Your humble correspondent is back on the beat. So thanks for stopping by. As usual, your tips and comments are welcome, and you can follow me through the week on the twitters. Here we go.
1. With progressive candidates set to square off in close to 10 September primaries, progs may gain more legislative seats than Republican insurgents. For now, Rhode Island Progressive Democrats state coordinator Sam Bell is talking boldly about the outlook. “It’s always tough when you’re going up against a really powerful entrenched political machine, but I have been so inspired by the overwhelming wave of people who have come out of the woodwork, not just to run, but to knock on doors, to reach into their pockets and donate what they can,” Bell said on this week’s RIPR Political Roundtable. “It’s turning into a really big movement. I think we’re going to make major changes in the way politics works in our state.” House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello has touted the most recent state budget as a pro-business, pro-taxpayer document, pointing to a series of tax cuts, reductions in beach fees and other measures. Bell contends the virulence of DINOs (Democrats in Name Only) on Smith Hill is holding Rhode Island back: “Most of the Democrats who run the General Assembly in Rhode Island are way, way, way to the right of Hillary Clinton,” he said, “and they tend to side with the Republicans at the national level on the core issues that divide the two parties.”
2. Paul Manafort was front and center in the news this week, whether getting profiled as the Washington insider running Donald Trump’s campaign, backtracking from his original tune on Melania’s speech (from “To think that she would be cribbing Michelle Obama’s words is crazy”), or falsely accusing the New York Times of misquoting Trump’s widely circulated remarks on pulling out of NATO. Less well known is how as a former Gerald Ford aide, Manafort was part of the team that vaulted Republican Edward DiPrete from Cranston City Hall to the governor’s office in 1984, with the motto, “The Change We Need.” In a 1986 story, ProJo political columnist M. Charles Bakst described Manafort this way: “Smooth talking, impeccably attired, he is one of the new breed of fancy consultants who have irons on the political fires in several states at a time. They are whizzes at coordinating campaign organization and timetables, images and themes, television and radio spots, polling and fund-raising.” As a 36-year-old, Manfort was quite the high flyer, with connections to a new military leader in Nigeria and the Marcos regime in the Philippines, and a taste for the jugular. (Bakst wrote, “DiPrete says he had to veto as excessively strident at least two other” campaign commercials developed by Manafort. DiPrete ultimately won three two-year terms as governor, although he later pleaded guilty in a corruption case.) Meanwhile, Politico reported in April that Manafort had reached out to another old DiPrete hand, Marc Palazzo, who went on to work for GTECH and as a lobbyist for a Koch Industries subsidiary. Further evidence, right, that all roads lead back to Rhode Island?
3. Rhode Island placed third on Slate’s list of home state bragging rights from the Republican National Convention. This was a bit of a tongue-in-cheek selection, considering how RI GOP Chairman Brandon Bell‘s riff on the Ocean State was less than rosy. “Unfortunately, government is not working in Rhode Island for the people, as the state is run by a corrupt Democrat political machine for the last 80 years,” Bell said in part. “In our state, we are constantly ranked near the bottom, recently ranked 50th worst in terms of our business-friendly climate. Democratic leadership in our state has been rampant corruption, lack of transparency, and unethical conduct.” Democrats cried foul, while Republicans praised Bell for a commitment to telling it like they see it. Yet regardless of who’s right, it begs another question: if state government in RI isn’t getting it done, why has the GOP (with 18 of 113 legislative seats) been unable to muster itself as a more robust alternative?
4. Governor Gina Raimondo isn’t slated, as TGIF was going to press, to have a speaking role at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. But the governor is slated to take part in a forum, “The Workforce of the Future: A Policy Discussion on STEM and Computer Science Education,” on the morning of Thursday, July 28. The event is hosted by The Hill, and sponsored by Microsoft (which partnered with the state on its CS4RI computer-science initiative.
5. State reps on the campaign trail are already hearing complaints from constituents about state Rep. John Carnevale (D-Providence), in the wake of a series of unflattering news stories. In the latest — and you can’t make this up — Carnevale asked Providence police to give him parking tickets at his Providence address, as WPRI.com’s Dan McGowan reported this week. This is not exactly the kind of news likely to be welcomed by Speaker Mattiello when he returns from a Canadian vacation this week. The thinking all along has been that Carnevale, even with three Democratic primary opponents, is likely to win re-election. Yet each new revelation involving Carnevale, former Rep. Ray Gallison, and Providence Councilor Kevin Jackson threatens to become more of a drag on other Democrats. (Some Ds might appreciate how the GOP has now filed a challenge to strike Carnevale from the ballot, although the GOP will be able to claim bragging rights if the effort is successful.)
6. US Drug Czar Michael Botticelli, aka White House Director of National Drug Control Policy, is slated next Tuesday to join Health and Human Services Secretary Elizabeth Roberts and Department of Corrections Director A. T. Wall, to tour the Gloria McDonald Women’s facility at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI). State officials say the effort will highlight efforts “to prevent drug overdose and support recovery by providing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder in the state prisons.” The most recent state budget includes $2 million to expand the use of MAT in state prisons. Meanwhile, Botticelli — who favors using treatment-based approaches to curb drug use — was profiled last year by 60 Minutes.
7. Fortress Investment Group, which owns the corporate parent of The Providence Journal, was the poster child for a recent New York Times’ report, headlined, “How Private Equity Found Power and Profit in State Capitols.” The article found that Fortress has backed efforts to weaken consumer protection laws while largely flying under the public radar. Excerpt: “Private equity firms often don’t directly engage with legislators and regulators — the companies they control do. As a result, the firms themselves have emerged as relatively anonymous conglomerates that exert power behind the scenes in their dealings with governments. And because private equity’s interests are so diverse, the industry interacts with governments not only through lobbying, but also as contractors and partners on public projects.”
8. Speaking of the ProJo, changes continue apace at Rhode Island’s statewide daily. Close readers of the newspaper will notice a recent increase in the amount of news being reported from communities outside of Providence. That reflects changes in assignments at the Journal — and it seems like a smart move, for a few reasons. Back in the 1923, the paper opened a series of regional bureaus, with the idea that a reporter would never be more than 20 minutes away from the news. Yet the downward fortunes of newspapers in the new century sparked a series of cuts, starting with the once-unthinkable elimination of the Newport bureau in 2002, and then most of the others in 2006. For a while, the Journal still covered municipal news from the Fountain Street headquarters. But in recent years, enterprising Greg Smith has been the only reporter regularly tucking into the many newsworthy stories outside Providence (Cranston, in his case). So the renewed attention to other communities offers a wider angle on Rhode Island, and an added reason for readers to check out the news. Meanwhile, the ProJo’s launch of a standalone site, RhodeIsland.com, on places to go and things to do might be coming a bit late in the iteration of the internet, but it offers another way to build the Journal’s audience and revenue.
9. House Majority Leader John DeSimone (D-Providence) has served in the House since first winning election in 1992, so he clearly knows a few things about winning elections, and the House leadership can marshal some considerable campaign resources. Yet Sam Bell of the RI Progressive Democrats is talking a big game about the primary challenge posed by Marcia Ranglin-Vassell: “I have to tell you, the reception has been amazing, and so many people are so excited about this race, because if we defeat the number two Democrat in the machine, the shock wave will be incredible,” Bell said on RIPR’s Bonus Q&A. “It is going to send shivers through the rest of the machine and send a very clear message that politics in Rhode Island needs to change.”
10. Here are the names of the 41 state lawmakers who don’t have any competition on the way to re-election.
11. West Warwick native Paul Tencher is headed back to Indiana, where he piloted a winning campaign for US Senator Joe Donnelly in 2012. This time around, the former Elizabeth Roberts staffer is managing the comeback attempt by Evan Bayh, who left the Senate in 2010 (and has almost $10 million in a dormant campaign account.) Meanwhile, former Rhode Islander Ian Prior, now with the Senate Leadership Fund, tells Politico that the PAC “intends to do whatever it takes to help elect” GOP congressman Todd Young. For his part, Tencher tells TGIF, “It has always been my goal, whether in Rhode Island or Indiana, to elect public servants with common sense. I’m lucky to be an adopted Hoosier and have the chance to elect Evan Bayh to the U.S. Senate. He’ll get things done for Hoosiers and all Americans.”
12. It turns out that Governor Raimondo was able to get a Rhode Islander as her new chief of staff. Sure, Brett Smiley grew up in Illinois although he’s been in the state about 10 years, after coming here to run Democrat Charles Fogarty‘s close challenge to Governor Don Carcieri back in 2006, and he certainly knows his way around. Smiley has a reputation as being smart and steady, and he played a big role in Jorge Elorza‘s win as Providence mayor back in 2014, even if his own initial path to victory seemed unclear. Smiley’s move to the Statehouse is a good opportunity for him, although it also raises a series of questions about the tough sledding being left behind at City Hall. (As Dan McGowan noted, “With the mayor quickly approaching the second half of his first term, observers say he’ll need to find someone who can quickly manage the relationships Smiley built and improve some of the ones the mayor has struggled with, particularly at the State House.”) It’s possible, too, that there could be more departures from City Hall in the run-up to 2018. Meanwhile, back in 2008, Smiley counted himself optimistic on Rhode Island’s future: “I think the course is correctable,” he told me for a piece in the Phoenix. “It’s just a matter of us doing it.”
13. Scott MacKay‘s take on the Republic and Democratic Conventions. Excerpt: “Most conventions do their best to show off a unified party, even, as at the 1980 Democratic confab, the wounds of the primaries haven’t healed. (Combatants Ted Kennedy and Jimmy Carter never really made peace; the result was a Reagan victory). Unity took a back seat at Trump’s convention. It seemed the lone thing that delegates agreed on is animus toward Clinton. ‘Lock her up,’ was the most memorable of the floor chants.”
14. Governor Raimondo spent close to three hours on Monday listening to the concerns of Burrillville residents about a proposed power plant. RIPR’s Ambar Espinoza covered the meeting. Excerpt: “Your stories are moving,” said Raimondo. “They’re real and they ought to be listened to and the [regulatory] process will take them into account. I have confidence in that process. This isn’t a done deal. This is not a done deal.”
15. Sam Bell of the RI Progressive Democrats isn’t exactly a big Raimondo fan, and he’s publicly mused on a more liberal Dem running a primary challenge to her in 2018, although he didn’t name any names when asked about a possible candidate during this week’s RIPR Bonus Q+A. Listen to the segment for yourself to get a sense of Bell’s critique of the governor, which initially focused more on abortion rights than the economy (arguably a more important issue for most Rhode Islanders), although he also rapped the growing influence of the Commerce Corporation and its use of tax credits. Raimondo’s new communication director, Mike Raia, fired back with this response: “First, let me make clear with no equivocation: Governor Raimondo is fully supportive of reproductive rights and a woman’s right to choose. Second, on economic opportunity. Being a progressive means being committed to actually making progress. And in 20 months, the Governor has made progress. Governor Raimondo has expanded the EITC and fought to raise the minimum wage. She’s expanded all day kindergarten and tripled support for Pre-K. Thousands of Rhode Islanders have earned an RI Promise scholarship and working toward a certificate or college degree. She led the effort to hold the line against tuition increases at our public colleges and universities. She’s creating an environment for businesses to grow by helping Rhode Islanders develop the skills they need to compete for 21st century jobs. This week alone, Electric Boat credited the Governor’s Real Jobs RI and other workforce initiatives as the driving reason they’ll be able to fill thousands of new middle class manufacturing jobs at Quonset Point. There’s a lot of work still to do to expand opportunity for the middle class, and we’re going to keep at it.”
16. Offering free tours of the Superman Building seems like a good way to show off a Providence icon while keeping its uncertain future more front of mind. So how about upping the ante? Why not use part of the building for pop-up art installations, public lectures, or other creative uses?
17. State Rep. Aaron Regunberg (D-Providence) is among those pushing to eliminate superdelegates in the choosing Democratic presidential contenders. In an op-ed he co-wrote for MSNBC, Regunberg contends in part, “As a party committed to lifting up the disenfranchised, the current delegate system gives disproportionate power and representation to the most historically enfranchised demographic, older white men. In every recent cycle, the party insiders making up superdelegate cohorts have been far older, far more male, and whiter than base voters and pledged delegates.”
18. House Minority Leader Brian Newberry (R-North Smithfield) broke some news during his appearance on this week’s WPRI-TV’s Newsmakers: he plans to step down from his leadership post in January, and is backing Rep. Mike Chippendale (R-Foster) as his successor. As RIPR previously reported, Rep. Patricia Morgan (R-West Warwick) has also set her sights on becoming minority leader, although Newberry — who works as a lawyer in Boston — said his decision is unrelated to that.
19. What do zombies and Rhode Island have in common? Justin Katz has some thoughts. Meanwhile, what’s to explain the vampire frights back during the Ocean State’s more prosperous Gilded Age era?
20. “Mark Zuckerburg on his plan to bring the internet to every human on earth“
21. Roger Ailes‘ exit from Fox brings to mind the old chestnut about a chat between Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald: “The rich are different.” Hemingway: “Yes, they have more money.” Ailes is walking away with $40 million in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment.
22. A parting note for my first week back at work — what science says about taking a great vacation. Excerpt: “A good vacation leaves most of us feeling, well, good. Maybe even better than good. But how long does that vacation high last? Researchers in Germany tracked a group of school teachers. They found the teachers had higher levels of engagement at work and lower burnout rates after their vacations. However, the positive effects were all but gone a month later. The takeaway may be that we may need to get away from it all just a little more often.”
