Why I think Jeremy Kapstein could be the next Lt. Governor of RI

Why I think Jeremy Kapstein could be the next Lt. Governor of RI

Hear John DePetro weekday mornings 6-10 am, on GoLocalProv's media partner 630WPRO & 99.7

One of the more interesting races this Primary season will be the Democrat primary for Lt. Governor of Rhode Island between the incumbent, Elizabeth Roberts, and Red Sox senior advisor Jeremy Kapstein. Kapstein is by far the most interesting, experienced, impressive candidate to ever seek the number two elective office in Rhode Island. 

A Navy veteran who has been wildly successful in the big leagues world of pro baseball, Kapstein is a polished candidate whose tenure in Boston has included stints as an agent, the General Manager, and now serves as the "guy behind home plate" for the Sox ball club. He is sharp, disciplined, sincere, and proposes to serve as the state's "economic ambassador" and try to persuade businesses to set up shop here.

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And who is he up against? Let's just say if Kapstein were the visiting team, it's apparent the opponent has arrived with momentum and the home team is looking rather sluggish and nervous and not ready for what's going to get tossed their way.

The last Brown poll had her at a whopping 21% approval rating after 4 years in office, with no place to go but up. So who is Elizabeth Roberts ?

Let's hit the highlights:

● The helicopter ride to the Bristol parade on the state dime. She is worse than a limousine liberal, she is guilty of" helicopter hypocrisy." We learned that in her eyes, parade traffic is for the "little people." Strike one.

● The December debacle. Roberts showed lack of leadership on December 13, 2007, the date best remembered as the "December debacle." It was Roberts (who chairs the Emergency Management Agency) who finally walked down the hall to the Governor's office at 8:00 pm  to offer her assistance.  The Governor was out of the country, and she was 8 hours late. Nobody ever accused her of being Al Haig. When there was an opportunity for leadership and a chance to shine, Roberts was in her office as school children were still stuck on buses in the snow.

Strike two.

● "The politics of polarization will not lead us in the right direction." A Liz Roberts quote that is hung in the illegal alien hall of fame. In April of 2008, Governor Carcieri came out with his Executive Order on illegals which was  intended to prevent a person living here illegally to secure a state or government contractor job.  But the Lt. Governor jumped up to the plate to denounce the Order apparently because she does not have a problem misusing taxpayers' money to subsidize pay and benefits to people here illegally. Called third strike?

● She dishes up empty rhetoric about the need to improve our schools yet the woman whose own kids attend private school stayed silent as the nation and even her Democratic President registered outrage at the chronically failing Central Falls High School earlier this year. Better not to cross those Unions, right Lt. Governor?

With Patrick Lynch's exit, the absence of a Lynch/Caprio primary means more attention on her primary, which is bad news for the "copter" candidate. Her attitude of "pretend he is not there" with Kapstein will not work as scrutiny on the race now intensifies.

There's a lot of innings left in this one and the home team advantage seemed to vanish the minute the challenger hit the field.

John DePetro can be heard weekday mornings 6-10A, on GoLocal media partner 630WPRO & 99.7, and podcasts of show highlights are found at 630wpro.com.