiah in financially troubled Cranston.
PALAST: Made waves, using his background in investigating corporate fraud, exposing the disenfranchisement of black voters in the 2000 election, among other scoops.
Outsider status
LAFFEY: His book jacket says this about his 2006 US Senate primary fight with Lincoln Chafee and the GOP establishment in Washington: “It was the ultimate David vs. Goliath battle, drawing national attention as ‘the first skirmish in a very important war,’ as Pat Toomey wrote in the Wall Street Journal."
PALAST: His bio says that his exposes “have won him a record six ‘Project Censored’ prizes for reporting the news American media doesn’t want you to hear. ‘The top investigative journalist in the United States is persona non grata in his country’s media’ (Asia Times).”
Pet theory
LAFFEY: The national Republican Party has been taken over by expedient self-preservationists.
PALAST: US foreign policy has been taken over by neo-cons and the oil industry.
Milton friedman connection
LAFFEY: Studied the economist theorist’s 10-part TV program as a youth and named the family black Lab for him.
PALAST: Studied with the economic theorist at the University of Chicago, surreptitiously working with the electrical and steelworkers’ unions.
Eponymous Web site
LAFFEY: Of course.
PALAST: Ditto.
Criticizes boondoggles
LAFFEY: Congressional earmarks; The Bridge to Nowhere.
PALAST: The Virginia-class submarine; The Crusader, a “self-propelled howitzer” created by Lockheed and General Dynamics.
Schtick
LAFFEY: Distributed “Laffey Taffy,” while also riding in the “Rhody Reformer” RV, during his 2006 campaign.
PALAST: Distributed a remix, in which the words of Armed Madhouse are set to music, at gregpalast.com/remix/.
Cultural moment
LAFFEY: His work is name-checked by the conservatives who want him to be Rhode Island’s next governor.
PALAST: His work was name-checked by Florida college student Andrew “Don’t Tase me, bro” Meyer.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I've run into Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline twice in the last week, and he's seemed his usual public self, talking up Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, among other things. Yet as the mayor prepares to deliver his latest State of the City speech tonight, at 7 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, Cicilline could be excused if he's a tad wistful for some earlier points in his administration.
Most notably, the weak response to the December snow storm delivered a sharp blow to the mayor's previously high favorability rating. While the departure of operations-types like Mike Mello and Carol Grant likely played a role, Cicilline is the one who faces the fallout. Snow happens to be in the forecast for tonight.
Assuming the city can avoid a repeat of December's mess, Cicilline's approval rating may well rebound in the future. Yet as the mayor waits to pull the final trigger on a gubernatorial run for 2010, a number of things add up to a less congenial environment for him:
-- Buddy Cianci has his City Hall in exile at WPRO-AM, offering a conduit for criticism of the incumbent, and Buddy remains buddy-buddy with former foe Joseph R. Paolino Jr., as seen by their recent publication of a PBN op-ed.
-- The forthcoming trial of the mayor's brother.
-- Stepped-up criticism from opponents on the city council, and jockeying by prospective mayoral candidates.
-- An effective decrease in local aid from the state.
-- The departure of experienced staffers, for other opportunities, or in anticipation of a change in administration.
-- This seems less consequential, yet Patrick Lynch has differentiated himself from other gubernatorial hopefuls by endorsing Obama.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Dave Layman was a bit incredulous on A Lively Experiment last week when, pressed for an answer, I predicted that Obama will win Rhode Island's March 4 primary. Yes, the Ocean State has been Clinton country, and I could certainly be wrong. Yet a new Darrell West survey suggests that my prediction is well within reason.
If the primary was held today, 36 percent of the 474 voters who indicated they were likely to vote in the 2008 Democratic primary say they will vote for Hillary Clinton, 28 percent support Barack Obama, 27 percent say they will vote for the “Uncommitted” ballot line, and 9 percent are undecided.
Among favorability ratings for statewide officials, it's interesting to see Patrick Lynch riding relatively high, and how Providence Mayor David Cicilline's measure remains respectable, even with the expected hit following December's snow storm debacle.
When asked about the job performance of state officials, 40 percent feel [Governor] Carcieri is doing a good job as governor (down from 44 percent in September). Thirty percent believe Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts is doing a good job (down from 37 percent). Fifty percent think Attorney General Patrick Lynch is doing a good job, up from 48 percent in September.
Twenty-five percent feel Secretary of State Ralph Mollis is doing a good job as secretary of state (up from 23 percent). Forty percent believe Treasurer Frank Caprio, Jr. is doing a good job (up from 37 percent).
Fifty-one percent say Providence Mayor David Cicilline is doing a good job, down from 64 percent in the last survey. Nineteen percent believe House Speaker William Murphy is doing a good job (down from 21 percent) and 15 percent feel Senate President Joseph Montalbano is doing a good job, down from 16 percent.
The thing that should most concern elected officials, of course, is how only 16 percent of respondents think the state is headed in the right direction, while 74 percent think we're going the wrong way.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian remains a figure of interest as we look to the state's political future. Prospering locally as a moderate Republican, the experienced political hand acted prudently (or cautiously) by seeking reelection in 2006, thereby emerging unscathed in a political season when other RI GOPers suffered setbacks or barely survived.
As it stands, Avedisian -- who is having a $500-per-person fundraiser Wednesday at the Valley Country Club -- has another mayoral election this year. The only other announced candidate at this point is Democrat Jack Kirby. Of course, the more interesting question is what the Warwick mayor does in 2010.
Avedisian, who took part in a taping this morning of WPRI/WNAC-TV's Newsmakers, was somewhat elusive in answering questions. I asked about a potential GOP doomsday scenario, in which he might prove too moderate in a gubernatorial primary against Steve Laffey, while Laffey could possibly be too conservative to win a general election (although his image as a reformer could be appealing in light of the state's fiscal woes). Avedisian's response -- which would no doubt be his message -- is that moderate Republicans are the ones who usually enjoy electoral success in Rhode Island.
Avedisian, who is accused by his critics of being too soft on labor, defended his efforts to seek a new contract with Warwick's crossing guards, saying that he backed an agreement that held the line on wages and diminished benefits. After the Democratic city council balked, the city moved forward with plans to hire non-union crossing guards, which has sparked another conflict.
In other highlights:
-- Avedisian, who now backs John McCain after his own candidate (Giuliani) bailed out, says he has not discussed with Lincoln Chafee whom Chafee will endorse in the presidential race.
-- Asked to predict, Avedisian expects Chafee to pursue an "executive" position in 2010. Well, gee, it's not like we expected Linc to run for the General Assembly!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
While most of the speculation concerning Democrats and the 2010 gubernatorial race has focused thus far on General Treasuer Frank Caprio and Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, there's a growing view that Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch is running, throwing to the wind the usual concerns about his office is a political minefield. I take up the topic in the Phoenix out today:
Going forward, Lynch will remain at the forefront of some of the state’s most high-profile issues, including efforts to find budget savings through reductions in the state’s prison population and a proposed mega-healthcare merger — of Lifespan and Care New England — that would have profound consequences for Rhode Islanders.
Yet even though Caprio and Cicilline have led the way in the early fundraising race, Lynch could be a potentially strong candidate for the governor’s office in 2010.
Part of this is due to how the AG has taken to various fights — to oppose the expansion of an LNG facility in Providence, to bury power lines running by India Point Park, and most spectacularly, to gain restitution from lead paint companies — which bolster his battling self-description and offset the less flattering news that attaches to his office.
In this respect, Lynch might be considered a local political equivalent of Survivorman, the resourceful Discovery Channel naturalist who ekes out a cheerful existence amid a spare and inhospitable wilderness.
Put another way, it’s no surprise that Lynch professes some admiration for the philosopher who posited that what doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger.
“I didn’t know I was such a fan of Nietzsche until you offered me that quote,” quips the AG, quickly resuming a mantra that makes it sound as if he’s already running, talking of “the challenges we face, and how I’ve stood strong for the people and been a leader, not only in this office, but on a host of different issues in challenging times, and I think that’s what these times call for.”
Friday, January 18, 2008
During yesterday's broadcast of A Lively Experiment, Lou Pulner raised the possibility that Frank Caprio -- who unveiled a furlough plan for the treasurer's office earlier in the week --had been tipped off by the Carcieri administration that it was moving forward with its own furlough plan.
It's certainly possible. As I wrote back in 2006, some RI Democrats have been concerned by Caprio's friendly ties with the governor:
These factors [Caprio's early start for the treasurer's office, as well as his strong war chest], as well as the relatively thin Republican bench, could explain the current lack of any other contenders for the treasurer’s job, which will be vacated in January by the term-limited Paul Tavares. Still, it did nothing to dim questions on the part of some Democrats about a possible inside deal when Governor Carcieri gushed to Providence Journal political columnist M. Charles Bakst last November about Caprio’s qualifications as a potential state treasurer. “He tried to choose his words carefully because, he noted, Caprio is running as a Democrat,” Bakst wrote. “Nevertheless, Carcieri said, ‘He’s got all the skills . . . He’s very bright, hardworking . . . was Senate Finance chair . . . He’s got all of the requisite background.’ "
Bringing things into the present, many Rhode Islanders presumably appreciate the willingness of various officeholders to find savings in their own offices. The more salient point, though, is how Caprio might enjoy certain advantages in a busy Democratic gubernatorial field in 2010.
Compared with Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, Caprio -- because of his more traditional profile, including his full-blooded Italian ancestry -- is said to be the favored son of much of Rhode Island's Italo-American political establishment, including two previous Providence mayors.
Of course, it's possible that Caprio could run for an office other than governor in 2010, including mayor of Providence, or perhaps even seek a second term as treasurer (and Cicilline is not without his own advantages), but the inside game as it relates to his future bears watching.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Looking ahead to 2010, there's obviously no shortage of potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates: David Cicilline, Frank Caprio, Elizabeth Roberts, Patrick Lynch, and perhaps Charles Fogarty. One of the key differences in the run-up to the next election is how these individuals are affected by the offices they hold.
Cicilline and Lynch, for example, sometimes benefit from their high-profile posts, yet they also face the risk of the adverse publicity (as with the December snowstorm in the mayor's case, or the Station fire disaster for the AG) that can come with the job.
Roberts and Caprio, on the other hand, have to labor to get attention because of the lower profile of their jobs. This helps to explain why the LG is pursuing her health-care initiative.
Taking all this into account, however -- and considering how some staffers at City Hall and in the AG's office, among possible others, have been known to work unpaid hours -- you can image how this story yesterday by Steve Peoples, following the treasurer's check-writing pizza party, sparked some eye-rolling among Caprio's prospective rivals.
At least 23 non-union Treasury Department employees have agreed to give up five days of pay over the next 18 months, a move General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio says should be an example to all state departments grappling with a budget deficit projected at $450 million next year.
“Our team has come together to recognize that we all need to lead by example and do everything we can to cut costs at a time when the state is in a serious budget crisis,” Caprio said in a statement. “I would like to see all state departments and municipal governments seriously consider such action.”
The plan, announced yesterday, will save state taxpayers an estimated $50,000. A brief analysis produced by the treasurer’s office suggests that Rhode Island could save more than $8 million next year if all non-union employees in leadership positions across state government agreed to a similar furlough plan.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
While most everyone was focused yesterday afternoon on New Hampshire, the office of Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch released a statement about a proposal to counter public corruption.
Although it seems a bit unusual for this kind of thing to drop shortly before 5 pm on the day of the primary, it also marks a retort of sorts to gripes about the feds typically taking the lead in corruption prosecutions.
Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch [yesterday] announced that he is submitting legislation that would, for the first time, put a strong public corruption felony statute on the books in Rhode Island.
The Government Integrity and Public Accountability Act of 2008 will, if enacted, create a new chapter of law entitled Crimes Against the Public Trust under which the criminal offense, theft of honest services, will allow the state to vigorously prosecute those violating the public trust. The new law, modeled on the federal statute that was enacted in 1988, would apply to public servants at all levels — from elected officials to state, municipal, and town employees, and contract employees.
“The citizens of Rhode Island need assurances that their government, at all levels, is working to further the public good,” Lynch said. “This legislation provides a safeguard for government integrity, gives us the means to return stolen money to the state’s general fund, and, most importantly, a means of prosecuting those who choose to abuse the public trust. We have the will to get the job done, but not the way. This bill gives us the way.”
Lynch’s bill includes a provision, much like criminal forfeiture, that enables the state to civilly pursue recovery of any monies that the public servant unlawfully received in the course of a violation knowingly committed in an official capacity, if the public servant has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor.
“The money recovered would be allocated to Rhode Island’s general fund, where it rightfully belongs,” Lynch said. “The state is the victim. It is the residents of our state who are harmed and adversely affected. It is the residents of Rhode Island who suffer each time another public corruption offense takes place. With a looming $500 million state budget deficit and a sluggish economy, state leaders need to transform government. This bill is integral to accomplishing that transformation.”
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