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| Chafee tours Charlestown with Reps Larry Valencia & Donna Walsh |
While Gov. Chafee’s party affiliation flip-flop has been
near-universally declared a political ploy, it’s also been near-universally
declared that he is now in the party that matches his political ideology. But
is he?
Chafee certainly has
bona fide progressive credentials when it comes to non-economic policy. As our
senator his principled and at-the-time unpopular stand against war against Iraq
is one of the most commendable political positions of the so-called “war on
terror.” And as our governor, he’s been a great champion for civil liberties,
both on marriage equality and the death penalty.
He’s also fought harder against the disparity between our struggling cities and our affluent suburbs than anyone else in Rhode Island, and I feel that is the most important issue vexing the state.
Economically, he’s
taken a somewhat more unconventional path, often employing regressive means for
progressive ends.
He tried to help
struggling cities, not be restoring cuts to state aid, but rather by proposing
relief from state mandates, many of which protected working class union members
from wage and/or benefit cuts. I supported this at the time, though now it
seems a little bit like robbing Poor Peter to pay Poor Paul while Richie Rich
wins again.
Another high
profile-profile but failed effort to affect the economy was to broaden but
lower the state sales tax. I liked this idea, too, and still do. There’s no
reason some sectors should be exempt from taxes while others aren’t and there
are at least 51 million reasons Rhode Island needs more revenue. He took a
similar tack on corporate tax policy this, supporting an across-the-board cut
while wanting to eliminate a give-away that by and large only benefits CVS.
On pensions, we often
talk about negotiating with unions or not, but really Chafee took a third way.
He quietly pushed for cuts without grandstanding and once he had the law on his
side he sat back down at the table. That to me looks a lot like negotiating,
but doing so from a position of strength. Organized labor and their allies
shouldn’t fault anyone for that.
All things being
equal, I feel Chafee does belong under the big tent of the Rhode Island
Democratic Party, but he also moves that tent even farther to the right.
Remember, it’s been said the local Democratic Party tent is so big that it even
lets all the elephants in!
Bob Plain is the editor/publisher of
Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a reporter for several
different news organizations both in Rhode Island and across the country.
