Leading Progressive Democrat Unloads on Raimondo’s “Corrupt Right-Wing Machine”
GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle
Leading Progressive Democrat Unloads on Raimondo’s “Corrupt Right-Wing Machine”
Capri Catanzaro, Political Director of Rhode Island Progressive Democrats, said, "As refreshing as I find Gov. Lincoln Chafee's constructive criticism of the Democratic Party, we need to be honest about the truth here: Gina Raimondo's policies as governor are significantly further to the right than those in Clinton's 2016 campaign platform.”
"While they both embody the partial national Democratic establishment, Raimondo goes a few steps further," said Catanzaro. "Raimondo embodies the corrupt right-wing machine that has taken over our state, a machine lacking any congruence to the Democratic Party platform. Unlike Raimondo, even Hillary Clinton never pushed brutal Medicaid cuts or abortion coverage restrictions."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCatanzaro served as the campaign manager for freshman State Senator Jeanine Calkin in 2016, when Calkin unseated then-Senate President Pro-Tempore Bill Walaska in Warwick.
Her comments as the Progressives' political director come following Chafee's criticism of Raimondo for her ties to corporate interests. Chafee is now looking more and more poised to challenge Raimondo in a Democratic party primary.
On Monday, GoLocal reported on Chafee’s latest attacks on Raimondo.
While Chafee has been warning Democrats that sitting Raimondo is out of touch with Democratic values, the ultimate irony was that while Chafee was conducting a phone interview on Monday on WPRO AM with long-time radio talk show host Tara Granahan, Raimondo was appearing at an event with Goldman Sachs’ executive John F.W. Rogers. He is considered one of the the most powerful men in American finance and is a top manager at Goldman.
And by mid-afternoon on Monday, a Raimondo surrogate was blasting Chafee in response.
Democratic party spokesman Bill Lynch issued a statement claiming Chafee’s tenure as Governor was a failure, “With his odd appearances on various media outlets in recent weeks, including (seriously) Russia Today, Lincoln Chafee seems strangely desperate to revise his own failed legacy as a one-term Governor."
Lynch is paid in part by the Democratic National Committee (DNC), according to an article that appeared in the Providence Journal. A GoLocal review of open secrets found that Hedge-Fund Renaissance Technologies (RenTec) was the largest donor to the DNC in the 2016 election cycle. The other top donors to DNC include mega private equity firms include Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, and Goldman Sachs.
RenTec is one of the most powerful political donors. And its Co-CEO is one of the most controversial political funders who is tied to the most aggressive GOP efforts including the controversial book “Clinton Cash.”
“Robert Mercer provided $1.7 million of the (pro-Trump) group’s $2.6 million of revenue in 2015, according to Internal Revenue Service documents obtained by Bloomberg News. The group, the Government Accountability Institute, was co-founded by populist firebrand Stephen Bannon, now the president-elect’s chief strategist," reported Bloomberg.
A March New Yorker piece titled, “THE RECLUSIVE HEDGE-FUND TYCOON BEHIND THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY How Robert Mercer exploited America’s populist insurgency" outlines the close ties between Mercer and Presidency of Donald Trump.
Dizzying Pace
In the past few weeks, Chafee has set forth a series of attacks design to raise questions about Raimondo’s effectiveness and highlight her ties to corporate interests.
The criticism has now drawn return fire from the Raimondo camp via Lynch. There are still 15 months until the primary.
"At least Joe McNamara didn't embarass the party, saying potentially libelous statements like 'Chafee tried to ban all Christmas trees'," said Sam Bell, the former RI Progressive Democrat Chair, of Lynch's comments, who had said, "As our own version of the Grinch, Chafee actually sought to abolish Christmas trees and replace them with holiday trees."
Winners and Losers in Raimondo's FY18 Budget Proposal
Winner
Criminal Justice Reform
Per recommendations from the Justice Reinvestment Working Group, the Governor is proposing nearly $1 million in investments such as the public defender mental health program ($185,000), improved mental health services at the ACI ($410,000), recovery housing ($200,000) and domestic violence intervention, in her FY18 budget.
Winner
English Language Learners
Under the heading of “promoting 3rd grade reading,” Raimondo proposed adding $2.5 million to make English Language Learning (ELL) K-12 funding permanent. The Governor’s office points out that RI is one of four states that doesn’t have permanent funding.
The suggestion was one made by the Funding Formula Working Group in January 2016, who said that “in the event that Rhode Island chooses to make an additional investment in ELLs, the funding should be calculated to be responsive to the number of ELLs in the system and based on reliable data, and include reasonable restrictions to ensure that the money is used to benefit ELLs — and promote the appropriate exiting of ELL students from services.”
Winner
Car Owners - and Drivers
Governor Raimondo wants to reduce assessed motor vehicle values by 30% - a change that would reduce total car tax bills by about $58 million in calendar year 2018. Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, however, has indicated that he might want to go further in its repeal.
In her budget proposal, Raimondo also put forth adding 8 staffers to the the Department of Motor Vehicles to "address wait times."
Winner
T.F. Green
The “Air Services Development Fund” would get an influx of $500,000 to “provide incentives to airlines interested in launching new routes or increasing service to T.F. Green Airport.” The Commerce Corporation set the criteria at the end of 2016 for how to grant money through the new (at the time $1.5 million fund).
Also getting a shot in the arm is the I-195 development fund, which would receive $10.1 million from debt-service savings to “resupply” the Fund to “catalyze development & attract anchor employers.”
Tie
Minimum Wage Increase
An increase in the state minimum wage is part of Raimondo’s proposal, which would see it go from $9.60 an hour to $10.50 an hour. Raimondo was unsuccessful in her effort in 2016 to bring it up to $10.10 — it was June 2015 that she signed legislation into law that last raised Rhode Island’s minimum wage, from $9 to 9.60.
The state's minimum hourly wage has gone up from $6.75 in January 2004 to $7.75 in 2013, $8 in 2014, and $9 on Jan. 1, 2015. Business groups such as the National Federation of Independent Business however have historically been against such measures, citing a hamper on job creation.
Tie
Cigarette Tax
Like the minimum wage, Raimondo is looking for an increase - in this instance, the cigarette tax, and revenue to state coffers. Raimondo was unsuccessful in her effort to go from a tax of $3.75 to $4 last year. Now she is looking for an increase to $4.25 per pack, which the administration says would equate to $8.7 million in general revenue — and go in part towards outdoor recreation and smoking cessation programs.
The National Federation of Independent Business and other trade groups have historically been against such an increase, saying it will hurt small businesses - i.e. convenience stores. And clearly, if you’re a smoker, you’re likely to place this squarely in the loser category instead.
Loser
Hospitals
As often happens in the state budget, winner one year, loser the next. As GoLocal reported in 2016, “the Rhode Island Hospital Association immediately lauded the budget following its introduction, and addressed that while it is facing some reductions, that it "applauds" this years budget after landing on the "loser" list last year.”
This year, it falls back on the loser list, with a Medicaid rate freeze to hospitals, nursing homes, providers, and payers — at FY 2017 levels, with a 1% rate cut come January 1, 2018.
Loser
Online Shoppers
The taxman cometh — maybe. Raimondo proposed an “Internet Sales Tax Initiative” — which would purportedly equate to $34.7 million in revenues.
"Online sales and the fact that online sellers do not collect sales tax has created a structural problem for Rhode Island's budget — our sales taxes have been flat," said Director of Administration Michael DiBiase, of the tax that Amazon collects in 33 states, but not Rhode Island. "We think mostly due to online sales, we’re able to capture the growth. The revenue number is $35 million dollars — it improves our structural deficit problem. It’s an important fiscal development."
Loser
Long Term Care Funding
The Governor’s proposal recommends “redesigning the nature” of the State’s Integrated Care Initiative, by transferring long-term stay nursing home members from Neighborhood Health to Medicaid Fee-for-Service and repurposing a portion of the anticipated savings (from reduced administrative payments to Neighborhood Health) for “enhanced services in the community.” “The investments in home- and community-based care will help achieve the goal of rebalancing the long-term care system," states the Administration.
Cutting that program is tagged at saving $12.2 million; cuts and “restructuring” at Health and Human Services is slated to save $46.3 million.
