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

Friday, November 25, 2011

Dan McGowan, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

Who’s Hot

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John Loughlin -> The likely Congressional candidate was awarded the prestigious Defense Meritorious Service Medal this week for his service in Iraq. No matter what you think of his politics, Loughlin is a true public servant. He’ll be back in the United State by the end of next month and he’ll likely begin his campaign by mid-January.

John Robitaille -> The former Republican nominee for Governor must have had a happy Thanksgiving after a union-backed poll put him out in front of Governor Chafee and Gina Raimondo if the three were to faceoff for Governor in 2014. A lot can change over the next three years, but Robitaille has to be encouraged to know he’s got a realistic chance to win against Chafee and Raimondo.

Central Falls -> Nice to see good news coming out of Central Falls. Three major unions signed collective bargaining agreements this week as the city continues to battle its way back from bankruptcy. They aren’t the most worker-friendly contracts, but at least the groups managed to resolve some of their differences. Hopefully this was a step in the right direction.

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Providence -> You don’t look a day over 374, Providence. It was nice to see thousands of people pack the Providence Performing Arts Center this week to celebrate the city’s 375th birthday. For all the negative attention it gets, Providence is still a great city.

Keith Olbermann -> The liberal talking head is coming to Providence next summer to speak at Netroots Nation, the annual progressive political convention. It will be interesting to hear what KO thinks about a place that is often considered the most liberal state in the country, but in less than a year has approved voter id legislation and a pension reform bill that has a lot of liberal shaking their heads.

Michael Riley -> It appears Congressman Langevin has a challenger. As the Phoenix first reported, Riley is likely to run in the 2nd District, a seat he’ll struggle to win. Still, it’s good for Langevin (and any elected official) to have an opponent. Here’s hoping the race is at least somewhat exciting.

Ed Cooley -> Sure it’s early and yes they’ve played teams that would be ten point underdogs against Central High School, but kudos to Coach Cooley for getting Providence College off to a nice start. This isn’t going to be their year, but Cooley is laying the foundation for a team with a bright future.

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Who’s Not

Governor Chafee and Gina Raimondo -> They manage to get the pension reform legislation passed and less than a week later, a poll puts them behind a Republican who hasn’t uttered a single word since last November. History may show they did the right thing, but that doesn’t guarantee either of them will be holding office in a few years.

Frank Corbishley -> Of course the document shredding had no connection to the rampant corruption allegations the head of ProCAP is facing. At least the organization’s board of directors –after being a total failure for years – got its act together and suspended Corbishley without pay until the end of his contract.

Progressives -> A lot of legislators that had a ton of union support last year turned their back on the unions by voting in favor of the pension bill. It’s going to be interesting to see just how many face a primary next fall.

Peter Schweizer -> The author of the book about insider trading among members of Congress admitted last week that he got some of the details around his accusations about Senator Sheldon Whitehouse wrong. So much for having credibility. And so much fact checking.

Department of Human Services -> Not the best week for this department after it decided to not give an early issuance of food stamps prior to Thanksgiving. They may have good intentions, but the plan clearly wasn’t rolled out well and it likely left more than a few families wishing they had more on the table yesterday.

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