Rhode Island Gubernatorial Candidate Slams Obama

Frank Caprio, the Democratic nominee for Governor of Rhode Island, had some choice words for President Barack Obama during an interview on a Providence radio show this morning.

When asked about the President’s decision to not endorse Caprio, the gubernatorial hopeful fired back by saying, “He can take his endorsement and really shove it as far as I’m concerned.”

Obama will travel to Rhode Island today to visit a factory in Woonsocket and to raise money for Democratic congressional candidates. According to the The White House schedule, however, there are no planned events to campaign for Caprio, who is locked in a tight battle with former Republican Senator Lincoln Chaffee, now an Independent.

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NPR Chief Apologizes For Handling Of Williams Firing

In a letter to her colleagues at NPR, CEO Vivian Schiller apologized for the way she handled the firing of former host and commentator Juan Williams.

“I want to apologize for not doing a better job of handling the termination of our relationship with news analyst Juan Williams,” she wrote. “While we stand firmly behind that decision, I regret that we did not take the time to prepare our program partners and provide you with the tools to cope with the fallout from this episode.”

“I stand by my decision to end NPR’s relationship with Juan Williams, but deeply regret the way I handled and explained it,” Schiller added.

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GOP Going After Stimulus Signs

A California Republican is encouraging Americans to photograph signs identifying stimulus programs and submit them to the House Oversight Committee.

In an email today, Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) says the federal government has spent $192 million on signs used to “promote” the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the nearly $800 billion piece of legislation aimed at jumpstarting the nation’s weak economy.

“We need to cut spending during these tough economic times, not spend $192 million on road signs promoting government projects,” Calvert says.

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House Republican Rails Against Loan Regulators

Rep. Dan Manzullo (R-Ill.) wrote to federal bank regulators today urging them to ease lending restrictions on borrowers nationwide. In his letter, the senior member of the House Financial Services Committee laments the lack of credit flowing to both individuals and small business owners.

“Credit in this country is being held hostage by overzealous bank examiners. Banks are too overwhelmed by the examination process to authorize loans to credit-worthy borrowers,” Manzullo wrote.

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Nearly $100 Million Spent Against Democrats This Year By GOP Groups

The non-partisan Sunlight Foundation reports today that total outside spending on midterm election campaigns has reached almost $265 million. Independent expenditures have accounted for over $218 million of that, according to the organization’s website.

The group revealed that outside spending against Democratic candidates has totaled $99.6 million so far this year, compared to $65 million spent by groups against Republicans.

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