Dee from The Desk: A Unified Front
The message was clear: unity. As over four hundred Rhode Island Democrats converged at The West Valley Inn for the Party’s Unity Dinner messages of team work and unifying the party after the divisive September Primary were the centerpiece of the event.
The event was like the Oscars for the Democratic Party (minus the awards); everyone who is anyone within the party was there.
Former adversaries Gina Raimondo, Angel Taveras, and Clay Pell were all present to show a united front to help the Democrats take the Governor’s office.
Secretary of State Candidate Nellie Gorbea was present along with her former foe Guillaume de Ramel. Candidate for General Treasurer, Seth Magaziner, who is described as a rising star within the party was also present, although his former opponent Frank Caprio was not. Magaziner recognized Caprio’s absence noting he was unavailable to attend. That didn’t stop Magaziner from complimenting his former opponent for his dedication to the Rhode Island Democratic Party. Magaziner noted that he has a deep respect for Caprio.
The dinner was headlined by National Democratic Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Schultz echoed the national Democratic sentiment of increasing minimum wage to help spur the economy. She also rallied against Republicans who she said are focused on “the Tea Party agenda.” She blamed the Republican agenda for halting progress in Congress and pressed for a Democratic resurgence. Schultz challenged the audience to “expend your most precious resource, time” in order to work to get fellow Democrats into office.
Schultz said that the unity she sees in the Rhode Island Democratic Party is, “genuine,” but despite Democrats being ahead in most of the polls she warned not to take anything for granted but instead go out and work for it.
When asked about the state’s seemingly one party leadership, Schultz dismissed the idea, noting that there has been two-party leadership since the Democrats have not been elected to the Governor’s office in 24 years. (Although Governor Chafee is now a Democrat he was elected to the office as an Independent.) Schultz called on the Rhode Island Democratic Party to make it happen and put a Democrat back into the Governor’s office and make history by electing the first woman governor.
Schultz garnered laughter from the audience as she addressed the night’s emcee, newly minted Democratic Chairman Joseph McNamara, who also serves as a state representative. She called him a “glutton for punishment” noting that she too knows what it is like to have both Representative and Chairman next to her name.
While Schultz was the headliner, Gina Raimondo’s speech attracted equal attention as the event was largely centered around her candidacy. Raimondo stressed the importance of putting a Democrat back into the governor’s office and then recognized the tight race she is in.
She called the race the most important election
“We are not going to cut our way out of this job crisis. We are going to grow our way out of it,” said Raimondo. She called for growing jobs by bringing industry back to
Raimondo recognized her primary opponents and noted it was a tough primary but she is excited to have them behind her now.
Much of the dinner was a call to action surrounding Raimondo’s candidacy with most of her Democratic colleagues recognizing her as
Senate President Teresa Paiva echoed a similar sentiment but called out some of the statewide candidates. “I know you running statewide run against the General Assembly but I want to say I am proud of the General Assembly and we want you to run with us,” said Paiva Weed. She recognized the work of the assembly recently including increasing minimum wage.
Ultimately, the night was a positive night for Democrats to commend each other for their service and attempt to rally the troops behind their candidates. While it was clear that some of the folks in the room won’t be taking each other out for drinks anytime soon they all came together for a meal and demonstrated that the party has life and can overcome even the toughest of primaries. There were a few that were not exactly into the “unity theme” including one man proudly wearing a Catherine Taylor for Lt. Governor sticker, and a few parody tweeters. Despite the few, most seemed to support the cause or if they didn’t they kept it to themselves.
It was a night of glad handing between Democrats and praising Democratic colleagues but in the end it served the purpose of projecting a united front. While Republicans, like Brendan Doherty, have been quick to jump ship in the Governor’s race, this will be less likely in the Democratic Party. The Democrats seem to recognize perception is reality. Who is actually voting for who is irrelevant as long as on the face of it the party stands united, or at least appears that way.
Follow me on Twitter: @Deedequattro
Dee DeQuattro is the assignment desk manager and digital news coordinator for ABC6. She studied politics and communications and holds a master’s degree from Providence College. Follow her on twitter @deedequattro and log on to ABC6 .com for her latest in depth coverage of politics and news.
