Daily Archive for January 5th, 2010

Roll Call Vote from the Executive Committee Meeting

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Will Ricci

Since this information unlikely to be available in other venues, I’m providing it to you free of charge, being the generous guy that I am. This is according to my notes.

Against (10):

Gio Cicione – Chair, RIGOP
Robert Coupe – Secretary, RIGOP
John Harpootian – Governor’s Designee
Hon. Scott Avedesian – Mayor of Warwick
Hon. Allan Fung – Mayor of Cranston
Dr. Daniel Harrop – Chair, Finance Committee
Robert Manning – Chair, Platform Committee
Marge Gartelman – At-Large
Tom Curry – At-Large
Sean Gately – At-Large

In Favor (26):

Nancy Richmond – 1st Vice Chair, RIGOP
Lester Olson – 2nd Vice Chair, RIGOP
Barbara Holmes – Treasurer, RIGOP
Dave Talan – Corresponding Secretary, RIGOP
John Clarke – Parliamentarian, RIGOP
Hon. Carol Mumford – RNC National Committeewoman
Hon. Joseph Trillo – RNC National Committeeman
Travis Rowley – Chair, RI Young Republicans
Renay Omisore – Chair, African-American Republicans
Raymond McKay – President, Rhode Island Republican Assembly
Patricia Morgan – Past Chair, RIGOP (Will wonders never cease?)
Hon. Joseph Almond – Lincoln Town Administrator
Mia Caetano-Johnson – Chair, Nominations Committee
Hon. Robert Watson – House Republican Leader (We’ll take it!)
Phil Hirons – President, City and Town GOP Chairmen’s Caucus
Robert Carlin – Providence County Vice-Chair
Diane Allen – Washington County Vice-Chair
Judy Orson – Kent County Vice-Chair
Thomas Carroll – Bristol County Vice-Chair
Antone Viverios – Newport County Vice-Chair
Mark Zaccaria – At-Large
Ted Richards – At-Large
Charles Vacca – At-Large
Jonathan Scott – At-Large
William Ricci – At-Large

Abstentions (2):

John Robitaille – At-Large
Kerry King – At-Large

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Breaking News and Republican Party 1 Comment

The War of the Presidents: Reagan Battles Obama in 2010

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Rhode Island Red

…In a high-speed culture in which politics is conducted in the short-hand of sound-bites, the 2010 election can be easily summarized by the last names of the two presidents immutably identified with their respective governing philosophies, making the first national election of the 21st century’s second decade a virtual War of the Presidents. It will beget one simple question. Are you Reagan or Obama?…

For Obama to remake America from the bottom up into a statist utopia as long envisioned by American and European “progressives.” To fundamentally change — forever — the role of government in everyday American life. To remove as much individual liberty and freedom as they can get away with and replace it with government control, on the old theory that only economic and political elites can correctly order the affairs of the average man and woman. Making of America a quasi-socialist state on the model favored by leftists of one stripe or another for all or parts of three centuries. If the Obama progressives could manage it, the idea would be to drop the “quasi” altogether…

Read More: The American Spectator

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Ronald Reagan and The Obamessiah Closed

RIGOP Executive Committee Meeting Voting Results

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Will Ricci

The Executive Committee of the Rhode Island Republican Party voted tonight to recommend (to Chairman Gio Cicione) that a meeting of the Rhode Island Republican State Central Committee be held on Tuesday, January 19th, in order to discuss possible bylaws changes relevant to the 2010 primary elections.

The vote of the RIGOP Executive Committee was 26 members in favor, 10 members opposed, with 2 abstentions. I am very pleased by the overwhelming margin of support in favor of having meeting to openly discuss this.

The Chairman has seven days within which to call a meeting to be held on the 19th.

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Alerts and Republican Party Closed

Boehner Backs Move to Open Health Care Talks to Media

Posted on January 5, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

Washington (CNN) – The top Republican in the House of Representatives is backing a move by C-SPAN to allow television coverage of House-Senate health care reform negotiations.

In a December 30 letter to Democratic and Republican congressional leadership, C-SPAN Chairman Brian Lamb requested that they “open all important negotiations, including any conference committee meetings, to electronic media coverage.”

C-SPAN is a non-profit cable entity largely devoted to coverage of Congress.

House Minority Leader John Boehner supports C-SPAN’s move, saying “hard-working families won’t stand for having the future of their health care decided behind closed doors.”

“Secret deliberations are a breeding ground for more of the kickbacks, shady deals and special-interest provisions that have become business as usual in Washington. Too much is at stake to have a final bill built on payoffs and pork-barrel spending,” added Boehner, in a letter to Lamb that was released Tuesday.

Democrats say it’s impossible to predict what kind of media coverage might be possible, given that it is unclear at best if there will be any formal negotiations between the House and Senate to merge the two chambers’ health care reform bills into one piece of legislation.

“We will continue to keep the American people informed,” said Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a member of the House Democratic leadership.

“There has never been a more open process for any legislation,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But “we will do what is necessary to pass the bill.”

Pelosi and Van Hollen spoke to reporters Tuesday, after huddling with other House Democratic leaders.

Top Democrats are prepared to short-circuit the traditional legislative process and exclude their GOP counterparts during final congressional health care deliberations, senior Democratic sources have told CNN. Democrats are trying to prevent the Republicans from using Senate rules to slow the push for final passage of a comprehensive reform bill, the sources added.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs refused to weigh in on Lamb’s request, saying he had not read the letter.

Source: House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

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Filed Under: Healthcare Reform, Media and US House Closed

Chafee: A Champion for Big Labor, Not Taxpayers

Posted on January 5, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

“THE OPPOSITE OF RIGHT PART III”

When Lincoln Chafee announced his candidacy for Governor this week, he pledged “to be a champion of the property taxpayer” and “a partner with our mayors and town managers … to repeal many of the costly state mandates on cities and towns.” Unfortunately, when he was mayor, Mr. Chafee acted more as a champion for public sector unions than for the taxpayers when he gave sweetheart deals to unions, like the Warwick Teachers Union, and then raised regressive property taxes year after year to pay for these deals. (As noted by the RIGOP in its press release yesterday entitled “OPPOSITE OF RIGHT PART II: Chafee’s ‘New Way Forward’ Will Send Rhode Island Backwards.”)

If Mr. Chafee is really a champion of property taxpayer who will support city and town officials in their efforts to eliminate state mandates, the RIGOP challenges Mr. Chafee to unequivocally support the elimination of state law mandates that benefit public sector unions. Here are two simple examples:

First, will Mr. Chafee support cities and towns who want to be free from being required to negotiate with firefighter and police unions as to minimum staffing levels? This was proposed in Article 43 of 09-H5019, and was supported by Dan Beardsley of the R.I. League of Cities and Towns (Beardsley 2009 Final Legislative Report), and the Democratic and Republican Mayors of Cranston, Cumberland, Johnston, Lincoln, North Providence and Pawtucket (Letter from The Coalition of Communities Improving Rhode Island 4/14/09)

Second, will Mr. Chafee support cities and towns who want to be free to impose a 25% co-share for health care premiums on all city and town employees without having to negotiate with local public sector unions? This was proposed in Article 44 of 09-H5019, and was supported by Dan Beardsley of the R.I. League of Cities and Towns (Beardsley 2009 Final Legislative Report), and the Democratic and Republican Mayors of Cranston, Cumberland, Johnston, Lincoln, North Providence and Pawtucket (Letter from The Coalition of Communities Improving Rhode Island 4/14/09)

“If Mr. Chafee is, as he claims, a champion of the property taxpayer, then Mr. Chafee should not hesitate to support these two pieces of legislation,” said RIGOP Chair Giovanni Cicione. “I suspect, however, that he is simply avoiding the hard choices and once again robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

“The last thing this state needs is another privileged member of the Rhode Island political class who has spent a career currying favor with public sector unions in order to win office,” Cicione continued. “Mr. Chafee’s plan to tax food, clothes, and prescription drugs will just be yet another ‘new way’ to raise taxes in an era when we should be finding solutions to put more money in peoples pockets by cutting taxes across the board.”

News Release: Rhode Island Republican Party

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Big Labor and Press Releases Closed

‘Patients First’ Calls Nancy Pelosi’s Transparency Bluff

Posted on January 5, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

In response to C-SPAN’s request that cameras be allowed to film the House-Senate conference on health care, Speaker Pelosi responded that “there has never been a more open process.” Yet, she won’t let cameras in — in spite of President Obama’s promise that the negotiations would indeed be aired on C-SPAN.

Therefore, Patients First, A Project of Americans for Prosperity, has launched a website: http://www.letthecamerasin.com. There is also a new Facebook page up. On the website, there will be a petition [which can be signed] to demand that the health care legislative process be even more “open” by allowing Americans to actually see what is happening.

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, San Fran Nan and US House Closed

RI Republican Party Executive Committee Meeting | January 5

Posted on January 4, 2010 by The Ocean State Republican

A meeting of the Rhode Island Republican Party Executive Committee has been called for Tuesday, January 5th, 2010, to consider several important agenda items which are relevant to the 2010 election cycle.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM and will be held at Avedesian Campaign Headquarters — right around the corner from RIGOP Headquarters — at 1800 Post Road in Warwick, at the intersection of Airport Road.

As far as we know, this is a “closed” meeting, only open to members of the RIGOP Executive Committee and State Central Committee (you should know who you are by now). Any inquiries may be directed to RIGOP HQ at 401.732.8282.

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Filed Under: 2010 Elections, Coming Events and Republican Party Closed