Rhode Island
Gophers football still bullish, ready to start anew vs. Rhode Island
That version of Brosmer might just be able to ignite a Gophers passing attack that has only one 300-yard game since 2019. Brosmer, a former FCS All-America, threw for 456 yards against Rhode Island last year, but that was in New Hampshire’s 34-28 overtime loss.
Having played in the FCS for years, Brosmer knows what can happen when power conference teams overlook lower level opponents. He doesn’t expect that to happen Saturday because the Gophers still have a lot to prove about how good they can be this year.
“It’s cool going back to the drawing board and finding the little tweaks that we can change and utilize for this offense,” Brosmer said. “I’m really excited to see it out.”
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Rhode Island
Constitutional convention’s benefits outweigh cost | Opinion
![Constitutional convention’s benefits outweigh cost | Opinion Constitutional convention’s benefits outweigh cost | Opinion](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/03/21/NPRJ/73054989007-ri-state-house.jpg?auto=webp&crop=799,450,x0,y53&format=pjpg&width=1200)
J.H. Snider is the editor of The Rhode Island State Constitutional Convention Clearinghouse.
Many have correctly said that Donald Trump has weird obsessions with crowd sizes and other matters. Well, Rhode Island government has a weird obsession with constitutional convention costs, albeit one that merely mimics the talking points of convention opponents who oppose a “yes” vote on Rhode Island’s Nov. 5 referendum on whether to call a convention.
Experts who do serious public policy analysis usually try to explicitly balance the potential benefits and costs of a proposed policy. But that’s not how Rhode Island’s legislature, via its appointed and constitutionally mandated “preparatory commission,” has framed the problem. The same goes for the secretary of state, who is responsible for summarizing the convention referendum in a voter handbook mailed at taxpayer expense to all registered voters.
More: Should RI have a Constitutional Convention? The cases for and against
In their 2004 and 2014 reports to Rhode Island’s people, the last two preparatory commissions quantified the potential costs but not benefits of a convention. Rhode Island’s secretary of state then mimicked that type of biased analysis in his ballot summary mailed to all Rhode Island voters.
The government’s cost findings were then ubiquitously cited in the media and, most influentially, cited in the “no” side’s pervasive advertising in the weeks before the referendum. The message was: if a convention has only costs and risks, only a fool would vote for one.
I don’t object to the government’s attempt to quantify a convention’s potential costs if it makes a similar attempt to quantify its potential benefits. For example, the state’s budget for the 2025 fiscal year, excluding local government, is $14 billion, which translates to $140 billion over the 10-year budgeting cycle between convention calls. This should raise the question: what is a convention’s break-even point if it reduces government waste? For example, how much waste could a truly independent inspector general eliminate? (The legislature has repeatedly refused to create such an inspector general.)
More: Rhode Island is no stranger to calls for constitutional conventions | Opinion
Using the current preparatory commission’s heroic assumptions to arrive at a top $4.8 million cost for a convention, that would imply a convention break-even cost of just .000034%. Thus, if a convention’s efforts at improving democratic accountability reduced government waste by just .1%/year, that would result in a 292 times (29,200%) return on investment. And this, mind you, when the Gallup poll has found that Americans think their state governments waste 42% of every dollar spent.
So what’s the strategy used to justify discounting a convention’s potential benefits? The primary one is the claim that the legislature can do everything a convention can without those costs. But this is a bald-faced distortion of both the convention’s democratic design and purpose since Massachusetts pioneered the first convention in 1779. This convention featured independently elected convention delegates to propose constitutional changes followed by popular ratification because the people recognized their legislature would have a blatant conflict of interest designing its own powers and those of competing branches of government. This argument was so compelling that Congress soon mandated conventions for all new states.
Even in the current era of constitutional amendment rather than inauguration, the convention process remains, in most states, the legal gold standard for constitutional change-making. To take the extreme example, New Hampshire, which had 10 unlimited conventions during the 20th century, wouldn’t even allow the legislature to propose constitutional amendments until 1964. U.S. states have held 236 conventions.
More: RI lawmakers conclude final constitutional convention report
As evidenced by a 2023 University of Rhode Island poll that found only 10% of Rhode Islanders had a lot or great deal of trust in the state legislature, there remains a compelling reason for this institution, which, like the popular initiative available in 24 states, prevents the legislature from having monopoly power over constitutional change proposals. The preparatory commission’s just-released 2024 report has once again studiously ignored this legislature bypass purpose of a convention.
So the legislature’s taxpayer-funded obsession with a constitution’s cost should be called out as not only weird but biased to preserve its power at the people’s expense.
Rhode Island
3 keys to a Gopher win over the Rams and how to watch Saturday’s game
![3 keys to a Gopher win over the Rams and how to watch Saturday’s game 3 keys to a Gopher win over the Rams and how to watch Saturday’s game](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jvYpfueHJ4Vs6OXQM6Q5EyAKJL8=/0x0:5566x2914/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25606834/2168373094.jpg)
Week 2 of the season and the Gophers are hosting an FCS opponent to hopefully get right.
How to Watch
TV: Peacock
Time: 11:00
Stream: Peacock app
The Rams scored a game-winning touchdown with just 19 seconds left to secure their week 1 win over Holy Cross.
3 KEYS
- Change your best – No more stupid and timely mistakes. They’ve had 10 days to work things out and they need to play a much cleaner game.
- Win the line of scrimmage – Both lines need to be a force.
- Dominate third down – Defensively, get off the field. Get some confidence that they can make 3rd down stops.
OPPOSING PLAYERS TO WATCH
- #7 QB – Devin Farrell – The Ram’s new quarterback led the team in passing and rushing last week. This is the guy who the defense needs to limit. Worth noting that Farrell also had 4 fumbles last week, 3 were recovered by the offense.
- #8 LB – AJ Pena – Highest returning tackler from a season ago. Pena was third team All-CAA last year with 15.5 TFLs and 9 sacks.
PREDICTION
This is the “get right” game for the Gophers. Time to start working out the kinks, eliminate some of the mental errors and flex your Big Ten muscles over the FCS opponent.
With that said, PJ Fleck has a well-chronicled history of going vanilla in these games and making them much closer than they need to be. So be prepared to do a little sweating. Brosmer faced the Rams a year ago and threw for over 300 yards in an overtime loss. Don’t expect the loss or many passing yards.
Minnesota – 33
Rhode Island – 12
Rhode Island
Will the Gophers solve their Week 1 issues against Rhode Island? Randy Johnson’s prediction.
The Rams need to shorten the game by controlling the ball, force the Gophers into turnovers and make a play or two on special teams to put themselves in position for an upset. Instilling doubt in Minnesota’s mind would go a long way for Rhode Island.
The North Carolina game was an opportunity lost for the Gophers, mainly because they missed out on making a good impression with their fanbase to start the season. They can’t reverse that outcome with a win over Rhode Island. Instead, they need to be sharp in all phases to point themselves in the right direction. It would be surprising to see Taylor play in this game, so the Gophers will continue to develop depth behind him. On defense, expect much better tackling and a better pass rush against an overmatched opponent.
My expectation: The Gophers have more than enough talent to dominate Rhode Island — if they avoid the mental mistakes and frustrations that follow. Gophers 38, Rhode Island 13
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