Katherine Gregg: Political Scene: Can the R.I. Republican Party be saved?

March 25-- Mar. 25--Can anyone reverse the pitiful fortunes of Rhode Island's fractious GOP?

That's one of the big questions GOP activists face when they vote Saturday for a new state Republican Party leader. Here's the lineup of candidates:

-- Michael Veri, a lab director at Landmark Medical Center and unsuccessful Senate candidate who has been emailing video-taped campaign messages from Germany where he has been on temporary military duty.

-- Suzanne Cienki, the former East Greenwich Town Council president who presided during a period of turmoil and lost her seat after taking on the firefighters' union.

-- Former Republican Rep. Robert Lancia of Cranston who lost his 2018 bid for reelection.

And finally: Rebecca Schiff, real estate investor and two-time candidate for the House who is "pro-choice" and, at one point in 2018 told her hometown voters that she had voted against President Donald Trump. (Schiff now says she would "support" Trump in 2020.)

The contest pits the GOP's two-time nominee for governor -- Cranston Mayor Allan Fung (and his chosen candidate: Schiff) against those backing almost anyone-but-Schiff. (The later group includes all 14 of the Republicans in the legislature.)

It has also turned into a Twitter war with Republicans throwing verbal brickbats at each other, and at Cranston Municipal Court Judge and retired U.S. Air Force Col. Matthew B. Smith -- the son of a former Democratic House Speaker -- for circulating an email challenging Veri's eligibility to campaign for a partisan office while servicing "as an enlisted officer in the United States Army-Reserve."

Fung's wife, Barbara Ann Fenton, took to Twitter too, in effect, to deny her husband had any hand in stirring the pot, while Republican Rep. Brian Newberry wrote to Smith: "Who exactly are you?" (Fenton, meanwhile, fired off an email to the Republican faithful explaining why she, a "pro-life" activist, backs Schiff.)

"Allan Fung should focus on Cranston," said Brandon Bell, the current state GOP chairman -- who is not seeking reelection after four years in the post -- in response to a Journal query about Fung's future role.

The BIG question: what difference can a new Republican Party leader make in a state where the GOP makes up only 12 percent of the electorate, has no seats in Congress, no statewide offices, only 14 of the 113 seats in the state legislature and a president in the White House who is less popular in R.I. than liver and onions?

Suggested fixes

Political Scene posed a series of questions to the candidates and some of the party's leaders and activists, past and present.

A sampling: How do you get people to vote for a Republican over a Democrat in 2020 and beyond, when polls indicate the GOP base is at odds with the majority of Rhode Islanders on a number of hot button issues, from Trump to gun control to the legality of abortion?

What should the R.I. GOP do about Trump?

"In blue states it will be a herculean task to get people to vote Republican with Trump at the top of the ticket. In Rhode Island this will be even more difficult because the party lacks resources and is ineffectively organized," wrote behind-the-scenes player Gary Sasse, who was former Gov. Donald Carcieri's director of administration.

His prescription: Republican candidates in R.I. "must convince voters that the GOP can make a positive difference in their lives. It must focus on the following questions: Is my neighborhood and child's school safe? Do state programs foster a business climate where I can have a good job? Are the schools that I send my kids to preparing them for the future? Can I afford to pay the taxes and stay in my home? Will my family have access to affordable health care?"

Trump? "As in 2018, President Trump will continue to be a significant drag on the state ticket," Sasse said. "Unfortunately, with the President's strong support among Republican activists, abandoning Trump is not a realistic option. The most pragmatic approach would be to focus on state legislative and local races and simply ignore the elephant in the room."

R.I.'s Republican National Committeeman Steven Frias believes "the R.I. Republican Party's message of fiscal conservatism and good government does appeal to voters," but he agrees "this message can be overshadowed when there is a Republican President who is not popular in Rhode Island."

The fix? "In 2020, Republicans must focus their time and resources on legislative seats where President Trump won or came within five points of winning. These seats constitute about one-third of General Assembly seats."

"Even then," he said, "if the national climate is bad for Republicans, it may be easier to sell ice cream to Eskimos than for Republicans [to] make gains in Rhode Island."

Former state GOP Chair Mark Zaccaria said: "I am advising the next Chair of the RI GOP to get back to basics ... Identify, Recruit, Vet, Train, Support, and ultimately Elect party candidates to the General Assembly. To do that requires a vibrant and effective fundraising Program, such has not existed in Rhode Island for many many years."

Trump -- embrace him? "Yes," Zaccaria said. ("Full Disclosure," Zaccaria also wrote: "I'm supporting Rebecca Schiff in this contest.")

Bell's advice: "Knock on doors, knock on doors, knock on doors and then knock on more doors. Our get out the vote effort (GOTV) must start this year for 2020. Majority of people want a vibrant 2 party system. Our reforms and solutions make sense. Their positions on many issues are extreme and harmful. Need to sell that to the voters."

Pledges to rebuild

Three of the 4 remaining candidates for state GOP chair responded to Political Scene's inquiries. All pledged to rebuild, recruit candidates -- focus on targeted General Assembly races -- and do a better job fundraising. Lancia did not respond.

Schiff provided a "broad" response instead of answers to the specific questions. She described herself as "the only candidate with significant fundraising experience" and clarified her positions.

"I am a pro-choice candidate, but I am firmly against late term abortions. I will not disavow President Trump and plan to support him in 2020. RI Republican party success boils down to fundraising and getting candidates elected so we can have a more balanced legislature -- something many Rhode Islanders agree is much needed to improve the economic cost of living in this state."

(In a recent fundraising email she also addressed the criticism she has received from some Republicans for her "pro-choice" stance this way: "The abortion issue should not be a litmus test for Republicans. We already are in the minority." Republicans are split. "Moreover, there are thousands of Independent and Unaffiliated voters in Rhode Island today who are greatly dismayed with the progressive direction of the Democrat party. As Republicans, we must," she said, "open our party tent.")

Cienki: "The Democratic Party has controlled Rhode Island for over 80 years. A one -- party system does not benefit the residents, as there is no opportunity to debate opposing ideas, nor have any checks and balances on one party control."

The result? "The governor proposed a $10 billion budget this year ... The state is losing population; the IRS has shown that Rhode Island has lost over 1.4 billion dollars in taxable revenue over the past ten years. That means less people covering government costs increasing the cost of living and tax burden on its residents.... The Republican Party of Rhode Island needs to focus its message: Fiscal health. Quality education. Attracting businesses and jobs."

"The new Party chair ... has to energize the party to attract independent and conservative Democratic voters who have been left behind as the Democratic Party veers toward the progressive wing and socialism."

She did not answer the Trump question.

Veri: "It comes down to strategically planning where we can challenge General Assembly candidates in 2020 on issues of fiscal responsibility and management while not delving deeply into social issues."

His example: "Our state is better funded on a per student, per year basis than even MA, the best educational system in the country. Yet our performance puts us at the MA 10% mark as a state.... If you are better funded than the best system, how can the solution be more money? Republicans offer alternatives such as school choice, accountability, lower administrative overhead, etc. which can truly make a difference ... We need to spread this message."

On Trump: "He has governed more conservatively than [any] of us could have hoped for. Two amazing Supreme Court picks. Addressing the problem of North Korea ... Tax reform is a positive step.

"The job that the Trump presidency is doing is fantastic. I understand that many have moral concerns regarding the man. Unfortunately, as a nation, we decided long ago that the moral character of the President is not a requisite for the position. From President Clinton, to President Kennedy, and many others, we established that performance is the only metric that matters."

Lancia, making his pitch to the Warwick Republican City Committee recently, "spoke of the state budget, breaking it down to a per capita cost of $9,042 that he [Lancia] compared to the similarly sized states of Montana, with a budget cost of $6,212 per capita; Maine at $6,181; New Hampshire at $4,368; and Delaware at $4,221."

"If you want to reform, we need to inform," he said.

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