Christopher Dodd

Latest Articles

You call this winning?

Afghanistan complications multiply. Plus, Congress is heading for a weak wrap-up.
President Barack Obama scored.
By EDITORIAL | June 30, 2010

How Rhode Island can eliminate homelessness

The concept is as simple as it is radical: give the homeless a place to live, with no strings attached
Making it a reality is a matter of political will.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | May 14, 2010

Brown-nosing and flip-flopping

Scott Brown heeds his boss’s orders; Charlie Baker sides with homophobic party base
Two months ago, when Senator Scott Brown crossed party lines to help pass a jobs bill, the Phoenix noted the political convenience of that supposed show of independence — since other Republican senators were also voting with Democrats, Brown’s vote was unnecessary.
By EDITORIAL | April 23, 2010

Ladies' man

In his race for US Senate, Michael Capuano is using well-known women to battle the race's female front-runner.
Early last week, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government announced suddenly that Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, would speak at a forum that Friday afternoon.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 18, 2009

Magik Markers | Balf Quarry

Drag City (2009)
Before Balf Quarry landed on my desk, I figured the dirtiest thing in Connecticut was Chris Dodd's browser history. Not so.
By MICHAEL BRODEUR | May 12, 2009

One of a kind

Rest in peace, Claiborne Pell, former senator and all-around class act
Phillipe + Jorge took time to attend the funeral of Claiborne Pell, in deference to all that he did for both Rhode Island and civility everywhere he went.
By PHILLIPE + JORGE | January 07, 2009

The right stuff

Senator John Kerry has it; challenger Ed O’Reilly doesn’t. Plus, Sarah Palin’s Hannah Montana equation.
Politics is often a matter of perspective.
By EDITORIAL | September 10, 2008

The Obama two-step

Now that we know for sure Obama is going to the dance, who’s he gonna bring as his partner?
Barack Obama lost his best vice-president option when Ohio governor Ted Strickland removed himself from consideration for the number-two spot.
By STEVEN STARK | June 18, 2008

Ring of fire

The deadbeat FBI fails to pay its phone bills and jeopardizes its wiretapping program
An ugly squabble between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the nation’s biggest phone companies has, in one nasty blow, recast the image of all the entities involved.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | January 23, 2008

The amazing race

We break down the Presidential campaign to its six essential parts, and predict your next Commander-in-Chief.
For the past year, presidential politics has been building to the crescendo that is the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 26, 2007

On the national affront

An inescapable year reaches its inevitable conclusion
Where does one begin to recap 12 months of such willful self-parody?
By BARRY CRIMMINS | December 19, 2007

Suffrage net city

The Web has become key to presidential politics — we rate the candidates on how they’ve put Al Gore’s invention to use
Three years ago, when the Red Sox were winning and John Kerry was losing, YouTube hadn’t even been invented.
By MIKE MILIARD | November 28, 2007

Damn you, Barack Obama

Win or lose, Obama's small donors may have already brought a revolution in campaign financing
Now that Obama's small contributors have effectively rewritten the history of political-campaign funding, even die-hard cynics are drinking the Kool-Aid.
By AL GIORDANO | September 26, 2007

Raising Hill

Hillary Clinton’s ‘aura of inevitability’ might hide her weaknesses — at least until the Republicans get their hands on her
Hillary Clinton took only two questions from the audience at the end of her 35-minute speech at the American Association of Retired Persons conference.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 12, 2007

Stable — within limits

Clinton’s dominated the Democratic field since february, but voters are getting used to Obama
There’s been very little movement in state and national Democratic polls over the past six months.
By STEVEN STARK | August 29, 2007

About-face time

Debates usually help lesser-known pols. This season, they’re crushing them.
Conventional wisdom says that debates help everyone but the front-runner in the polls, because they give the pack exposure and face time next to the leader.
By STEVEN STARK | August 15, 2007

Iraq and a hard place

The Democratic presidential candidates must articulate clear exit strategies
Getting out of Iraq is going to be more difficult than getting in.
By EDITORIAL | August 01, 2007

Pushing to replace Bush

Rhode Islanders are getting busy while supporting their favorite democrats
On an overcast night in early June, nearly 100 of US Senator Barack Obama’s local supporters crowded into the Peerless Lofts in downtown Providence.
By MATTHEW JERZYK | July 11, 2007

Candidates' stances on the war in Iraq

By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | July 11, 2007

Power brokers

Al Gore isn't running (yet); neither is Elizabeth Edwards. But either could be a factor in an Obama win.
As the race for the Democratic nomination enters the summer, there are two figures lurking in the background: Al Gore and Elizabeth Edwards.
By STEVEN STARK | July 02, 2007

Protest I

Fighting for your right to civil liberties
On Tuesday, 40 gagged demonstrators, clad in orange prisoner-style jumpsuits, made their way from the center of Boston to the JFK Federal Building.
By CAROLINE PERRY | June 27, 2007

Wishing for more than a wash

How are the GOP front-runners doing in the almighty early-primary states?
According to national polls, Giuliani is leading as the Republican front-runner.
By STEVEN STARK | June 13, 2007

Best in show

Fred Thompson’s threatened GOP bid is making things trickier for those candidates facing another debate this week
It looks as if Arthur Branch, a/k/a Fred Thompson, is about to swap Law and Order for the law and disorder otherwise known as campaign 2008.
By STEVEN STARK | May 30, 2007

Size doesn’t matter

Nevermind the revamped primary schedule; the small states can still have plenty of bite
Call it the revenge of the little guys, if you will.
By STEVEN STARK | May 17, 2007

Who’s with whom — and why?

Talking politics
Now that first-quarter campaign-finance reports have been filed, we can see which presidential candidates scooped up money from which Bay Staters.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 18, 2007

The debating game

A few things to keep in mind while watching the Democrats’ first debate
Thursday April 26 marks the first mega-event of the campaign season: the Democrats’ initial debate, to be held in South Carolina.
By STEVEN STARK | April 18, 2007

The rats in Romney’s corner

The dirty tricksters behind Romney’s money
Mitt Romney’s powerhouse first-quarter fundraising numbers — he reports to have taken in more than $20 million — got him all kinds of press attention.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | April 04, 2007

Who’s with whom

When John Kerry bowed out of the presidential sweepstakes, it freed Boston’s big Democratic brokers to find a favorite.
For Democratic presidential candidates, Boston is the ATM kiosk on the way to New Hampshire.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | March 29, 2007

Diagnostic politics

Will Elizabeth Edwards’s cancer give her husband special grace?
It’s an unfortunate fact of American political life that one’s entire personal life becomes public the minute one runs for office.
By STEVEN STARK | March 28, 2007

Presidential toteboard: why the odds favor Obama

Black vote + uncommon charisma = quantifiable advantage
When Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy, there was some wild speculation that Obama might not receive a large share of the black vote.
By STEVEN STARK | March 14, 2007