video: Chafee Focuses on Tolerance, Ignores the Economy
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
Watch voters share their reactions to Governor Lincoln Chafee's inaugural address yesterday. One man was surprised that Chafee made little mention of the economy, while others said they were hopeful he would bring much-needed change to Rhode Island. (Click here to read the speech.)
Other highlights and key points:
• Chafee’s first concrete discussion of policy in the speech involves two hot-button issues—his plan to rescind former Gov. Carcieri’s executive order on E-Verify and his call for the state to make gay marriage law.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST• The new Governor says that getting rid of E-Verify and establishing gay marriage will “do more for economic growth in our state than any economic development loan.”
• Chafee mentions Roger Williams seven times and the word “job” twice—and then only in reference to state history or the state government
“doing its job.” The word “job” is never used in the context of putting Rhode Islanders back to work. Nor do the words “unemployment” or “foreclosure” appear in the speech.
• Chafee also makes no mention of the state’s structural budget deficit—even though there is virtually unanimous consensus among political and economic experts that this will be one of the biggest issues he will face as Governor. Chafee certainly can’t be accused of ignoring the issue—he did after all devote an entire summit to the issue last month, which makes its omission from his speech all the more curious.
• The Governor calls for schools that “challenge our students” in terms that strongly hint at his hesitation and concerns with some reform efforts. For example, he says schools need to challenge students in the “right way,” adding that “while we all want improvement in education, we must not dismiss what has worked as we strive for progress.”
• He calls for “customer service versus customer suffering” at state agencies and departments.
Click here to read the full text of the speech.
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