Russell Moore: Raimondo is an Insider’s Insider
Monday, November 03, 2014
Gina Raimondo calling someone else a “government insider” is as preposterous as Fat Albert calling someone overweight.
But since she’s got has media providing aid and comfort to the notion, it becomes an easier sell in the closing days of the campaign.
The Democrat General Treasurer, who has had her eyes set on the Governor’s office since she was a high school student, and will apparently stop at nothing to get into it, has obviously read polling data that alerted that Rhode Islanders are tired of “insiders”.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSo Raimondo has done everything plausible to paint her opponent, Republican Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, as a product of, by and for state government—given his previous position as an insurance industry lobbyist. And she’s also attempted to portray him as an old school machine style politician who ran Cranston as his own personal fiefdom.
Without any context, those attacks would be effective. To be sure, Fung is not without his own warts and has taken campaign contributions from police officers that he sat across the table from and negotiated against on behalf of the taxpayers (he was supposed to at least).
The most connected ever?
But given the fact that Gina Raimondo may very well be one of the biggest government insiders in the history of Rhode Island, Raimondo attacking Fung in the debates by saying he’s an insider were the equivalent of Boss Tweed sitting in Tammany Hall complaining about someone else partaking in cronyism.
Let’s set aside for a moment the fact that Raimondo is backed by Providence’s East Side power brokers such as Myrth York for a second and start with the most obvious point: Gina Raimondo raised and spent more than $5 million in the Democratic Primary for Governor. Try raising $100,000 to run for political office as an outsider without having well-heeled connections in the financial or political arenas. Or better yet, save some time and don’t even bother, as that will be a quixotic endeavor.
The legacy media, especially the Providence Journal, has made it seem like it’s some big coincidence that the at the same time the General Treasurer increased the placement fees the pension fund has paid to hedge fund managers by roughly $50 million—Raimondo became the biggest fundraising prowess in the history of Rhode Island. Does that sound like an outsider?
Major League inside baseball
Then, since it was broken by your's truly, there’s my favorite example of Raimondo’s major league level of expertise at the game of insider baseball—she re-hired First Southwest, a company that the state is suing for fraud over its role in the ill-fated 38 studios deal. First Southwest is staffed by the remnants of Fleet Bank and the uber-connected Maureen Gurhigian. It’s unconscionable that Raimondo, in her role as Treasurer, would retain someone that the state is suing for fraud—unless there are reasons that we, the general public, aren’t privy to.
And then this week, golocalprov.com broke the story detailing how a company owned by Gina Raimondo’s venture capital company, Point Judith Capital, secured a contract from The Providence Water Board at a time when her husband, Andy Moffit, was the board’s chairman. Moffit was appointed board chairman back in the mid 2000s by then Mayor and now Congressman David Cicilline.
Legacy Media gives free pass
The fact that Raimondo is an insider’s insider is obvious to anyone who pays attention to politics on a regular basis, but that may not be the case for people who are busy working two jobs, trying to raise families, and attempting to make end’s-meet. That’s where the media, which should know better, comes into the equation.
Can anyone imagine if Raimondo what the legacy media’s reaction would be like if she was a Republican and increased the pension fund fees to $70 million dollars when they were less than $20 million before she took office? Imagine, for a brief second, what would happen if former Republican Governor Don Carcieri had rehired First Southwest, a company that the state is suing for fraud over the 38 studio’s deal? The media would go bonkers.
Deceit and complicity
And if it was revealed that a Republican candidate’s spouse, or even a moderate Democrat for that matter, had awarded contract to his or her spouse, the media would be calling in the F.B.I to investigate the situation.
It’s frustrating, because busy Rhode Islanders are relying on the media, which is paid to objectively observe and report on state government and politics.
It’s up to the voters of Rhode Island to select the candidate that they believe is best suited to move this state forward, but they’d be wise to do themselves a favor and realize that Raimondo’s talk about being an outsider is nothing but cheap spin designed to deceive. We expect that from political candidates, but it would be nice if the media members weren't so complicit.
Russell Moore, a lifelong Rhode Islander, has worked on both sides of the desk in Rhode Island media, in both newspapers and on political campaigns. Follow him on twitter @russmoore713.
Related Slideshow: 10 Questions Gina Raimondo Has to Answer When Running for Governor
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