Dave Rogers on Patrick Kennedy(posted November 11, 2001)
Republican Dave Rogers criticized Congressman Patrick Kennedy as "not someone you look to in crisis management." Appearing today on WJAR-TV's "10 News Conference", Rogers explained why he was seeking the GOP nomination in the first congressional district. A former Navy Seal, Rogers said Rhode Island needed someone who made judgments based on principle and complained that Kennedy had not delivered necessary training money for Newport fire-fighters.
When asked about two other Republicans likely to seek the party nomination to run against Kennedy, Rogers said he was not getting out of the race. "Wild horeses couldn't drag me out of this race," he said. Taking a pot shot at Christine Ferguson, the director of the state department of Human Resources who just resigned her position in the Almond Administration to run against Kennedy, Rogers said, "she knows Washington and I know Rhode Island." He added that the party does not need a professional politician as the GOP nominee.
Rogers described himself as a "moderate conservative" who would support a moratorium on capital punishment and who doesn't believe in abortion for purposes of birth control. On taxes, he said he supported President George W. Bush's tax cut plan and promised that he himself would never vote for a tax increase.
