Friday, October 19, 2007

image or job?

bill rappleye

does carcieri need to improve his public relations, or his performance?  or neither…

this question came out of the leaked memo (Download the memo here) that suggested Rhode Island governor Don Carcieri had to revamp his image…which followed a steep drop in his approval ratings.  but, as you’ll see below…a number of you correctly pointed out that the query allowed no positive responses..such as Carcieri’s doing a good job and his image is fine.  so here are the e-mails…and at the end, go right ahead and comment!  if you’re shy about your e-mail address (which will show up), just e-mail me directly, and i can post your opinions anonymously.  Rap on!

There is NOTHING that Carcieri can do to improve his image or performance.  Both of these have been negatively impacted by the severe and consistent egotistical manner in which he serves himself and his upper crust cronies.  I wish he would remember that he won his last election by only 2 percentage points.  Instead of celebrating his so-called victory he should have been wondering why 49% of the voters did NOT approve of him.  Unfortunately,  Carcieri is just too full of himself to even have considered that.
Susan

The dear Gov NEEDS to do what he said he would do As I remember it when he first ran for office the BIG AUDIT was at the top of his to do list.  that NEVER happened.  for all of his first term he did not alot, same for the first part of this term.  About all he managed to do was mess with the Unions and give his buddies from Old Stone huge paying jobs.  In some cases creating these monster jobs for them.
Now he is going after the poorest of the poor and the weakest in this state to take benefits they need to get by.
His administration is racked with greed and coruption and nothing gets done.  A big wig at DOT got caught giving away big money ontracts he was allowed to retire with all his benefits.  Why was he not taken into court and treated like the criminal he is.
His top heavy big money administration is taking jobs from the working people of this state at an allarming rate, going after the union contracts and generally making a huge mess that some person is going to have to try to fix.  He creams about the lack of money in the state but I don’t see the people at the top suffering for it and they are the ones that caused it.
He gets into fights with the General Assembly that he can not possibly win and that costs us MORE money.
I think the whole lot of them need to get voted out of office next time they run for office.  Gee, maybe we need to try to elelct people who live in the real world not the artificial world of politics.
Judith, Coventry

SILLY QUESTION. I COULD CARE LESS ABOUT HIS “IMAGE.“  WHAT EVERY RHODE ISLANDER SHOULD CARE ABOUT IS HIS PERFORMANCE.
Susan

To me the Governors approval rating means nothing because Rhode Islanders are stupid!!
We have had two pro-business Republican Governors serving two terms each trying desperately to bring business and jobs to RI.  However we are a one party (democratic) state and our General Assembly has ALL the power.  And that is why we are ranks LAST as a business friendly state. 
John

RAPPER….
This is typical RI political bull.  The govenor doesn’t have to impove his image or his performance.  BOTH ARE FINE…his actions are proving to be what is best for the majority of citizens of Rhode Island.  (not the hacks in the state house or the way too many state workers milking the system).
NOW…let’s talk about the Hacks and the state workers…...
How much scandal do we need to prove that these state legislators are in polictics for themselves and not for the citizens of the state….and…
How much do we have to get ripped off by the state workers to see that there is way too much waste in the system…?
The govenor is a business person looking to run the state in the most economical feasible manner possible while the hack and the free loading state worker are getting in the way…
KEEP IT UP GOVERNOR!
Signed…
Sick and tired taxpayer!!!!
Marcie

He needs to improve both his image and his performance. Rhode Island has many more small business than large and he needs to help the small business people out. Stop charging us small business the same that he charges large Corporations. I have no idea how he was elected back in office unless he paid someone off. He has to be the worse governor Rhode Island has ever had. He has made many mistakes and now we as residences Of Rhode Island have to suffer because of his own mistakes. Why doesn’t he take a pay cut????? No he cannot do that, he expects us to suffer because for him. Thank you, Smithfield residence.

Personally, I feel that Governor Carcieri needs to improve both his image and his performance. 
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems that all of Mr. Carcieri’s policy changes and budgetary cuts are aimed at the working poor/lower income individuals and their children. 
For example, cutting daycare subsidies to working individuals is not the way to save money, as many will be forced to stop working.  This will result in an increase in the number of AFDC recipients.  This measure will also hurt the small businesses(daycare providers and employers) in this state.  So much for economic development!
Reducing the number of state employees will place a larger burden on the remaining employees, and will also reduce the level of services provided to the public in general.
Instead of firing these employees, do the following:  get rid of the high-cost contract employees and hire part-time employees to replace them, eliminating the cost of pension and healthcare benefits.  Require that able-bodied state aid recipients work for the state performing jobs that would ordinarily be paid state jobs(depending on skill levels).
Instead of removing children from the healthcare roles, increase the cigarette tax, applying the increase to healthcare for the state’s low-income children.
I am currently looking for a job.  However, the salaries in Rhode Island do not match the salaries in Massachusetts.  I would need to make at least $14.50/hour to live, not exist!  I am having difficulty finding jobs for even $12.00/hour.  Where are the good-paying jobs that the governor promised during the election?
Governor Carcieri, what happened to all of your promises?
Deb L,  Pawtucket
The Governor’s image is being destroyed by the corrupt Democrats in the State. He’s trying to fix things, but they want no part of it.  Gosh willing, the FBI probe will result in the indictments of many, many self-serving bums in this most corrupt legislature.
Bill, Cranston

This survey is why everyone is claiming bias in the media.  You are assuming that I think he needs to improve in those two areas.  The harm of this bias is that you can claim tomorrow that this % of Rhode Islanders thinks Carcieri needs to improve.

Shame on you.  Be fair, be accurate and report the news.

Joe V, Manville

How about he starts by simply creating a dialogue with people….even the ones he dislikes, like the legislature?  His problem is there is a lack of civility at the State House that he and his minions are allowing to fester. It would almost be better if he and Montalbano and Murphy just slugged it out on the front steps!!!!

Sergio from Narragansett
Hey Bill, who actually comes up with these one-way questions? You have told me before that it isn’t you! What if I believe that he doesn’t need improvement in either way. Of course, since I support him, I’m not given any choice! I can see the bias for sure, again! You had an ok excuse last time by saying you don’t come up with the question, someone else does. But it doesn’t look good for you this time. Just admit it, ok!                                                    Mark R
It seems that the Governor is trying to down size the state government the same as the national conservatives are trying to down size the Federal Government.
Here’s why it doesn’t save money
We will still need to have the services provided.  We will be forced to engage private companies to provide those services.
Sure the workers that actually do the jobs may get less money and rely on the private employers for retirement and medical benefits…
But those private employers will need to make a PROFIT on those services.
Take state hospitals as an example.
When they are privatized, the managing company will negociate a deal where they get paid PER BED.  They will get paid whether the bed is filled or empty.  Since empty beds provide greater profits, the company will have an incentive do what ever it takes to discharge patients.  When the beds are empty they can then cut medical staff because the income remains constant, the profits rise.
Research the other states where hospitals have been profitized.  Read the book “Crazy”  by Peter Fromm (sp?).  All this will be paid for with taxpayer dollars.  We, the citizens of the state, lose out in several different ways.  Today, I am thankful I don’t get all the Government I pay for, but it could be worse - much worse.
I view the firing of state employees and other forms of privatization as the breaking of a sacred promise as spelled out in Article III Section 7 of the State Constitution.  Private employees, as Blackwater Security just proved, are not responsible to the Public.  Privatization just results in big bucks for Haliburton/Dubai, Aramack, Blackwater, the company that supplied the $100,000 secratary, etc.
But it won’t do crap for me.
Just like the Governor’s “BIG AUDIT” did nothing for me.
We pay the government to protect us, not sell us out to the lowest bidder.
The Governor is not earning his pay.
Pete B, Narragansett
Governor Carcieri ran for office with a promise to cut spending.
Everyone, except for the unions, realize that the state government is bloated, wasteful, and inefficient. I’m all for his plan. Cutting a thousand people is just a good start.

Bill, Portsmouth

The Governor has to improve his image.  When the Governor announces a plan to benefit the taxpayers of the state, reduce spending or eliminate a program, the opposition comes out of the woodwork crying woe to the children.  General Assembly members are more interested in furthering their own personal ajenda then in honest government, and the social groups in this state think the taxpayers should pay for whatever they deem necessary.  How can the Governor be rated on performance when he doesn’t stand a chance.  The general assembly overrides his vetoes, the unions refuse to cooperate with him, and the social action groups fight him every inch.  In a state run by unions and a corrupt general assembly, image is the only salvation for the governor.
Bob D, Warwick

Perhaps the Governor wouldn’t have to make these huge job cuts if the legislators would learn how to control their spending. It’s pretty difficult to run a state when you’re about the only republican in it!!

Also I would like to see our congressional delegates do something for RI and not just stick to the party line on issues. We elect these people to do what’s best for Rhode Islanders and end up with them catering to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. I’m for voting them all out and starting from scratch!

Ralph C

Improve his image? Not in my eyes.
Improve his performance? That would be nice, but I will always wonder what he is doing for him and his cronies behind the scenes.
Lee L. Woonsocket
Your negative, survey has no check-off box for those of us who think the governor is doing a good job.

Gov. Carcieri, in his mission to trim the state budget,  has questioned the need for large pools of state-paid translators hired to help non-English speaking people to collect from various
agencies.  The ACLU in on the governor’s case for that.

No one from the communist, left wing, ACLU ever voted for Carcieri. - I hope he tells them where they can go. Standing up to them will improve his image.

Ed G, Warwick