Might as well be a BDH column

7:22AM ON 07/02/2008
BY Dave Segal

Except it’s in Newsweek. In a confusing confluence of stuff that hits close to home, Te-Ping Chen gets name-checked in this piece on RI’s clean elections bill — of which I’m a co-sponsor, and wish I hope had a better chance of passage than it seems to:

I have the dubious distinction of living in the most corrupt state in America. I am talking about Rhode Island, which despite its noble past as one of the original 13 Colonies is pretty much a banana republic. “The political condition of Rhode Island is notorious, acknowledged and shameful,” the great muckraker Lincoln Steffens once wrote. “It is a state for sale, and cheap.”….

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that this reform effort was the idea of an out-of-stater. Her name is Te-Ping Chen, a college student at Brown University who hails from liberal Oakland, California. Her bill, she says, will remove the considerable financial obstacles to running for election and inspire ordinary Joes–”plumbers, barbers and even schoolteachers!”–to enter the political arena. One-party monopoly might give way to multiparty plurality, with greens, libertarians and socialists all fronting candidates.

I’m more ensconced in politics than many, but it seems painful clear to me: A society in which people’s political influence correlates to the their wealth simply isn’t (optimally) democratic.

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4 Comments on “ Might as well be a BDH column ”

July 2nd, 2008 at 7:31AM
JOE BERNSTEIN Says:

Te-Ping Chen is a good writer-her Phoenix articles were all well-researched and interesting.She seems to know when to insert her personal opinion and when not to.Even if she’s very liberal,I like reading her stuff.And there’s nothing wrong with taking elections out of the category of things only a millionaire can afford.

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July 2nd, 2008 at 8:17PM
East Sider Says:

Banning political contributions? David, you have heard of the First Amendment haven’t you? And perhaps you read that the US Supreme Court issued a very important decision last week striking down federal legislation that restricted contributions of certain types. A ban on contributions is an affront to the federal and state constitutions. It’s pretty damned un-American frankly.

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July 3rd, 2008 at 2:19PM
Ariel Werner Says:

This article is from 2005… why the new interest, Rep?

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July 3rd, 2008 at 9:58PM
Archer Says:

Kind of condescending article…as if only out-of-staters can imagine a better Rhode Island. Also….no offense to Ms. Chen, who I don’t know, but inspiring “even schoolteachers” to run?? Isn’t there a tremendous amount of influence in the Assembly from Teachers’ unions? isn’t that why residency requirements for teachers were lifted in Providence and Pawtucket (later followed by police, fire and every other municipal employee)?

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