It’s been int
eresting to watch the evolution of his campaign — and easy to think that his performance at Drinking Liberally, which drew a lot of criticism, was a turning point:
But independent candidate Lincoln D. Chafee said he believes the state will have to consider both: repealing the flat tax or at the very least, delaying the next scheduled rate reduction — if it is going to close the state’s relentless budget gap, projected at $219 million this year and almost double that next year.
“Senator Chafee believes that the flat-tax revenue numbers must be carefully analyzed as to whether the program is working as intended — is the math in the state’s favor? While this analysis is being conducted, the phase-in should be suspended at its current level,” his campaign manager John “J.R.” Pagliarini said.
Most imperative for Chafee is to succeed in branding himself as the “greenest” candidate, with strong support for public transit and renewables. It’ll pull off the 25% of Democrats he needs to win, without alienating anybody, while pushing for economic development based on Rhody’s real comparative advantages. The campaign’s been (more than) a little scattered, but still has time to tighten things up.