Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?

Friday, March 11, 2011

Dan McGowan, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

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Who’s Hot

Ernie the Barber -> Had his Lou the Plumber moment after Governor Chafee recognized him during the budget address Tuesday night, which led every reporter in the state to show up at his barber shop the following morning. Memo to Linc: You should still tip the guy 20 percent.

Teresa Tanzi, Christopher R. Blazejewski & Jeremiah T. O’Grady -> Look, we all know the large multi-state companies are incredibly important to Rhode Island. But these state reps were spot-on to call for the state to implement combined reporting to make sure the big businesses are paying their fair share.

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Jim Langevin -> Nice to see the Congressman finally support same-sex marriage, but the question has to be asked: What took you so long? We know it’s politically convenient to support this issue now, but where were you for the last decade-plus?

John Carnevale -> Nobody ever wants to be thrown in the same sentence as crazy Chris Young, but kudos to this state rep for calling on the Universities and Hospitals to step up and support the city of Providence in its time of need—something Young screamed about virtually all of last summer.

Steven O’Donnell -> The no-brainer choice to succeed Brendan Doherty as head of the state police gave up a ton of money to come back to the job he always loved. By all accounts, he’s a standup guy who will continue the tradition of excellence.

State Schools -> One of the big winners in Governor Chafee’s budget proposal. After the state essentially pulled the plug on funding our state schools the last few years, it’s great to see an extra $10 million being thrown their way. They’re still way underfunded, but it’s a start.

Immigration -> Brown’s latest poll is confusing to say the least, but the issue is once again hot. We learned that more than half of the people polled would support an Arizona-style law, yet over 70 percent believe it will increase racial profiling. So they agree that the law would bring on more racism, but they simply don’t care?

Scott Guthrie -> It’s likely a pipe dream, but Rep. Guthrie’s proposal to temporarily create a higher tax bracket for the state’s wealthiest people is a novel idea. Guthrie’s plan would bring the state hundreds of millions of dollars over the next couple of years, without negatively impacting the majority of residents in the state.

Who’s Lukewarm

Governor Chafee -> Nobody left the budget address professing their love for the Governor, which means he’s probably doing something right. It’s nice to know he listened to the public and altered his plan to tax groceries, something the Caprio campaign assaulted him for last fall.

Who’s Not

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Ken McKay -> His one job as the likely GOP chair is to bring down Senator Whitehouse in 2012. But it doesn’t help to flat out lie and accuse the Senator of saying, “Everybody in Rhode Island who disagrees with me about Obamacare is an Aryan, is a white supremacist.” You’re better than that, Ken.

Pawtucket -> With its bond ratings continuing to drop, it won’t help that the city is borrowing millions just to pay its bills. Mayor Don Grebien is in a difficult spot. Something tells me we won’t be hearing much about a Central Falls merger any more.

Education Funding Formula -> It’s nice to know the new Governor is supporting the funding formula passed last year, but when you consider that Providence will only receive a 1.2 percent increase in funding while Barrington gets a 30 percent increase, something isn’t right.

Master Lever -> It’s a little late, but kudos to Ralph Mollis for pushing to end the Master Lever. It’s not much to ask voters to actually make a decision about each race, even if they’re likely to vote for the “D” any way. By the way, the happiest person in the state has to be Ken Block, who won virtually every debate last year, but had no chance of overcoming the Master Lever.

Keno Davis -> See ya Keno. Here’s hoping Tommy Amaker is the next coach at PC.
 

 

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