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Two things can be true at once:
1. A nom as Sec. of Commerce is a once-in-lifetime opportunity, and it would be very hard for Gina Raimondo to turn that down.
2. By taking the job, she's leaving Rhode Island in the midst of one of the worst, deadliest crises in its history.
1. A nom as Sec. of Commerce is a once-in-lifetime opportunity, and it would be very hard for Gina Raimondo to turn that down.
2. By taking the job, she's leaving Rhode Island in the midst of one of the worst, deadliest crises in its history.
I'm saying this out loud because I've heard few, if any, others say it amidst the praise-storm Raimondo's appointment triggered. See: https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/07/accolades-pour-bidens-pick-ri-governor-raimondo/6590077002/
I'm a fan of all things Rhode Island, and it's certainly heady to see our governor tapped for a national post. But there's also this -- and we're nowhere near the end of it.
Politics is a rough business full of difficult decisions. I get that. But there's no rule stating you have to uncritically praise your hometown politicians when they get called up to D.C. Democracy is about *always* holding elected officials accountable, even ones you may like.
It's not a perfect analogy, but imagine Don Carcieri got tapped for a national post a few days -- or even weeks -- after the Station Fire, and took it. That's the neighborhood we're in with this. Arguably worse bc of the magnitude of COVID.
It would be perfectly appropriate for members of the national/DC press to ask Raimondo about the raging crisis she's leaving behind in RI, as she proceeds with this nomination. It's hard to imagine higher stakes: 1,900 lives lost and rising.
This is not to say that every COVID death in RI is Raimondo's fault. It's much more complex than that. But the top job in the state comes with great power *and* responsibility/accountability. Can't have one without the other. This happened on her watch.
