Donkey Brawl: Rhode Island Democrats Fire Charges and Counter Charges at Each Other

Sunday, June 25, 2017

GoLocalProv News Team

The schism between the Progressives in the Rhode Island Democratic Party and the more traditional old-school war horses spilled into a brutal public back and forth battle this week.

Where it all began is unclear. The genesis may be the Rhode Island Democratic Presidential Primary a year ago, when the entire state Democratic machine endorsed Hillary Clinton and the majority of Democratic primary voters supported Bernie Sanders. Gina Raimondo, Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, Nick Mattiello, David Cicilline , and Jim Langevin all went big for Clinton.

But, the crowds – 7,000 at Roger Williams Park, and the voters -- went for Sanders.

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Budget Battle

This week, Progressives criticized the budget crafted by Governor Gina Raimondo and conservative leaning Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello.

That drew the fire of Democratic party special advisor and spokesman Bill Lynch, who said in a statement to GoLocal, “They (Mattiello and Raimondo) accomplished these (budget) goals without having to raise any broad-based taxes, which I know disappoints the Progressive Democrats of RI, who offered the solution of raising taxes as part of their alternative ideas. Instead, the responsible Democrats in the General Assembly closed the gap by spreading out dozens of smaller cuts, delaying some new initiatives, and limiting new hires to essential personnel in customer-service operations to better serve our residents.”

The Progressives Democrats' spokesperson fired right back at Lynch - the $4,000 a month Democratic Party spokesman.  

Capri Catanzaro of the Progressives said, “We were surprised and disappointed by Mr. Lynch’s statement attacking progressives who support our national Democratic Party’s values and platform. His attack on Democrats who want a budget for the 99% instead of the 1% is inexcusable and incoherent with the values of Rhode Island Democrats. In a state that decisively sided with Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Primary, Mr. Lynch is confused about what our state’s voters want and expect their elected officials to do.”

Minimum Wage a Diving Issue

And while Lynch defended the two year phase-in of the minimum wage, Progressives blasted the budget provision."In another example of mainstream Democrats helping our hard-working residents, the budget includes a 90-cent raise in the minimum wage over two years.  By hiking the wage to $10.50 an hour by Jan. 1, 2019, Rhode Island’s wages will become more competitive with neighboring states," said Lynch.

“Mr. Lynch also praised Mattiello’s budget for phasing in a 90-cent raise in the minimum wage over the next two years—a disappointing retreat from Governor Raimondo’s original proposal of a 90-cent increase by 2018. We stand with the Rhode Island Democratic Party platform’s call for a $15 minimum wage, and we stand with the business community by tying the wage to inflation which supports business planning,” said Catanzaro. 

Lynch on GoLocal LIVE -- But Big Battle Remains

By the end of the week, Lynch was more conciliatory. In his appearance on GoLocal LIVE, he talked about the big party and the need to be united.

One of the biggest issues still remains, however. Progressives have been pushing for a earned sick time legislation, a bill has drawn fire from numerous business interests. John Simmons from RIPEC appeared on GoLocal this week and said it was a business killer. Many believe that progressive legislators voted for the budget in exchange for the passage of the sick-time bill. And the Democrats voted lock step in the House to approve the budget on Thursday night.

By Friday afternoon, rumors were swirling that the now-watered down sick-time legislation is "take it, or leave it" - and pro-sick-time legislators may be forced to swallow the compromise or kill their own initiative.

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Related Slideshow: FY18 House Finance Budget

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