Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Rhode Island is Providence, the rest of the state are provinces -- outer boroughs, if you will; background noise in the bigger scheme of things. Providence is the largest locus of votes in the state. That is why Tavares will win -- the votes are here in the city.
I don't think you can discount Pawtucket, Warwick, and Cranston "outer boroughs" so quickly, as those cities combined have a population greater than Providence. For example, in the 2010 election, while the majority of Providence did go to Lincoln Chaffee and then Caprio second, residents in Warwick, Cranston, and Pawtucket 'split' their votes between the candidates, with even Robitaille coming in second in Warwick and Cranston. And I argue - closer than it needed to be in a state that is not only strongly Democratic but that one candidate was the former senator and the son of a very popular RI governor and senator.
Now, I realize that this year might be different in that you will probably not have a strong 'independent' candidate, but still...
I don't think you can discount Pawtucket, Warwick, and Cranston "outer boroughs" so quickly, as those cities combined have a population greater than Providence. For example, in the 2010 election, while the majority of Providence did go to Lincoln Chaffee and then Caprio second, residents in Warwick, Cranston, and Pawtucket 'split' their votes between the candidates, with even Robitaille coming in second in Warwick and Cranston. And I argue - closer than it needed to be in a state that is not only strongly Democratic but that one candidate was the former senator and the son of a very popular RI governor and senator.
Now, I realize that this year might be different in that you will probably not have a strong 'independent' candidate, but still...
Ain't it amazing how RI is like a mini MA in some respects; It's like in MA, all the moron voters inside of Rte. 128 are running the state into the ground. Just with the city of Providence: they will not pay for the bad management because they are dominated by the handout crowd, students, and those in certain recession immune specialized occupations. It's the rest of the state that pays. Without them, the political landscape would be much different. And a heck of a lot more balanced.
I don't think you can discount Pawtucket, Warwick, and Cranston "outer boroughs" so quickly, as those cities combined have a population greater than Providence. .
They are outer boroughs much as Queens and Brooklyn are outer boroughs of Manhattan, even though both of them have populations greater than the 1.7 million people who reside in Manhattan. Providence is the cultural, social, transportation, financial, media, higher education and population leader in Rhode Island, as well as being the seat of the state government. There is no Trinity Square or PPAC in Pawtucket or Warwick or Cranston. There is no Acela service to any of those places, there is no Kennedy Plaza transit hub, either. There are no skyscrapers. That is why I call them outer boroughs.
But in retrospect you are right. While Providence is the leading city, it's only 16 or 17% of the population, so elections aren't decided by the PVD vote, but it is a good chunk of the total. But you have to understand my perspective -- right or wrong, for me, I see Providence as its own entity, apart from the rest of the state. Were there no Providence, I wouldn't be here: I wouldn't live in Cranston, Warwick or Pawtucket.
I read an interesting article, for what it''s worth, and the topic was that a Providence mayor hasn't been elected governor in many, many years. (Anyone know the last PVD mayor elected gov?)
There is no room in today's perverted GOP for moderates.
That's ridiculous. That's like saying that the entire Democrat party is controlled by a handful of fill in the blank special intererest backed politicians. The national Republican party is no more controlled by the Tea Party than the national Democrat party is controlled by Occupy Wall Street.
And besides, you can hate Republicans all you want. Just keep voting for the same old Democrats that have given us the highest unemployment level in the country and managed to get us ranked as the 5th highest state in taxes. Just keep reelecting those same old boy network, hand in your wallet pocket democrats out of some misguided and misplaced hatred for Republicans. Just keep voting in the same party and keep living under the same policies that we've been stagnating under for the last 40 years or so. That will surely help solve all of our problems. And you liberals call yourself progressive??
I would consider voting for Ken Block "Moderate Party" Republican. On his web site he makes some interesting claims about employers abusing the unemployment system and costing the state money-believe this is under economics on his website. His platform makes sense to me- I never vote along party lines.
I would consider voting for Ken Block "Moderate Party" Republican. On his web site he makes some interesting claims about employers abusing the unemployment system and costing the state money-believe this is under economics on his website. His platform makes sense to me- I never vote along party lines.
I have a friend who lives in Johnston who sent a Facebook message to Ken Block asking him to call him regarding a question he had. In less than 10 minutes, Ken personally called him. My friend is a conservative, and asked Ken if he supported illegals getting driver's licenses. "No." He asked if he planned on raising taxes "No, I want to lower them". His last question was if Ken supported the 2nd Amendment. "Yes". Now, obviously these are pretty standard responses, but the fact that he personally called him back to address them says a lot. I like Block, as he's a successful businessman and doesn't appear to be in the "good ol' boys" network of RI politicians. Doesn't have the "my daddy was governor/mayor/senator" thing going on.
Don't know if he stands a chance, but so far I'm kinda diggin' him.
But in retrospect you are right. While Providence is the leading city, it's only 16 or 17% of the population, so elections aren't decided by the PVD vote, but it is a good chunk of the total. But you have to understand my perspective -- right or wrong, for me, I see Providence as its own entity, apart from the rest of the state. Were there no Providence, I wouldn't be here: I wouldn't live in Cranston, Warwick or Pawtucket.
Considering the trend to turn the Prov metro area into urban housing (conversion of the mills into loft apartments and condos, etc), I think the entire area is just surviving off proximity to MA. Pawtucket, a former industrial giant, is trending toward converting factory buildings into housing, with a mindset that once a future commuter rail station opens in the city residents will live there for cheap housing and commute to Boston. If Providence were taken out of the equation, I truly wonder how much of an effect there would be on the economy. How many jobs actually exist in Providence? How many people use the now expanded commuter rail line to commute within/into the state, versus into MA?
I love this area and all, but I think we're going backwards. Make RI more business friendly and bring the factories back.
That's ridiculous. That's like saying that the entire Democrat party is controlled by a handful of fill in the blank special intererest backed politicians. The national Republican party is no more controlled by the Tea Party than the national Democrat party is controlled by Occupy Wall Street.
That right? Here's a list of self-identified members of the national tea party cabal currently serving in the Republican Caucus:
Sandy Adams (FL-24)
Robert Aderholt (AL-04)
Todd Akin (MO-02)
Rodney Alexander (LA-05)
Michele Bachmann (MN-06)
Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06)
Joe Barton (TX-06)
Rob Bishop (UT-01)
Gus Bilirakis (FL-09)
Diane Black (TN-06)
Paul Broun (GA-10)
Michael Burgess (TX-26)
Dan Burton (IN-05)
John Carter (TX-31)
Bill Cassidy (LA-06)
Howard Coble (NC-06)
Mike Coffman (CO-06)
Ander Crenshaw (FL-04)
John Culberson (TX-07)
Jeff Duncan (SC-03)
Blake Farenthold (TX-27)
Stephen Lee Fincher (TN-08)
John Fleming (LA-04)
Trent Franks (AZ-02)
Phil Gingrey (GA-11)
Louie Gohmert (TX-01)
Vicky Hartzler (MO-04)
Wally Herger (CA-02)
Tim Huelskamp (KS-01)
Lynn Jenkins (KS-02)
Steve King (IA-05)
Doug Lamborn (CO-05)
Jeff Landry (LA-03)
Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-09)
Kenny Marchant (TX-24)
Tom McClintock (CA-04)
David McKinley (WV-01)
Gary Miller (CA-42)
Mick Mulvaney (SC-05)
Randy Neugebauer (TX-19)
Rich Nugent (FL-05)
Steven Palazzo (MS-04)
Steve Pearce (NM-02)
Mike Pence (IN-06)
Ted Poe (TX-02)
Tom Price (GA-06)
Denny Rehberg (MT-At large)
David Roe (TN-01)
Dennis Ross (FL-12)
Edward Royce (CA-40)
Steve Scalise (LA-01)
Pete Sessions (TX-32)
Adrian Smith (NE-03)
Lamar Smith (TX-21)
Cliff Stearns (FL-06)
Tim Walberg (MI-07)
Joe Walsh (IL-08)
Allen West (FL-22)
Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03)
Joe Wilson (SC-02)
Here's the list of Democratic member is the national tea party cabal:
ZERO.
Here's the list of Democrats affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street cabal:
ZERO.
I mean, you can make false equivalencies until the cows come home, but you are simply wrong.
Further to correct your assertion, from the right-leaning Washington Post:
Quote:
Originally Posted by WashingtonPost
In other words, if the tea party has moved the GOP to the right -- and it has -- it has done so to such an extent they are now viewed as ideologically very similar.
This shouldn't be surprising. As the shutdown showed, when the tea party wing of the GOP wants something and is willing to push for it, it often gets what it wants (even if GOP leaders would rather not push the envelope).
Quote:
Originally Posted by treaure
And besides, you can hate Republicans all you want. Just keep voting for the same old Democrats that have given us the highest unemployment level in the country and managed to get us ranked as the 5th highest state in taxes. Just keep reelecting those same old boy network, hand in your wallet pocket democrats out of some misguided and misplaced hatred for Republicans. Just keep voting in the same party and keep living under the same policies that we've been stagnating under for the last 40 years or so. That will surely help solve all of our problems. And you liberals call yourself progressive??
You incorrectly spelled "Democrats." It's not "democrats," it's "Democrats". That's one.
Two: Uh, does Don Carceri ring a bell? Two terms. Two terms of right wing kooks trying to turn RI into Mississippi. How'd that work out for ya? How about that Shilling deal?
Rhode Islanders have a vote and they make choices. They do not want Republicans running things. I believe the best dog food always sells best. Where's the delicious Republican dog food?
Yes, liberals are progressive, as in desiring progress. Republicans want to turn back the clock and so far, that dog food ain't selling in RI.
I love this area and all, but I think we're going backwards. Make RI more business friendly and bring the factories back.
They aren't coming back -- they are in Asia and they will stay there. Stupidly, North Carolina, by example, gave Dell $400 million dollars in cash and tax incentives to open a factory there for a gain of just a few hundred poorly-paid workers. Guess what? When the tax gimmes ended, Dell shut the plant. Do you want Rhode Island to follow the lead of high-unemployment/low wage-low education North Carolina? I don't.
We live in a post-industrial world. We need to create an economy that thrives in the present and in the future, not in the past. Factory jobs are the past.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
