EDITORIAL: Everyone Is to Blame But Matos — Just Ask Matos

EDITORIAL: Everyone Is to Blame But Matos — Just Ask Matos

Harry S. Truman had a nameplate on his Presidential desk that read, “The Buck Stop Here.”

A clear indication that Truman was ultimately responsible for what took place in his administration.

A sign of leadership, responsibility, and decency.

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Sabina Matos missed that day in history class. She might have missed the whole semester.

Matos’ Friday night press event was an embarrassing exercise in blame-ation. She found every excuse for her campaign’s incompetence and potentially illegal activity. Oh, wait, it was a “vendor” who did it.

The “vendor” is a woman named Holly McClaren. She is well-known to the Matos and Governor Dan McKee teams. Both the 2022 McKee campaign and now the 2023 Matos congressional races have been managed by Brexton Issacs.

And McClaren is part of that close political family.

She was featured in a McKee political ad for Governor and has worked for McKee’s go-to paper ballot procurer, Luis Estrada.

Matos could have stepped up, declared that she knew McClaren and that despite the errors and maybe crimes committed by McClaren, that she — Matos — is ultimately responsible as the candidate for Congress and current Lt. Governor. But, OH NO.

Earlier in the campaign, Matos claimed in a press announcement that 31 officials endorsed her for Congress, but that was not true. Six came forward and said they never endorsed her.

That faux pax was clumsy and was a peek into her campaign’s competency, but not criminally fraudulent. In Matos' world, that was not her fault, either. 

Friday’s rambling press conference was a blame-a-thon by Matos.

Matos invoked:

MAGA Republicans.

Evil Democratic candidates who blew the whistle on Matos and McClaren.

Then, there was anyone, i.e. the press, who asked questions — they were besmirching the dreams of little girls in Woonsocket. There was more and more.

Functionally, Friday night’s self-inflicted massacre was arguably the worst performance by a public official in modern politics in Rhode Island or across the country.

Fellow Democratic Congressional candidate Aaron Reguberg issued the most cogent statement in response. He wrote in part, "I was disappointed to hear the Lt. Governor spend far, far more time in her press conference discussing how this fraud has impacted her reputation and political ambitions, rather than taking ownership for how it has shaken public confidence in our electoral processes at a time when faith in elections has never been more urgent. Rhode Islanders deserve better.”

The reality is Sabina Matos is the one and only person on her campaign running for office.

She is the one asking Rhode Islanders to trust her to serve in the United States Congress representing the people of the First Congressional District.

Her performance Friday raises serious questions about her judgment and leadership.

It raises questions about those who she has surrounded herself with as counselors.

It was an ugly train wreck. And Matos was the conductor.