The State of the Union: April 16, 2015

On the latest edition (April 16, 2015) of "The State of the Union", I talked about the following topics:

Arthur Plourde

1. The dismissal of Arthur J. Plourde as library commissioner.

I was hoping for Arthur Plourde to give his side of the story. After speaking with current and prior elected officials, as well as talking with current staffers and community members.

My conclusion: Art Plourde has overstepped his role as commissioner, was not a good fit, and the city council had little choice but to remove him.

Former Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi

2. Al Muratsuchi is plotting a return to the Assembly.

The former assembly, unseated in 2014 by David Hadley, with the South Bay One Hundred and a wider team of volunteers and independent donors.

Muratsuchi ran a slash and burn, hate and berate campaign against Craig Huey in 2012 and Hadley last year. He was finally pushed out, and apparently he is running the same type of backdoor campaign to get reelected in 2016. Making the rounds, collecting key endorsements from key Democratic leaders and partisans. Does Muratsuchi think that he can build his own version of the South Bay One Hundred? Public sector unions do not count, and Democrats are already fraying at the core over the proper scope of labor unions in California.

Lincoln Chafee

3. Lincoln Chafee for President? Really?? Who is this guy? Why, the former  governor of Rhode Island, who left after only one term, with the worst approval ratings of any governor in the country. He had switched parties from Republican to Independent, and then in a desperate attempt became a Democrat.

Nothing availed, and Chafee dropped out, but trumpeted his "progressive" reforms in Rhode Island. He is staunchly left-leaning, already attacking Hillary Clinton for her Iraq War vote in 2002. Already facing heated questions from the left (on MSNBC) as well as the right (any Rhode Islanders paying attention long enough to laugh out loud), Chafee is a contender whom Hillary will have to deal with.

Two Rhode Island colleagues called in, not only spouting about Chafee the joke, but I asked them to share their thoughts about What about Jerry Brown? They scoffed at the idea, slamming Governor Moonbeam, whether West Coast or East Coast.

4. Religious liberty -- is it theocratic bigotry to oppose same-sex marriage? A Rhode Island friend and colleague went so far as to suggest that opposition to same-sex marriage was tantamount to imposing a religious theocracy. In addition to my strong points on the matter, my Rhode Island guests concluded that Republicans should focus on fiscal issues and reforms. As for social issues, one guest feared that the issue could tear the Republican Party apart, and it would be better just to get the government out of marriage altogether.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/twilighttalkradio/2015/04/16/state-of-the-union-with-arthur-c-schaper