Land of Lincoln

Chafee backs Cicilline in race.

Monday, April 2, 2012 | 1:36 p.m.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I) is supporting Rep. David Cicilline (D) in his bid for reelection.

Asked if Cicilline "should have been more honest about the problems facing the city" as he ran for Congress, Chafee responded that Cicilline should have been “more critical” of the state-aid cuts that caused the city’s budget problems. Chafee "pointed to a list that showed Providence’s annual aid allotment dropped" by more than $33M over a three-year period.

Chafee: “He probably could have been more critical of those cuts in state aid and their effect on Providence. There’s absolute linkage between the numbers here and what happened.”

Chafee "was one of several high-profile political figures" to attend a fundraiser for Cicilline last week. Cicilline spokesperson Nicole Kayner" said more than 100 people attended" and about $83K was raised (Edgar/Marcelo, Providence Journal, 4/1).

Healthy Budget?

On April 1, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the legal challenge to Pres. Obama’s healthcare overhaul. On March 29, House GOPers "pushed through a budget plan" that is "dead on arrival" in the Dem-controlled Senate, "but when coupled with the high court’s high-stakes hearings, it provides Rhode Islanders with a glimpse of the debate" that awaits in this CD race.

Interviews with Cicilline and ex-state Police Supt. Brendan Doherty (R) "underscore their sharp differences on the big issues."

Doherty "said he would vote to repeal the health-care law." Doherty: “I can’t predict what the court ruling would be, but I believe the bill is overreaching. It was a partisan bill shoved down the throat of Congress, and we need a bipartisan commission to address this. They had an idea and took action without a solid plan. It became a dream, and now it’s a nightmare.”

Doherty hopes the Supreme Court strikes down the “individual mandate." Doherty: “It would be nice to see everyone have the same level of care no matter their place in life. This is America. I think we can achieve that, but not through this current health-care legislation.” Instead, a bipartisan commis. "should look at ways to better control health-care costs," enact “tort reform” and let insurance companies work across state lines, he said.

Cicilline "said he didn’t know how the Supreme Court would rule, but he does know the Affordable Care Act has helped a lot of Rhode Islanders." Cicilline: "If it’s repealed, all those benefits will be eliminated. The consequences for Rhode Island families would be devastating.”

Cicilline, on GOP budget: “It’s a cowardly budget. It doesn’t reflect our values as a country, and it has the time-honored approach of shifting more of the burden onto the middle class of this country and heaping more benefits on the wealthiest and most powerful. There’s nothing novel about that idea.”

While Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) "says it’s impossible to tell whether the wealthy would end up benefiting more or less," Cicilline said that "it’s not impossible to tell." Cicilline: "In fact, when you lower the top bracket for the richest people in the country and you say it’s revenue-neutral, the only way you can pay for that additional tax break for the richest people in the country is to impose greater burdens on the rest of us, on the middle class. ...The GOP plan gives those making over $1 million per year an average tax cut of at least $150,000 and preserves tax breaks for oil and gas companies and hedge-fund managers.”

Doherty "rejected criticism of the GOP budget," calling it “political rhetoric.” He "said he hadn’t examined the entire budget, but he said he liked that it would simplify the tax code and lower the corporate-tax rate" from 35% to 25%. Doherty: “Even Obama has stated we need to bring our corporate-tax rate down. ...Why aren’t we cheerleaders for our private small businesses? Let’s give them an opportunity to thrive and get our friends and relatives off the unemployment rolls.”

Doherty "said he liked that the budget shields defense spending from automatic cuts triggered" by the congressional supercmte’s failure to reach a deficit deal. The automatic cuts “would be bad for our security and bad for Rhode Island because it’s such a vital part of our economy,” he said. Doherty "said he also liked that the budget targets Medicare and Medicaid fraud."

Cicilline: “The Republicans say this helps reduce the cost of Medicare — yeah, by shifting the cost to seniors,” he said. “It doesn’t address in any way the underlying cost of health care. All it does is shift a greater share of the costs to seniors, who can least afford it" (Fitzpatrick, Providence Journal, 4/1).