Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
Friday, July 29, 2011
Who’s Hot
John Loughlin -> He has barely raised a buck and yet John Loughlin appears to have the support of the majority of town GOP Chairs in the 1st District. No one is hoping for a closed Primary more than Loughlin, who would likely cruise to victory if it were legitimate Republicans only voting. The race will be much closer if the conservative Democrats decide to support Brendan Doherty.
Patrick Kennedy -> As the true Republicans show loyalty to Loughlin, the former Congressman is doing the same for David Cicilline. Kennedy is hosting yet another fundraiser for his successor, who appears to have the entire Democratic establishment firmly backing him for 2012.
Jack Reed -> Democrats may have a spending problem, but as long as they’re spending, it might as well go to helping Rhode Island. Even as Congress stands around arguing about a debt default that only 30 people in the world even understand, Senator Reed continues to bring home the bacon to the Ocean State. Whether its money for homeless veterans, youth programs or libraries, it’s safe to say the Senator is doing his job for Rhode Island.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTKate Coyne-McCoy -> Congratulations to this former Congressional candidate on being named Executive Director of the Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending. Campaign finance reform is not a sexy topic, but it’s something that is needed in this country and will benefit both sides of the aisle.
Dan McKee -> Every time you turn around, Mayor McKee is finding ways to help his town. Whether it’s through education or now making economic development a top priority in Cumberland, McKee clearly seems to get it. And he’s got a lot of people that think he’d make a strong candidate for higher office in a few years.
Mitt Romney -> He certainly appears to be the frontrunner to win the GOP Primary in Rhode Island, if for no other reason than he might be the only Republican that actually makes an appearance here. It will be interesting to see if Rep. Costa can convince Congresswoman Bachman to make a stop during her New England travels.
Overnight Parking In Providence -> This is a no brainer. It’s already a part of the new budget and the city is wasting nearly $20,000 a week by sitting around and not implementing the program. Are there flaws? Sure. But overall, most parts of the city will benefit from this plan in the long run.
Who’s Not
Brendan Doherty -> It’s never a good sign when you raise more than 100 times your potential opponent and virtually every top Republican in each town still wants the other guy to win. But that’s just the reality Col. Doherty has to deal with. He’s looks much better up against Congressman Cicilline than he does in his Primary.
Barack Obama -> Democrats may look at the President’s speech the other night and see someone who refuses to back down from hostile Republicans, but the fact is he has pretty much agreed to all the things Democrats refuse to support cutting. The problem on the Republican end is that they want even more in concessions and the President is finally taking a stand.
Dr. Anthony DeLuise Jr. -> Maybe it’s the system that is screwed up, but this doctor isn’t looking too good right now. How anyone could ever find that the retired firefighter everyone saw looking like a bodybuilder in the gym isn’t fit to work is beyond outrageous.
Robert Ciresi -> The idea that this guy would only get home confinement is insane. He deserves to serve time for violating the public’s trust and continuously refusing to admit even a slight amount of guilt.
Deborah Cylke -> The Pawtucket Superintendent has made the list for the same reason before, but reports now say the School Board member she sent across the country for a conference spent just over $3,000 on the trip. Seems a bit excessive, even if it’s federal money.
Nicholas Kettle -> Sen. Kettle started the year with a major blunder and ended it by saying the biggest thing he learned was to watch what you put in writing. C’mon man. This young guy has a bright future ahead of him, but he’s still got a lot to learn about politics.
Legislative Grants -> Of all programs to keep open in a year in which the Assembly called for so much sacrifice. The grants do nothing more than help Leadership and keep the rest of the lawmakers in line.
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