And it failed spectacularly (the margin surprised the hell out of me at the time). I doubt they will take no for an answer this time. Even if the next referendum loses they will never make mention of Providence Plantations in any official way they can get around as the Governor’s exec order has already done.
This is worse than going after poor Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben.
When I read that RI was shortening its name, I had assumed that they had done it legally, not in an end run around the state constitution. I also was unaware that, as recently as 2010, 78% of Rhode Islanders supported slavery—that’s the implication of Gov. Raimondo’s statements, n’est pas?
I think that, given her opinion, Raimondo should have announced her support for the new referendum, and vowed to shorten the name in state checks, letterheads, etc. (even before the old checks and letterheads run out) *once the voters have approved the change*. But this is lawlessness, not to mention wastefulness at a time in which state governments shouldn’t be looking for new ways to spend money unnecessarily.
But Raimondo’s actions and statements on the issue of RI’s name are only the second dumbest that I’ve heard from a governor of the state. When the issue came up in 2010, ultimately successful gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee expressed concern that changing the state’s name *might violate the U.S. Constitution* because it listed RI by its full, official name. How someone that stupid could be elected to the U.S. Senate and to the governorship is a testament to how the constitutional prohibition on titles of nobility does not prevent voters from electing people based on their father’s attributes.