I vote in RI, so I was actually a little conflicted about the Senate race. I voted for Whitehouse, who won, but our Republican, Lincoln Chafee, actually voted against the invasion of Iraq -- a vote on principle that, frankly, I doubt if Whitehouse would've cast had he been in office in then. Plus, the WEEI sports talk/hatchetmen hate Chafee (for the same reason I respect him) so he can't be all bad, for a Republican. Anyways, I feel like at least I did my part to change the direction of the Senate. Sadly, my neighbors to the west failed to elect Lamont, so Kissin' Joe the Republidependent candidate and the GOP got the last laugh after all.
The other big issue here was Question 1, which would've paved the way for a Narragansett/Harrah's casino in West Warwick. As much as I wouldn't have minded a casino closer than Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, I let Will's anti-casino propaganda sway me to a 'no' vote. The well-funded proponents gave the hard sell on property tax relief and job creation but, it all smelled like a shell game ... sure, the casino would bring money in, but who would go to Lincoln or Newport Grand anymore? So the state would lose that revenue while Harrah's loaded up the Brinks trucks for Nevada. And, as much as they talked about the benefits to restaurants, hotels, etc. near the planned site, I can't help but think about the areas around Mohegan and Foxwoods ... not exactly thriving. There are no other restaurants to speak of nearby -- just the Dunkin' Donuts. People go to the casinos to game, drink, and eat, they aren't making another stop outside. I seriously doubt tourist dollars would've gone into the surrounding area here either. Now, if Newport Grand and/or Lincoln were allowed table gaming ... that's another story.
