Rhode Island Democratic Party

Rhode Island Democratic Party
Chairperson Joseph McNamara
Headquarters Providence, RI
Ideology Social democracy
Modern liberalism
Progressivism
Social liberalism
National affiliation Democratic Party
Colors Blue
Seats in the Upper House
32 / 38
Seats in the Lower House
69 / 75
Website
www.ridemocrats.org

The Rhode Island Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Rhode Island. Joseph McNamara is the chairman of the Party. For the past five decades, the Democratic Party has dominated politics in Rhode Island. The article further discusses the Democratic Party's dominance in Rhode Island politics as well as the elected officials, party leadership and staff, past election results, legislation, and also issue stance.

Democratic Party dominance in Rhode Island

For nearly five decades, Rhode Island has been one of the nation's most solidly Democratic states. Since 1928, it has voted for the Republican presidential candidate only four times (Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984) and it has elected only one Republican (former Governor John H. Chafee) to the U.S. Senate since 1934. Rhode Island also sent no Republicans to the U.S. House from 1940 until 1980, when one Republican and one Democrat were elected. Also in 1980, Rhode Island was one of only six states to favor Jimmy Carter. However, in 1984, Republican Edward DiPrete was elected governor and Ronald Reagan narrowly carried the state in the presidential election. In the 2000 presidential election, Democrat Al Gore won 61% of the popular vote.[1] Although, an analysis of Gallup polling data shows the Democratic advantage over the Republican Party in Rhode Island voters has plunged over the last two years.[2] The Democratic advantage over the Republican Party in Rhode Island slid from 37 percentage points in 2008 to 16 points this year, according to Gallup. Rhode Island has gone from being the most Democratic state in the country in 2008 to the 7th most Democratic now.[3]

Elected officials

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

U.S. House of Representatives

Statewide offices

State Legislature

Party leadership and staff

The Rhode Island Democratic Party leadership as of 2011 is as follows.[4]

State committee officers

National Committee Persons

Staff

Previous election results

President

Senator in Congress

Representative in Congress District 1

Representative in Congress District 2

President

Representative in Congress District 1

Representative in Congress District 2

[5]

Legislation

Voter I.D. Law

In July 2011, the Rhode Island Legislature, which is composed mostly of Democrats, signed a voter I.D. law. A number of states this year have passed similar voter I.D. laws, all which were backed by Republicans. Rhode Island state Representative Jon Brein, the Democratic sponsor of the legislation, stated "I think that party leaders have tried to make this a Republican versus Democrat issue. It's not. It's simply a good government issue. We as representatives have a duty to the citizenry to ensure the integrity of our elections, and the requirement to show an I.D. will ensure that integrity. "[6] Rhode Island Democratic Senator Harold Metts, who sponsored the voter I.D. legislation in the state senate, said, "As a minority citizen and a senior citizen I would not support anything that I thought would present obstacles or limit protections."[7]

Pension reform

On November 17, 2011, the Rhode Island General Assembly approved legislation that focused on stabilizing the state's pension fund to protect against large increases in taxpayer contribution expected in the years to come. The Rhode Island Retirement Securirty Act passed the House on a vote of 57 to 15, and the Senate with a 35 to 2 vote. The legislation reduces the state's unfunded liability of nearly $7.3 billion to $4.3 billion, a $3 billion reduction.

The legislation was introduced by Speaker of the House Gordon D. Fox and President of Senate M. Teresa Paiva Weed.

On the pension reform, Speaker of the House Gordon Fox stated: "The reforms we enacted simply could not wait any longer. The unfunded liability of our pension system has spiraled to new depths in recent years, and without these changes, would grow even more dramatically in the very immediate future."[8] Speaker Fox also stated that the legislation "balances the costs and risks between employees and the state and protects the fiscal integrity of the retirement system, the state and the municipalities."[8] Senate President Paiva Weed said, "Passage of this critical piece of legislation ensures that resources will be available to invest in education, infrastructure, and our human services safety net, while protecting the pensions of the future. I believe that we have achieved reforms that are fair to employees, affordable to taxpayers, legally defensible and sustainable over the long-term.",[8]

Issues

Same-sex marriage

On March 24, 2011, Rhode Island Democratic Party Chairman Ed Pacheco issued the following statement reiterating his support of same-sex marriage in the State of Rhode Island:

"I have always felt, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, that all Americans are entitled to the full protection, benefits and resources of marriage under law. More so than that, all couples who choose to enter into the union of marriage, deserve to honor their love and commitment to each other, to their families and to the communities in which they live with the full institution and benefits of marriage.
"To deny any individual the rights and privileges of marriage based on their sexual orientation is to deny them the dignity, fairness and freedom to live their lives fully and free from anxiety – anxiety that can be avoided by ensuring marriage equality in Rhode Island. Anything less is less than equal. We take great pride in the protection of freedoms in this country and it is time for Rhode Island to stand up for our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family in the LGBT community and pass marriage equality legislation. It's just time."[9]

Abortion

Senator Jack Reed.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed on abortion:[10]

Democratic Congressman David Cicilline on abortion:[10]

Education

Democratic Congressman David Cicilline on education:[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Rhode Island - Political parties". city-data.com.
  2. ↑ "Gallup: Democrats' dominance drops by half in Rhode Island". WPRI 12 Eyewitness News.
  3. ↑ Gallup, Inc. "Gallup.Com - Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Politics, Economy, Wellbeing, and World". gallup.com.
  4. ↑ "RI Democratic Party: Party Leadership and Staff". Rhode Island Democratic Party. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Rhode Island Board of Elections". ri.gov.
  6. ↑ "Stateline". stateline.org.
  7. ↑ "Republican National Lawyers Association - (RNLA)". rnla.org.
  8. 1 2 3 http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/News/pr1.asp?prid=7713
  9. ↑ http://ridemocrats.org/cms-assets/documents/18678-428550.ridppacheco-on-marriage-equality324.pdf
  10. 1 2 http://www.issues2000.org/Social/Jack_Reed_Abortion.htm
  11. ↑ http://www.issues2000.org/House/David_Cicilline_Education.htm
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