Rhody Report Exclusive: The critical steps to the peaceful resistance of Gina Raimondo’s massive power grab in Rhode Island
In Rhode Island and elsewhere in America, governors have gleefully grabbed power with little appetite to relinquish it. While companies of few resources or capital and only a handful of employees as well as massive corporations such as CVS quickly adapt to telecommuting operations, the Rhode Island government with billions of dollars and resources oddly must operate and legislate almost completely by executive order.
Raimondo is clearly enthralled with her newfound power. From checkpoints across the Rhode Island state border to house to house checks of people simply on the suspicion of being from out of state, the true colors of Governor Raimondo have shined through.
On May 6th the Dr. Michael J. Hurd Radio Show hosted Trump campaign chair for Delaware and former United States Naval Reserve Intelligence Specialist Rob Arlett. In this interview, Arlett outlined steps to peacefully and effectively challenge governors such as Raimondo who have clearly overstepped their authority.
These steps, slightly refashioned and adapted for Rhode Island, are as follows:
- Email with a return receipt, or if there are funds available via certified mail, all State Representatives and State Senators with a request they contact Attorney General Barr to inquire about the actions of Governor Raimondo.
- Alett suggests positioning the letter as follows:
- XYZ legislator, we are putting together a coalition of elected officials in our state to request the Attorney General of the United States inquire about the mandates that Governor Raimondo imposed upon the people of Rhode Island. If I do not hear from you within 48 hours, I will presume that you are supportive of this effort.
- Alett also suggests listing the issues which need inquiry, specifically what has been mandated of Rhode Islanders and what orders have violated the rights of Americans, such as house to house searches and checkpoints.
- Gather a coalition of people adversely affected by the shutdown, such as families and business owners.
- Draft a press release citing the written record of who does and does not support the effort to investigate the possible overreach of the governor.
- Conduct a press conference to publicly present the press release accompanied by the coalition of adversely affected people.
This strategy offered by Alett is effective because it not only compels a response from the elected official, it leaves little middle ground. Elected officials are appropriately given only two choices; agree with an inquiry into the actions of the governor or not. The absence of anything but a definite yes or no to the inquiry forces the legislator to either validate the assumption of agreement or publicly oppose the inquiry when questioned by the press.
Politicians and government officials are comfortable with their decision making as long as the public does not notice or express concern for their actions. Additionally, the federal government most often will not get involved in state matters unless there is a compelling conflict between the government and the people. This is why Rhode Islanders and all Americans must stand up.