Friday, January 25, 2008

What’s Operation Dollar Bill Worth?

rappers

heloping or hurting ‘culture of curruption’

What about US Attorney Robert Corrente’s vaunted ‘Operation Dollar Bill’?  So far, Rhode Island Senator John Celona has landed in jail…Representative Gerry Martineau has been convicted…and there’s been a lot of talk and suspicion.  There was a conviction of the Roger Williams Medical Center officials that Celona pointed to…but federal judges threw out that case, and the trial will start over again.  So the ‘Operation’ is now three years old.  And the US Attorney’s prosecutor said there are at least seven politicians and seven businesses under investigation.  Which has a bunch of lawmakers at the Statehouse kind of nervous…and many in the public believing all politicians are crooks.  Is it time to pull this investigation to the finish line?
Here are your answers to the question of whether ‘Operation Dollar Bill’ is cleansing Rhode Island of the culture of corruption…or perpetuating it:

Who gives a rat!! This is more of the “Rhode Island “as it is story. We don’t even have lawyers who can fight for the citizens correctly!! We are all doomed to die at the hands of unscrupulous individuals as has been the case for the past 50 years!
Ed, Coventry

There is no “so-called climate of corruption” in this state: there is major CORRUPTION in this state.
State jobs filled with someone’s relative or hanger on, never mind if they are qualified or not.  I know of someone with a couple of advanced degrees that worked for DEM and he was treated like a gofer by the people who worked with him and a couple of them had not made it through high school, never mind college with wildlife management degrees.  My friend left the state employ. The others are still there doing not much of anything except collecting their pay checks.  That they can manage to do.
UNTIL someone cleans out the deadwood and the slackers this state is going no where but down the tubes.
Our elected officials are made of teflon and nothing sticks it slides off and stinks and we keep electing these crooks.  I guess we get what we deserve.
Judith, Coventry

Several times a year, we hear about this one stealing that, as a tax paypayer I’m sick of it! Where is the restitution? Joe Mollicone won’t live long enough to repay the money he ripped off.  Especially at a hundred dollars a week.  He’s just one of MANY. Yet the Governor wants to make the state workers suffer the consequences of a SHORT FALL by layoffs, and furloughs for state workers. Sundlen did it too. As Governor, Mr. Carceri needs to MAKE THE CROOKS PAY BACK ALL THE CASH. Sell their homes, realestate, jewelry, Stocks, bonds ....everything they own , to PAY back to the people of RI who don’t deserve to suffer .
Dawn M

I don’t think this scandal is hurting corruption accusations any more than any other scandal. The problem of corruption goes much farther than Rhode Island. My question is when is everybody stop crying and complaining and do something about it?
Roger G

Operation Dollar Bill is definitely hurting RI. The criminals get caught, then get off on a technicality or their sentences get overturned. It definitely makes people wonder if RI is just criminals helping criminals, under the guise of legality.
Thom and Sue

I don’t see it helping any. It is getting so that there is no benefit to following the law. Convicted of corruption? Another judge will let you out. Sentenced for the deaths of a hundred people? You still get to go home early. Buy a lottery ticket even though it is clearly prohibited by your probation? You still get to keep the money. Get caught working here illegally? People will complain that it is the immigration officials that are tearing apart your family. Want to close a budget shortfall by suggesting that maybe the state shouldn’t be responsible for the health insurance of people here illegally? 
Again, you are the bad guy. Here illegally and get hurt? You still get to sue, and win compensation. Heck, we’ll even give you a special visa so that you can come back into the country to do so.

It would be nice if somebody actually enforced some of the laws we already have.
Bill, Portsmouth

You only have to read the article “State House Lobbying Efforts’ in the ProJo of 1/21/08 (Section C) to determine that the Operation Dollar Bill Investigation is necessary.  As long as the voters in this state remain brain dead and allow the Democratic Party to continue their ways there will be no improvement in the way state government is run.  The only real solution, which probably has the same chances as that proverbial snowball, is a Constitutional Amendment abolishing the General Assembly and replacing it with a permanent Unicameral Assembly consisting of 60 members.  Each of the 5 counties would elect 12 members with 1/3 being elected every two years, with 8 year term limits.  The voters would also have voter initiative with no restrictions what-so-ever. 
Bob D, warwick

Operation Dollar Bill is actually helping the corrupt politicians and the climate of corruption for a number of reasons. 1-it is taking so long. 2-convictions are being overturned. 3-we all know who the corrupt politicians are yet there have been no arrests, no convictions, and no resignations and 4- they keep on taking from the citizens (lining their own pockets) without any concern that we too are running out of money. I will not vote for even one incumbent in the next election. It is time to think of short term limits to limit power and corruption. Maybe new blood will equal honest politicians.
Carol,  NK

Nothing short of a miracle will help anything in RI.  By that I mean, we need to stop blaming out politicians for all our woes and blame ourselves for putting them there.  As Rhode Islanders, we need to get that old RI feeling back and take back our great State.
We have lost so many native Rhode Islanders that that just might be impossible though. The climate here has changed so much that all the politicians want is $$$ and power, not helping our State.  The “new” Rhode Islanders that move here just want to have their backs scratched and palms greased, and that’s both the rich and poor coming into RI.  There is very little if any real hard working “middle class” in RI any more.  There are no jobs for them. It is much to expensive for them to feed their families. It is no wonder that this State is LOSING population and in a RECESSION.
Moving Soon Ourselves

RI has always been known from coast to coast & border to border as the most corrupt state in the country , the Roger Williams scandal & the Veterans Home mess are just two examples on different ends of the spectrum.  Now this state has a triple whammy as also being one of the most expensive to live in as well as being anti working class/blue collar on top of all that. They need to make room in the ACI for the new “guests” that may arrive.
Hound Dog, Bristol

state of the state of RI

rappers

reax to Carcieri’s speech

Governor Don Carcieri summed up his view of the state of Rhode Island on Tuesday night, January 22.  He described how he wants to cut 300-million dollars from the budget for FY09.  I received a few e-mails about the speech…

SO WHAT…...THE STATE WORKERS HAVE TO TAKE DAYS OFF WITHOUT PAY…BOOHOO..ALOT OF US DON’T GET PAID HOLIDAYS OR SICKDAYS..THIS STATE IS SO OUT OF CONTROL ON SPENDING…WHY WERE THE DOT WORKERS GIVEN NEW TRUCKS IN 2007???? WHAT SENSE DID THAT MAKE??? JUST AS THE FOCUS WAS ON 1000 PEOPLE LOSING THEIR JOBS THESE WORKERS PULL UP IN BRAND NEW TRUCKS AND SUV’S….I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND WHERE ALL THE MONEY GOES TO…I PERSONALLY PAY 6300.00 IN TAXES, IT CRACKES ME UP WHEN MR.CARCERI SAID IN HIS SPEECH THAT THE BILLS ARE GETTING PAID THRU THE SAVINGS ACCOUNT…HE COMPARED IT TO US HAVING A SAVINGS ACCOUNT AND PAYING BILLS..HOW CAN WE HAVE A SAVINGS ACCOUNT WHEN THIS WONDERFUL STATE OF R.I. SUCKS EVERY LAST PENNY OUT OF THE POOR WORKING SLOB…CUTTING WELFARE TO IMMIGRANTS IS A WONDERFUL IDEA, CHECKING ON SECTION 8 HOUSING MAYBE?? I PERSONALLY KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS SECTION 8, WORKS A FULL TIME JOB MAKING 17PLUS AN HOUR WORKS UNDER THE TABLE MAKING AN XTRA 500 A WEEK CASH,NOW HER DAUGHTER IS PREGNANT AND SHE IS GOING TO PASS HER CERTIFICATE TO HER DAUGHTER 19 YRS OLD VERY CAPABLE OF WORKING…DOES A LITTLE UNDER THE TABLE STUFF…??? UNNECESSARY MONEY GOING OUT..I ASKED THIS PERSON HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO BURN THE SYSTEM LIKE THIS..HER ANSWER…I KNOW SOMEONE WHO WORKS FOR SECTION 8 HOUSING..COM-ON START CHECKING INTO THESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ON THESE PROGRAMS FOR YRS AND YRS…GET THESE SPANISH AND OTHER FORIGNERS OFF OUR AMERICAN TAILS..THE WHOLE STATE NEEDS AN OVERHAUL…

I know I am naive and mostly uninformed about politics and how the Government works, so I am speaking from the heart.  Can someone please explain to me why the people who can least afford it are the ones who aregoing to suffer most from the proposed budget cuts?  What sacrifices are the wealthy asked to make?  Why can’t our State Officals take pay cuts or pay a percentage of their medical coverage?  I think that might save the State a few million.  Am I wrong?  By the way, nobody asked us if we would make the sacrifieces proposed, we are being TOLD this is what will happen.  I thought I had a voice in my future.  Signed worried and a little confused,
Jeanne S,  East Providence RI

If the governor is trying so hard to help the RI economy why is he behind the Gateway Center at Quonset Point/Davisville? The industrial park was supposed to create good clean well-paying jobs, as is being done in their Kiefer Park section. The redevelopment of the park was not meant for $7 per hour wages at big box stores that don’t even meet the town’s requirements. This development violates the North Kingstown Comprehensive Plan, the QP Master Plan 2003, the State Guide Plan 2025 and the Davisville CNBC base closure plan of 1994. Does he think big box stores will provide good jobs? How much can you possibly make selling underwear and kitchen appliances?  Where are his plans for extra schooling and/or better schooling to get persons off welfare and into a work force where they can make enough money to afford to live in RI?
There are always ways to cut the budget but taking it from the poor (the way he LOVES to do) is not the proper method. He needs to re-think his approach. Providing education and housing, healthcare and daycare is the path to getting people off welfare. Sex education and birth control help, too. Cutting benefits simply exacerbates an already overhwhelming problem. Wasting prime industrial land for the construction of stores that only pay minimum wage does not help the problem, either, and continually criticizing the poor helps no one.
 
And why does this governor always pick on state and municipal employees who earn far, far less than the private sector employees? He cited figures tonight that were hugely over blown with regard to pay and benefits, and consistently provides figures that are not true for the majority of state and municipal workers. His plan to cut 1,000 workers may sound wonderful to some, but it simply will not work as he presents it, and the upshot is that he saves perhaps 1/4 of what he’s telling us he will save.
Carcieri is ineffective and doesn’t get his message across because he’s too much of an elitist. A snob of the first rank. He should show more respect to women; the Lt Gov especially. He should show more respect to gays. And he should leave his religion in church where it belongs. RI was founded on the separation of church and state, yet he cannot grasp the concept.
Here are some of my suggestions for improvement on his part. If he wants to save money he shouldn’t be flying off to Iraq to support an unnecessary war. Let him stay home and pay attention to the average Rhode Islander’s day. Let him follow a state or municipal worker around and see what a day working for the taxpayer really involves.  He should also drive himself around. This is a small state. He doesn’t need a state policeman wasting time acting as chauffeur. Let him get a compact car and pay for his own gas like the rest of us. If he wants to help the poor let him start a WPA project like FDR did. We could use an upgrade of our roads and bridges, water systems and sewers. How about a re-design of Rte 95 at Exits 9, 14, and 22???? How about an upgrade of the airport at QP, at least for UPS and FEDEX planes? Carcieri needs to cut his own staff and get rid of that spokesman (Jeff Neal?) among others. Rhode Islanders are beginning to resent that young man and Carceri shouldn’t hide behind him, anyway. If he wants to get the word out about something, let him say it himself. He should come out of the clouds and do a little more of his own personal one-on-one with the citizens of RI, instead of presenting pie in the sky speeches for methods of saving money that exist somewhere over the rainbow. There is a group out there of adult white males who will nod stupidly in agreement with him, but people with their feet planted firmly on the ground, and a brain in their heads, understand that most of what he said (while some may have made sense) simply won’t work in a state as small and territorial as RI. Carcieri needs to “dress for what his figure is, not what he wishes it was.“
There is one area, however, where he should spend a great deal more money. He needs a better haircut.
Kalula

My husband and I have listened to the Governor’s speech.  As a Rhode Islander I agree with him that the budget needs to be cut, but as a state employee, I feel it should not be cut at my expense.  All too often the first thing governors have done is balanced their particular problem on the backs of state employees—either with medical, furloughs, or cut in retirement benefits.  I have been working for the state for 10 years.  I was hurt about 3 years ago when the Governor cut my retirement benefits because I wasn’t totally vested.  At that point in time if I could have quit and found a job in the public sector, I would have.  But, I am at an age that it isn’t that easy for me to do and I had too much vested in my position to just throw away 8 years.  Had I been a younger person I certainly would have.

This particular Governor has constantly maligned state employees in every way, shape and form.  He seems to have no respect for the hard work we do, nor does he seem to care that we work under less than ideal working conditions.  All the state employees I know are working way more than our job descriptions.  People in our offices are retiring or transferring to other departments and those positions are not being filled.  The people that are left in the office have to take up the work that the other person left.  This is happening far too much.  My particular office is working on a skeleton crew.  We lost 3 people in a 7 people office.  Each of us has had to take up the slack.  My particular position was already down one person and now I have been added more work from the 3 people that left.  When I filled a desk audit proving that I was working above and beyond my position I was told I was not.  I was told it was in that clause that is in every job description that says “and other needed duties.”

My office is also working in unsanitary conditions.  Our office has not been thoroughly cleaned since April 2007 when the last of our manual labor crew retired.  Yes, the 4 people that are left are taking up that slack as well.  We are vacuuming, dusting, emptying the trash and cleaning the toilets.  But when we do this we are taking away from important more pressing jobs that need to be done.  When I arrive at work on a winter snowy morning I am not even sure if our parking lot will be plowed or if the walk to the office door will be shoveled.  Many times when I get to work I have to shovel the walk myself until someone else arrives to share the task.  This is not in my job description, but if I complain I will probably be told it is in that “clause”.  Do the secretaries in your office have to shovel the snow or clean the bathrooms, even those used by the public?

Several years ago when the Governor first started his “efficiency in Government” revamping many things in offices throughout the state, he did that in my office as well.  He implemented a rate hike on one of our registrations that still has not recouped from the cost if initiating that rate hike.  Between the cost of the hearings, meeting place, advertisements for the meetings and stenographers, etc, we have not even come close to coming even with all the costs we incurred in that rate hike.

As I said, I am a 10 year state employee.  I do not make $61,000 a year as the Governor said the average state employee makes.  I make $32,000 a year.  When he was counting this average he counted in union and non-union employees.  He counted in all those heads of departments that make well over $100,000 a year.  Will salary people take this furlough also?  .  Is he going to take the furlough cut along with the employees?  Is his office going to as well?  See the records of how many in his office make over the $61,000 per year and he keeps hiring more for his office even though he says there is a freeze on hiring.  Ask him how many of his people got approved for their desk audits.

I make less than if I worked in the private sector, but I do so because of the retirement plan and other benefits.  Most state employees would be working in the private sector and receiving more everyday remuneration, but for most of us, the benefits were more important than the weekly pay.  Is it fair that after 10 years, when I am close to thinking about retirement, that he cuts my retirement?  Is it fair that I will be forced to work beyond age 65 because he feels that state employees are given too much retirement?  I am in no way going to get (or even near it) the $250,000 that he currently makes in retirement each year.  I will be lucky to get $10,000 a year from my state retirement and now he wants to even cut from that.  My ten years have counted for almost nothing.  Oh, and another thing—he never tells the public how much each state worker MUST contribute from their pay check each pay period towards retirement.  We don’t have a choice but to give a certain amount.  That amount really hurts when you are not making that much to begin with.

We had bottled water in our office because our office is used for public meetings, etc.  Now we don’t have it as a cost cutting factor.  It only cost us around $12.00 for the rental of the cooler, water and cups.  Now we don’t even have a cooler.  To get water in our facility we must use the bathroom sinks.  I don’t believe that is sanitary and poses a health and safety issue.  Also, because we are a public building we will now have to have our water tested.  This water testing will cost the state around $400 per year.  Our delivery of bottled water only cost about $144 per year.  Where is the saving here?  What I see is the state paying more to cut costs.

Before I close I just want to say that what I see from what this Governor is doing is just depleting the morale of the average state employee.  I used to love to go to work.  Now I have to drag myself in to work each day.  I am tired of all work I have to do with never ending piles on my desk, on the chair next to my desk and on the table near me as well.  Each day finds me getting more and more behind.  Reports are not being written to the FEDS for grants received because of the time factor.  The FEDS are reclaiming our grants because these reports are not getting written.  We (the state) are losing money because people are not there who used to write these reports.  We are loosing hundreds of thousands in grant money because the Governor decided the state had too many employees.  Where is the savings here? 

I could go on and on but I feel that you tend to be more on the side of the Governor and dislike state employees as well.  It is a shame that the media focuses on the lazy ones and doesn’t talk about the ones that are doing a good, untiring, conscientious job.
Sincerely,
CD
Once proud, now tired state employee

Well, what a great amount of NOTHING we heard tonight.
He wants No new or raised taxes but the citties and towns are MANDATED to provide certain things that the state has always paid for.  Where is the money supposed to come from?
Here in Coventry we are voting tomorrow on a bond thing they want 19.8 MILLION dollars 10 of that to go to our wonderful school committee and oh yeah the state is GOING to give us back FIVE million of that 10 NOT NOT NOT.
I really hope the people in this town paid attention to what was said tonight. I will tell you I am willing to bet that taxes here in Coventry will go UP AND UP AND UP.  They won’t give us new taxes they’ll jus RE-EVALUTE our property like they have done twice in the last 18 months.
What a state.
Judith

Friday, January 18, 2008

snow fallout

bill rappleye and the rappers

The December 13 snowstorm caused multi-hour traffic jams, schoolkids stuck in buses until as late as eleven oclock at night, and resulted in two people being fired.  Now the Providence city Council wants to subpoena city officials and records to find out why the situation degenerated into such chaos.  Here’s what rappers said.

I believe that the same amount of traffic would clog our streets and highways in the spring if you let everybody go home at the same time. Give the DPW some credit for trying to do their job. Spank everybody for just thinking of themselves and going home off schedule.
Gary A

Providence City Council is doing the right thing by continuing to demand answers ,as to what, went wrong and who(m) is responsible for what happened during the December 13th, 2007 snowstorm disaster.  My opinion, as the grandmother of two of the stranded children who were dismissed from school at 1:05pm and arrived home at 10:55pm by police car.
I personally started calling the 1st student bus company after my grandchildren’s mother called me from work because, she couldn’t get home and their father had been standing in the snow, at their bus stop, waiting for them till 10pm! after calling,1. 1st student repeatedly since 5:30pm,  2. the providence police several times and received absolutely no help, then i called two news stations and alerted them of the situation because they said they hadn’t heard anything about any missing children!
I also think the governor should be held accountable because he always seems to be out of the state when his leadership is most needed.
I think the Mayor, police chief, school chief, 1st student ect…need to go!
redwolf

They should get over themselves and move on.
I find it interesting that the person doing all the yapping was one of the people the Mayor beat out in his bid for that position.
Do they have the power, probably, but talk about a waste of tax payer dollars all to hear themselves rant and rave some more over something that was an incredible mess because ALL schools and EVERY business decided to dump everyone out onto the streets and roads.  IF they had listened to the weather people and stayed where they were the mess never would have happened, but hey this is RI and they gotta get their bread and milk.
The whole thing could have been avoided and I hope somebody learned from it.
Judith, Coventry
ps do not go after the DOT and DPW workers they can’t clear roads when every idiot in the state is out on the roads.

I think the public deserves answers. Why would the Cicilline Administration be against anything that would potentially put the issue to rest, unless there is something to hide. The City Council already has the power to do this, and they should. 
PK

Let’s face it….this was just a “perfect storm”.  People left for home at the same time the plows were trying to clear the roads.  Except for the fact that school children were stuck on their buses for hours, we wouldn’t still be talking non-stop about this storm.  Fortunately, no one was injured, people eventually arrived home safely, and the biggest problem was inconvenience.  A more efficient system for communications between the school buses, school administrators, and parents is definitely called for.  Other than that, all the finger-pointing is just a colossal waste of time and accomplishes absolutely nothing. 
Maxine,  Narragansett
Everything the mayor does is a day late, especially when it is against his administration. People say get over it but that doesn’t solve the problem. Why did it happen in the first place. The people in charge didn’t notice anything on their way home? If they was stuck in traffic, why didn’t they think other people wasn’t? Everybody was on the road at the same time. They had to see buses stuck in traffic also. They returned home 2, 3 or 4 hours late, they didn’t think about the school kids on buses? Someone had to notify other people, whether it was the police, fire or school departments, the message had to be passed on. Lower people on the totem pole can’t make the big decisions. They pass it on up. Let us see who dropped the ball and fix the problem, not sweep it under the rug.
Ron
Whatever happened to LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES?  I think it would be a waste of taxpayer monies at this point.  Why not develop a plan NOW for future use, and GET OVER IT, the storm is old news!!  For the record - it took my husband 4.5 hours to make it home to Green Hill from his teaching job in No Smithfield!      Cheryl - sunny Green Hill Beach, RI
The Providence Schools Superintendent is on his way to making a second mistake regarding school closings.  Why doesn’t he take a hint from Woonsocket?  You would think that he learned from his mistakes!
Barb

Taking a closer look at the multi-faceted problems that created the Dec. 13th snowstorm could lead to making changes in our ever-changing community. We need to define the problem more clearly, search for alternatives, plan for ways to solve the problem (and ways to evacuate the solution), carry out the plan, evaluate progress and modify if needed, then evaluate the results.  I’m not sure this is what happened, but this plan would work!
Diane, Providence

It seems somewhat incredible that the Council is demanding all of this information.  Why, instead, didn’t the members of the Council, on the night of the storm, use snowmobiles to help the stranded students or motorists?  Where were the Council members then – perhaps warm and toasty in their homes?  The Council members are as much to blame as everyone else who didn’t know about the situation until 7:30 at night. 
It was the responsibility of the Bus company to notify everyone of the events that were unfolding at the actual time of the events – not 3-4 hours later!!  Blame them instead – because evidently their communication skills are definitely lacking.
Gina K

The early dismissal was the problem. The kids should have stayed in school and give the plows a chance to clean the streets. Today’s school closings were unnecessary also. An hour delay would have been fine. The problem is the forecast is not accurate and you can’t close the schools every time there’s a storm. The kids will be in school all summer. It snows in Alaska every day and there is school. They laugh at us closing school all the time. After all, this is New England and we should be able to handle a snowstorm.
Diane R

If this is issue number one on the city council’s agenda, maybe it’s time for the citizens of Providence to consider a clean sweep and a “brand spankin’ new” city council.
Joe T,  East Providence

This is getting ridiculous.  It wasn’t just the city of Providence that contributed to the problems during the December, 2007 snowstorm.  With the weather forecast being so definite, schools should have been closed.  Also, employers need to start putting their employees’ safety and wellbeing over the almighty buck!  If schools were closed and businesses closed as soon as the snow started there would not have been such a mess.  The DOT and DPW for all towns and cities could have kept the roads cleared with no problems.  Case in point - today’s storm; schools were closed and it appears that businesses delayed opening, as traffic was not as heavy all over Rhode Island.
Deb L, Pawtucket

I say right on all too often the politicians in this state do not have to answer for the actions. This has brought the state to a very unhealthy place; we are the losing population faster then any other state in the union (Time magazine January 14, 2008).
I applaud them,
Michael D, Narragansett

There may be some showboating, however some one has to be accountable for what happened during the storm last month. The children should never have been put through that ordeal, along with the parents who didn’t know where or how their children were, even the blizzard of ‘78’ didn’t cause the chaos that last months storm did.
I feel that closing the schools on Monday was a very responsible thing to do.
Pam, Cranston

Everyone likes to point fingers AFTER something happens.  If school administrators used common sense, all schools would have been cancelled.  Didn’t we have more snow days when we were in school???? (1960s and 70s) 
Anne, Woonsocket

Friday, January 11, 2008

New Hampshire results

bill rappleye

charges of tampering

this email i received was titled…

NH Democratic Party was Fraudulent

“That’s the news all over the web.  Make of it what you want.
The pollsters were apparently right.  The hand-counted ballots were in complete agreement with the polls but were statistically out of whack with the Diebold ballots.  The Diebold machines most likely failed again, similar to the Ohio election in 2004. Obama won.“

In addition, there’s this article from breitbart
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8U3ERUO1&show_article=1

none of the mainstream candidates are buying this theory…but it’s out there.  any thoughts?

 

Primary primacy

bill rappleye

here’s the highlights of the emails we got regarding the primary and caucus system.  A lot of you resent the importance given to the votes of people in Iowa and New Hampshire when it comes to selecting candidates for the major, and virtually the only, political parties.

Uncomfortable is too mild. There should be a national primary, that’s what a democracy is all about.  Not a few making decisions for the many.
Joe M, Taunton.

This whole process is a disgusting waste of billions of dollars that could be used in better ways.
Makes me so proud to live in this country.
Judith, Coventry

If only the candidates would get down to the issues we might be able to make an intelligent decision.  Not many of them on both sides live in the real world of everyday Americans anyway. 
Donna b

The race is not decided by Iowa and New Hampshire. This was demonstrated in the past by Bill Clinton and Howard Dean.
Abfab

All of these primaries/caucuses should be the same day.  The date should be no sooner than June of the election year so that we don’t have to listen to this for months and months before an election.
Luke, West Warwick

I don’t think it is fair that only a few states have that much say. Why isn’t there a reality tv show where they are presented an issue then the candidates with the worst answer gets voted off.
Linda

I suggest that they are staggered, with the states with the fewest representatives going first. This will allow smaller candidates to create grass-roots support.
Bill, Portsmouth

all in bed

bill rappleye

special treatment

Looking back at the primary scene…besides the work in headquarters and on the streets, much of our time was in the old Armory where all the NBC equipment and much of the sets were ensconced.  So it was a room with chris matthews and tim russert in and out…US Senators strolling in as guests.  Security guards were keeping the curious public outside the glass doors to the room. There was the air of a Hollywood cocktail party about the scene, because most people you spoke with were looking over your shoulder to see what important person was walking by…famous correspondent, DNC chairman, whatever. 
So in this environment, I was struck when a blond lady stopped in, and immediately, the bigtime NBC guys were all over her.  Russert, who mostly stayed aloof with all the minor market reporters anxious to make eye contact or start small talking with him, jumped down off his riser and went right up to her.  The other main NBC analyst came right over.  So did the White House correspondent.  Nobody in the entire time I was there received such attention as this lady.  Being the intrepid reporter I am, I found out who she is.  She’s a huge friend of and contributor to, the Clinton’s:  so tight with them that she was rewarded with an ambassadorship to a European country while Bill was President.  I knew the politicians need to suck up to these people.  But it was quite a sight to see the network guys doing the same.  It disturbed me to see how close the politicos, their money friends, and the supposed watchdogs have become…all in the same plush bed.

clinton change?

rappers

hillary says she’s about change…do you believe her?

this was the rapp session question answered today…and in the survey, more than 60 percent of you says the good Senator from New York is NOT an agent of change…here are your comments, and if it triggers a thought…jump into the discussion!

NO HC does not represent change she represents herself hungry for POWER. There is also the fact that her husband has always wanted to be back in the white house and IF for some unfortunate reason SHE gets elected he’s gonna really be running this country again.
The MOST qualified Dem in the race is Bill Richardson!!!!
That said, Obama really does represent change but I am not sure he is seasoned enough, but in my mind ANYBODY BUT HILLARY would be a change.
Judith,  Coventry

Of course she does;  she “changes” her mind a lot!  That’s the only thing she represents!  Folks, please don’t put your trust into this woman, she’ll be a lot of trouble for us if elected, trust me…I believe in my own instincts and “woman’s intuition”, if you want to call it that; and even if men don’t believe in that, I don’t care.  Every time my “intuition” struck me in the back of my mind and I ignored it, I always found out later that I should have gone with that thought.  So, now my “woman’s intuition” is telling me that Hillary is not the “change” that we need, people!  We don’t need another Clinton in office, even if it is a woman, we really don’t need her.  She changes her mind and doesn’t admit she was wrong in her decisions - especially about the war in Iraq, when she first voted for it, then she goes on her campaign trail and says she’s now against it.  What will that do for us Americans if she’s in office? 
Hillary is NOT one of my favorites, and Iowa and New Hampshire has nothing to do with swaying my decision in ‘08 either, nor will any other state’s primary decisions.  Same goes for Obama, too!
He’ll devastate this America, and we’ll all feel very sorry if we voted him in office, too.
C-Ann-C, Coventry

Everyone in the Presidential race is an agent of change.  Change is an inevitable fact of life.
There are no two leaders alike.
EVA

All candidates can claim to be the “CHANGE CANDIDATE” hoping to get certain laws enacted, however it is up to congress (both parties in a bi-partisan approach) to be the movers and shakers of change. They are the group who initiate anything that can cause our country to alter it’s direction for the better (or worse).The president merely YEAS or NAYS these laws.
Stan R, Warwick, R I
PS: registered independent

If I remember correctly, When Bill Clinton was in office the state of the union couldn’t of been better. So, lets give Hillary a chance to see if she can do as well as her husband did. I’m sure she surely couldn’t do as badly as Bush, catering to all big business, lying through his teeth and getting away with it, ( and they wanted to kick Bill out for having an extramarital affair)  causing wars that our young men and woman die for, not going along with other countries to clean up all the pollution ( of course, that might cost big business money, now we can’t do that)! I do think that Hillary would be a refreshing change, a woman knows how to get things done.
Rs, west Greenwich
My answer is No! She represents the establishment and everything that is wrong with Washington. She is not change, she is more of the same. We need FRESH ideas and a new vision. We need a man or woman of the people and for the people. If America is truly committed to change then we must be brave and go forward into the new Frontier and Barack Obama, I believe,  is the way.
Jose V

Hillary Clinton is no “friend” of mine. I think she is the exact opposite of change. She represents the same old political machine. Being a woman makes no difference to me. ( I am a woman and in that age group she is targeting. ) I do not want to see the name Bush or Clinton on the presidential ballot. !!!!!!!!!
Lois, Wakefield, RI

No ! None of them, Republican or Democrat for that matter will be able change anything. We are running out of qualified leaders. The world’s problems are too complex for any one person to handle. We need candidates who can actually do the job, not wanna-be’s who just want to get their names in the history books. The world is too complex for any one person to handle. We need a super person; another Roosevelt, a Jefferson or an Abe Lincoln.
Meanwhile we’re churning out students in our schools who can’t find the USA on map. How are they going to run it in the future ? We have no qualified leaders and the future looks dismal. We and the world are in trouble because the lunatics seem to be running things now.
Greg

Yeah I think she does represent change. She needs to be trying to get the younger peoples’ vote!! She needs to try and appeal to them more. Can’t just rely on ‘baby boomers’!! I like Obama also and he does represent change also, I just think Hillary has more experience and I believe that counts for a LOT!!                                      Beverly O

No I do not believe Hillary represents change, rather the opposite, I also am one voter who would never vote for Hillary.                                                        Linda

She, as will most anyone else, will be a change from the Fundamentalist Regime we have had in the White House for the past 8 yrs. & we need more change from the Fundamentalist control we had for 12 yrs in the House & Senate. The fundamentalists had prevented & are preventing, a lot of legislation from being put forth in the House & Senate,  through the use of numerous filibusters. Last count was 53 filibusters by the Fundamentalists ( Republicans ).                                                    Hound Dog, Bristol

I think Hillary Clinton would be the best choice for change for our country.  I think former presidence Clinton did an excellent job leading this country’s economy.  I think she will have some of that expert opinion on her side that will help her lead us back.  Although, she may have to buy a lock and chains for pres Clinton.  Yes, I think she is about the economy.
Yappin

No way! Hillary Clinton is a fake. We have seen enough fakes come out of Washington. Confirmation that she is not about change was her “moment of choking, holding back tears” as she addressed the reporters the other day. That was all for the camera! The day before the reporters mentioned how she has not emotionally connected with the voters and the next day she comes out “choking back the tears”. Coincidence? I think NOT! 
Linda D

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Spying On Obama?

By Bill Rappleye

So we’re at Obama’s headquarters in Manchester.  A two-story factory building with a for lease sign in front of it.  We interview a volunteer around the corner of the building, because we’re afraid some higher-up in the campaign will forbid him from talking to us.  We finish, and go upstairs, and actually get permission to shoot some pictures of the mob of college kids working the phones, as long as we promise not to speak to any of them.  We wrap up, and head back to our car snugged up against a snow bank in the helter skelter of cars tucked into every available space around the building.  Then Pho (photographer Don O’Sullivan) notices a trio of prominent Hillary supporters heading into a side door of the building.  I say the Clinton campaign must also be housed here.  We go over to check, but the sign on the door the group went in said Obama HQ.  What’s the deal, we wondered.  Are these people defecting?  That’d be a big story.  We wait.  They couldn’t just be spying, could they?  They come out, I confront them with an “Aha, we gotcha.  What are you doing?”  They were indeed, checking out the opposition.  You can’t let anybody know, they said.  I promised.  We saw them outside Clinton’s celebration later.  They noted…boy, that Obama operation was something else.  A lot more people than in Hillary’s.

Campaigns Aren’t What They Used To Be

By Bill Rappleye

Campaigns up here aren’t what they used to be.  It’s all getting more formalized…more disciplined.  Less of the free-form scrums that used to characterize the informal New Hampshire process.  Now the crowds are so big; the press corps so large; that it’s getting much more organized, by the campaigns.  Last night, my photographer, Don O’Sullivan (known as Pho) and I zipped over to Clinton’s post-election gathering at the University of Southern New Hampshire gymnasium about the time the polls closed.  We were directed to parking several lots away from the building, as the nearby ones were already full.  Plenty more supporters were arriving, and we parked and walked back with the crowd to the gym. There, we followed signs to the press check-in area.  No go.  Press availability filled up three hours ago, we were told.  There’d be no access.  We got our pictures later from a network camera already set up.

Events are tightly controlled.  We heard about one where supporters were herded into an overflow room, even though the main room wasn’t full!  The candidates’ backers wanted in to see their politician, but the story line of an overflow crowd required they be kept in a side room.

Preparing for our coverage, we’d contacted a local professor’s former student, now working for the Obama campaign.  We hoped to profile a local kid working on a big-time political campaign.  He nicely e-mailed us back with the phone number of the press secretary, and said he couldn’t speak with us himself, on any subject, per orders of the campaign.

The handlers rule, these days.  A misstatement to a local news station can be magnified by the internet and endlessly repeated on cable TV, and can’t be afforded.

Ahh, but then there are the voters.  They refused to be controlled here in New Hampshire.  They don’t want to hear the tightly packaged television commercial, they want to see the candidate.  And because of this primary, they get to see the candidate.  On the voters’ terms, not the managers’.  The proof?  Hillary’s victory.  What we heard from more than one supporter as a rationale for her last minute success, was that she finally let her true personality show.  The voters liked her when she let down her guard, and became real to them.  She became human, not some policy-spouting campaign robot.  In the final days, she participated in long question and answer sessions with all comers.  She became available to the press.  It seems even that episode where her voice broke and she barely controlled her emotions when talking about the strain of the campaign was a plus.  It must have horrified her advisors.  It might have won the primary for her.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Meeting A Political Visionary

By Bill Rappleye

I met a visionary last night.  Father Jonathan DeFelice, the longtime president of St. Anselm College.  Political junkies know it well, but it’s not a large school; just 2000 students.  Founded in 1889, the Catholic school is on the cutting edge of politics.  If you saw the debates this weekend (watched by some seven million Americans), you saw part of the St. Anselm campus.  Since the primary began attracting candidates to the Granite State, St. Anselm had held debates.  But it wasn’t until Fr. Jon established the Institute for Politics on campus just seven years ago, that the confluence of the primaries and the Manchester, New Hampshire, Benedictine college became a “must” stop on the road to the primary.  And as he says, every student on campus has the chance in their four years at school, to meet the next President of the United States.  No surprise, then, that so many politically inclined students are at school there.

Nowadays, the collegians have the chance to work for the candidate of their choice, in a big league campaign.  Or, at least this year, they can intern for one of the two networks that hosted debates on the campus.

Like sophomore Stu Zim, from nearby Salem, NH.  He was working for one of the TV outfits, and said his biggest thrill yet was handing a water bottle to the moderator before the man went on stage.  Hardly a critical role, but the kind of thing that can infect a young man with a bug, that could guide his future.  Like Danielle Pixley, from Fall River.  She came to college thinking she wanted to be a lawyer…to help people.  After three years at St. Anselm, she sees how she might use a law degree to help her get ahead in politics, or journalism, and maybe help even more people.

What’s So Special About New Hampshire?

By Bill Rappleye

Gene asked me what is so special about New Hampshire, and why it gets such attention every Presidential election.  I put that question to the Secretary of State, Bill Gardner, and got an impassioned and detailed response.  He says the democracy here is more vibrant than anywhere else.  More than 400 legislators for a state of one point two million.  He said if California had the same ratio of representation, its legislature would be 12,000 members.  Governors run every two years, many other elected officials have to put themselves before the voters each year.  He cites the venerable tradition of town meetings as another factor in keeping democracy true to its roots of public debate and deliberation.  This longstanding tradition of dialogue and decision, he says, cannot be transferred to another locality.  Turning to the presidential contest, he says New Hampshire is the last chance for an unknown to confound the status quo, the monied interests, and the party bosses; simply by being place where voters expect to engage candidates, and demand straight answers.  It’s where a candidate can create a following, and get out a message, without the enormous sums required to mount a nationwide campaign.  Its power may be getting smaller; even here the campaigns require ever more sophisticated organizations and gigantic fundraising efforts.  But to abandon it would be, in his mind, a defeat for the principles of our democracy.