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Carcieri lends ammo to Democratic opponents
BY IAN DONNIS
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Although Governor Donald L. Carcieri’s ill-conceived homeland security proposal – hastily yanked last week after it came under attack from civil libertarians – seems unlikely to cause lasting damage, it does give more ammunition to his political opponents. It’s almost surprising, in fact, that it took until Tuesday, February 24 for Democratic Party chairman Bill Lynch to issue a news release, headlined, "He didn’t read the bill," that faults the governor as "inexperienced," and "out-of-touch with Rhode Islanders" on civil rights. A year into his term, the Republican governor probably retain a reservoir of goodwill with many voters – not least because of the highly publicized ethics issues that have plagued Democratic legislators in recent months. The homeland security snafu, however, continues something of an ongoing disparity between Carcieri’s impressive political communication skills, particularly for a rookie officeholder, and occasions in which his judgment (the smoke shop raid on the Narragansetts) and posture (accepting luxury box hospitality from Fleet Bank during a Patriots’ game while rapping legislators’ cozy dealings) have proved wanting. Certainly, Lynch and other Democrats will seek to exploit this kind of stuff this fall, trying to turn back Carcieri’s bid to build the meager Republican presence in the General Assembly (see "Mission possible: the GOP targets Smith Hill," News, January 30). And at least to a small degree, the genial governor is showing signs of being his own worst enemy. The homeland security proposal is a case in point. It may well be, as Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal says, that a large measure of the controversy centered on the provisions of the existing law. Yet the administration’s acknowledgement that Carcieri hadn’t read the bill, receiving only a briefing from staff, after it was developed by a former New York City fire official, indicates a lack of diligence by the governor and his top aides. Asked about the political fallout, Neal says, "I do not believe that homeland security should be a political issue. The governor believes that homeland security and preventing terrorism are too important to be politicized. That is why the governor chose to withdraw this bill at this time," and announced plans to work with interested groups to build a consensus on necessary changes before introducing a new version. "I would point out from a legal point of view that this bill was reviewed by the attorney general’s office before being submitted by the governor," Neal adds. "They did not raise any concerns [about] the bill that the governor submitted to the General Assembly." There might be a few talk-radio callers who favor conspiracy theories involving Democratic chairman Lynch and his brother, Attorney General Patrick Lynch. The governor, whose staff was reportedly upset about not receiving a chance to comment for the Providence Journal’s exposition last week of the "Five Freedoms," likely aired the issue during a February 20 meeting with ProJo executive editor Joel P. Rawson. If the Carcieri administration is smart, though, the homeland security imbroglio will serve as a wakeup call to take a sober look in the mirror.
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