John Chafee

Latest Articles

Friartown, redux

PC players foul out. Plus, helping Johnny Mac, a Supreme shift, and ‘Monbo Time’
Phillipe and Jorge have always had a problem with Providence College basketball’s advertising campaign, which refers to the area as “Friartown” in a delusional suggestion that the squad has support throughout the local community.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | April 14, 2010

Onward, Christian governor!

Carcieri gets "loose"; plus, farewell to Tedy, and mind-boggling Bush
It's nice to see Governor Don "Laughing Boy" Carcieri loosening up by sharing the real Donnie Boy with the people of Vo Dilun. Initially (certainly in his first campaign for governor in 2002) Don tried to come across as a moderate conservative, not unlike his immediate predecessor, Linc Almond.
By PHILLIPE & JORGE | September 02, 2009

More fun in Nawt Prov

Tales of Ebay Cholly. Plus, our sorry state, kissing cops, and the GOP.
Sal Mancini would be proud.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | July 29, 2009

Obama for president

Plus, Reed for Senate, Kennedy and Langevin for US House, and choices for State Senate, House, and more
The Phoenix endorses Barack Obama for President and Joe Biden for Vice President.
By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX EDITORIAL STAFF | October 29, 2008

Picaresque journey: 30 years in Rhode Island

By IAN DONNIS | October 23, 2008

30 on 30

30 local luminaries look back on 30 years of the New Paper and the Providence Phoenix
The Providence Phoenix celebrates 30 years with 30 interviews
By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | October 24, 2008

The Quiet Power of Jack Reed

Without seeking the spotlight, the senator and his star continue to rise
As he closes out his second six-year term in the Senate, perhaps the most elite club in politics, Reed is the subject of ongoing speculation about his future.
By IAN DONNIS | August 13, 2008

Chafee for governor?

Running as an independent, he could thumb his nose at the worst of both parties
For now, Lincoln Chafee has the luxury of discussing his political future as a riddle wrapped up in an enigma.
By IAN DONNIS | April 10, 2008

How Giuliani’s presidential campaign came undone

GOP Minority Leader Watson reveals all at Nick-a-Nee’s
Your superior correspondents last week had a close encounter with a couple of creatures who qualify in Vo Dilun as authentic endangered species: Republican legislators.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | April 09, 2008

Maguire’s move to DC a blow for RI GOP

Talking politics
Spencer Maguire, who mounted an aggressive Republican challenge to state Representative Ray Gallison (D-Bristol) in 2006, has taken a job in Washington, DC.
By IAN DONNIS | December 12, 2007

Why RI Republicans fail

Quick to blame Democrats, the local GOP can’t seem to find candidates or a long-term plan of its own
Providence Journal op-ed columnist Edward Achorn has made repeated reference to the apparent “learned helplessness” of Rhode Islanders.
By IAN DONNIS | November 14, 2007

Straight outta Kafka

The Bushies’ enthusiasm for torture is indefensible
We want to get into the shower and not emerge until November 2008.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | July 25, 2007

Last Republican standing

Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian is a rare bright spot for the RI GOP
Last year, Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian made a very smart decision by standing pat.
By IAN DONNIS | March 07, 2007

Rhode Island’s billion-dollar man

Lawyer Jack McConnell took the fight to the lead paint industry
Jack McConnell grew up in modest circumstances.
By BRIAN C. JONES | February 28, 2007

Déjà vu all over again for RI GOP

Carcieri faces failure in having fostered a real two-party system
Lincoln Chafee should be the next head of the Rhode Island Republican Party.
By IAN DONNIS | November 15, 2006

Separated at birth

The partisan difference is the big thing dividing Chafee and whitehouse
Six years ago, when Lincoln Chafee won the US Senate seat to which he’d been appointed after his father’s death, it wouldn’t have been surprising if Sheldon Whitehouse approached him during the victory celebration at Providence Marriott to offer his congratulations.
By IAN DONNIS | October 25, 2006

A progressive guide to ballot questions

Voters can back affordable housing and voting for Freed Felons
In December 2001, the Reverend Duane Clinker and three other ministers were arrested at the State House while protesting growing homelessness and cuts to funding for affordable housing.
By MATTHEW JERZYK | October 25, 2006

The road to November

Two big questions highlight the run-up to RI’s general elections
For all the unusual drama of Lincoln Chafee and Stephen P. Laffey’s GOP Senate primary gunfight, it was politics as usual that helped Chafee to score what many considered an unexpectedly decisive win.
By IAN DONNIS | September 20, 2006

Aided by his name and the national GOP, Chafee beats back Laffey

Talking politics
Chafee attributed his 54-46 percent victory over Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey to “a grassroots effort like Rhode Island has never seen.”
By IAN DONNIS | September 13, 2006

The Milquetoast and the Blowhard

Rhode Island’s Shakespearean Senate battle
Now is not the time for Lincoln Chafee to be timid.
By ADAM REILLY | September 08, 2006

Laffey attacks from the center

The Cranston conservative needs to broaden his support if he’s going to oust Chafee
When Cranston Mayor Stephen P. Laffey announced last week that he didn’t even want the state Republican Party’s endorsement it marked a textbook move in the upstart’s stiff Republican primary challenge to US Senator Lincoln Chafee.
By IAN DONNIS | July 11, 2006

Advantage: Whitehouse

The Democrat has the best shot in years to claim ‘the Chafee seat’ from the GOP
It was just one more in a steady stream of campaign stops, efforts that might land Sheldon Whitehouse six months from now in the most exclusive club in the nation.
By IAN DONNIS | May 03, 2006

Much ado about nothing

Cianci deserves his Providence Preservation Society recognition
Please, spare us all the media-orchestrated hand-wringing about how the Providence Preservation Society has chosen to add the name of our former mayor, the Bud-I, to its Hall of Fame, as one of 50 individuals and groups who made giant strides in preserving historic buildings in Our Little Town.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | May 03, 2006