TALKING POLITICS DNC a boon for Rhode Island Democrats BY IAN DONNIS

From John F. Kerry’s better-than-expected speech to the opportunity for local Democrats to mingle, make connections, get a bit of the limelight, and steel their fighting spirit for the fall campaign, the recent Democratic National Convention in Boston proved a success.

William Lynch, chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, said the July 29 address by Kerry, not always known as the most riveting public speaker, illustrated his bona fides as a potential president. "Everyone from here is totally reenergized and enthused about getting back to work between now and November," adds Lynch, who has set sights on delivering a highest percentage of the vote for Kerry in Rhode Island than in any other state.

In a bid to strengthen Kerry’s standing on security issues, references to his combat experience during Vietnam — a sharp contrast with George W. Bush’s tenure with the Texas Air National Guard — were evocative and frequent during the DNC’s final night. Republicans, though, clearly plan to target what they describe as Kerry’s unremarkable service in the Senate, which has taken up a far larger amount of time than his military service.

US Representative James Langevin, who introduced Ron Reagan Jr., the son of the late Republican president, was the Rhode Islander who received perhaps the most attention during the convention. As a rare pro-life Democrat in the US House, Langevin — who was paralyzed during an accidental shooting as a teenager — offers a compelling personal story for how stem-cell research could make a positive difference in the lives of people, like him, with spinal injuries, and others. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Matthew Brown, according to a July 30 story in the New York Times, was among 10 politicians "considered rising stars" who got invites to the Ritz-Carlton for a roundtable discussion.

Patricia Morgan, chairwoman of the Rhode Island Republican Party, is candid enough to acknowledge that, because she was redoing her West Warwick home during the DNC, she didn’t see much of the convention. At any rate, Morgan doesn’t seem to harbor any illusions about the difficulty of chalking up votes for Bush in the nation’s smallest state. "My goal is to get people elected to the State House," she says. "That’s always been my goal. We have real problems here in Rhode Island . . . They can only be solved if we get a balanced legislature. We need a two-party system, not this super-majority of Democrats."

ProJo political columnist M. Charles Bakst has mentioned former lieutenant governor Richard Licht as a local who might enjoy a boost with a Kerry administration. Lynch was unwilling to name names, but he believes other Rhode Islanders might benefit similarly in a Democratic administration. "John Kerry is someone who has long connections in Rhode Island," Lynch says. "He’s been here many, many times. He’s someone who is well-known here and has a lot of connections. It wouldn’t be a surprise to me that, if he wins, he looks to some of those people."

For now, of course, the biggest challenge facing Kerry and the Democrats remains outflanking their wily, well-financed Republican opponent.