Prof. Lawless: Foulkes’ Judgment, Reed’s Age and Biden’s Legacy
Prof. Lawless: Foulkes’ Judgment, Reed’s Age and Biden’s Legacy
Foulkes Fundraiser Hosted by Tobacco Money Heiress Who Was Criticized for Making Antisemitic Comments
This week, GoLocal unveiled that the host of a major Washington, D.C. fundraiser for Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes, Elizabeth Bagley, has been criticized in the past for making antisemitic comments.
Much of Bagley’s wealth derives from the tobacco industry. Bagley's late husband, Smith Bagley, was heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune.
The tobacco tie undermines a major claim that Foulkes pushed in her first run for governor — that as an executive of CVS she pushed to have the company stop selling tobacco products.
"I like doing big things that matter for people -- I'm particularly proud of the tobacco decision that I led to get rid of tobacco in all our stores...so I'm not afraid of taking on hard things," said Foulkes on GoLocal LIVE in January of 2022.
As GoLocal unveiled in 2022, Andrew Tisch, the former CEO of Lorillard Tobacco Company, is a donor to Foulkes' campaign.
Tisch may be best known for his dramatic testimony before Congress when he was the CEO of Lorillard Tobacco Company and along with other leading tobacco execs shocked members of Congress and the American public by claiming that there was no link between tobacco and cancer and that nicotine was not addictive.
He gave Foulkes $1,000.
“In politics, you're judged by the company you keep, and this is not a new phenomenon. We know that when you emerge as a candidate you're scrutinized, your background is scrutinized, the people that donate to you are fodder for scrutiny and the people with whom you associate are relevant. Now, you have a lot of options as a candidate you can say ‘I’m not going to take money from people who are questionable.’ You can say, "I made a mistake and I shouldn't have associated with these people,” said Lawless.
“She seems to be faltering on both fronts. First of all she's surrounded by a plethora of people that just seem to have lots of unsavory characteristics or background traits or controversies surrounding them and it's somewhat stunning that staff haven't identified these people as potentially problematic but in addition to that she rarely calls out the problems when they emerge,” said Lawless.
Lawless added, “I think that opens up quite a legitimate and potentially successful path for an opponent to question her judgment.”
Foulkes has refused to answer questions about this fundraiser and in recent months she has canceled interviews with GoLocal and other media organizations.
A series of reports by GoLocal focused on the close ties between Foulkes' uncle, Senator Chris Dodd, and The Dodd Center with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. The Sackler family and the company are considered to have been major drivers of the opioid crisis.
Robert Whitcomb, a GoLocal columnist and former long-time editor of the editorial page for the Providence Journal, has repeatedly raised questions about politicians and age.
An editorial this week published in GoLocal urged U.S. Senator Jack Reed, now 75, not to seek another term — one in which he would be 82 when he completes it.
Lawless defended Reed seeking another term in her interview on GoLocal LIVE. Reed was first elected to Congress in 1990.
“First, let me say that Jack Reed is really important and the Senate is a different kind of beast. I think there are two things that are important to keep in mind, the first is that this is what elections are for this is what primaries are for and this is what a general election is for and if there are strong credible candidates who think that age is an issue or who think that an incumbent is no longer able to represent his constituents or her constituents, you emerge and you run and you make that case to voters,” said Lawless
“Second thing I would say is I don't think that age in and of itself is disqualifying. I think we have to look at a broader set of circumstances is the person beginning to falter is the person still an effective leader, is the person still aware of what's going on and able to represent the constituents that sent that person to the United States Senate, and simply being 75 or being 76 doesn't mean that you can no longer do the job,” said Lawless.
Lawless raises concerns about how the Biden White House and Democratic leaders handled Biden’s decline.
“I think that a lot of people are surprised but not shocked by what we're seeing [now]. When that debate happened last June and Joe Biden clearly not only looked too old to be president but seemed like he was not as cognitively aware as he needed to be, a lot of people started Monday morning quarterbacking and identifying other times over the course of the previous four years that there were signals and signs," said Lawless.
"But I think that the books that have recently come out the tapes that have come out have made it very obvious the comments from people that have worked in the White House have made it very obvious that this was something that was well known among his inner circle," Lawless. "And the fact that Democratic leaders or Democratic staffers who were protecting him thought it was a good idea for him to run for a second term and then thought it was a good idea to dig in and wait a month to drop out after that June debate does call into question [Democrats] the moral high ground."
SEE THE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS ON FOULKES AND THE OPIOID CRISIS BELOW