In a departure from all the stories trying to goose the supposed fight between the Clinton folks and the Obama folks going into the convention, today's Providence Journal has a lengthy article entitled "R.I. delegates determined to put rivalry behind them."
more after the jump--
In the primary, the R.I. Democratic Party split about 60-40 for Clinton. State Democratic Party Chairman William Lynch supported Clinton; his brother, Attorney General Patrick Lynch, very publicly supported Obama. Most of the party regulars went with Clinton, due to long-standing loyalties and ties. Three of the R.I. delegates (husband, wife, and son) own the company that produced campaign paraphernalia for Clinton (signs, bumper stickers, etc.) and also got the contract as official purveyor of DNC convention souvenirs, "everything from key chains to T-shirts."
So if there were going to be a Clinton rebellion at the convention, these are the sort of people one might expect to lead it out.
But no, says Journal staff writer Scott Mackay:
Rhode Island party leaders have been pushing another family theme — that the state’s Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporters coalesce behind the Obama candidacy as he heads into the fall campaign against Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.
He quotes House Speaker William Murphy, probably the most powerful Democrat in state government and a Clinton backer: "The message that has to be broadcast loud and clear is unity, that Barack Obama is the only candidate who can move the nation forward." Frank Montanaro, described as "a staunch Clinton supporter" and president of the state AFL-CIO, came back from a recent national Fire Fighters' convention understanding that "the labor community is behind Barack Obama. I love Hillary Clinton and I think she would make a terrific president, but this election is far too important to think about the past."
Finally Mackay quotes Edna O'Neill Mattson of North Kingstown, age 72, a Clinton supporter and a veteran of seven previous conventions: "We need to do everything we can for Barack Obama. We need a president who is for education, not bombs."
Mackay did not quote ANY Clinton supporters with contrary views.
Rhode Island may not be typical of the party as a whole. But it does have a fairly large contingent of the stereotypical Clinton demographics, union voters, Catholic working class, older voters who are pretty middle-of-the-road. If this reporting is accurate, there may be a lot less to the "ooh, it's going to be a big fight" meme than is being hyped in other news outlets.