Can't Beat 'em. Hire Them.

Can't Beat 'em. Hire Them.

Chafee must have read the book, Team of Rivals, which tells the story of Abraham Lincoln placing his chief rivals in positions of power within his cabinet. Lincoln was able to mute their ability to move against him while placating their need for power. With his appointment of Catherine Taylor to the position of Director of the Department of Elderly Affairs, Chafee mutes the ability of Taylor to challenge him in 2014.

This doesn’t preclude her from running for a different office in 2014, but will she wholeheartedly get behind the GOP candidate for Governor? Taylor was the toast of the GOP ticket this past election cycle and I believe she is someone who can certainly garner broad-based support. That’s invaluable within a Republican party that has been mostly marginalized in Rhode Island for decades. Thus, her joining the administration of independent Lincoln Chafee should be seen as a bit of a loss. She won’t be as free to say what she wants, do what she wants, and may have even lost a bit of trust within the GOP party.

That’s why I’m a bit surprised GOP Chair Gio Cicione supports the move. While I can appreciate having GOP members within Chafee’s administration, it’s difficult for me to see how the move helps the party long term. I understand Taylor worked with Chafee before and only a few short years ago he wore the R next to his name and was vilified by those on the left. Nonetheless, when you have talents like Taylor the GOP should work as hard as possible to put folks like her in positions where she can shine and also shine the light on what’s right about being a Republican.

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In her role within the Chafee administration, I question her ability to do just that. Come 2014 will she be politically viable or too linked to Governor Chafee to make another maverick run to a statewide office? Will the GOP chair of 2014 lament the fact that we let one of the good ones join the other team, destroying her political capital?

Don Roach, MINDSETTER™, lives in Cranston with his family and is in management with a Boston-based transportation firm.