The Betrayal of Dr. Dan

Dr. Dan Harrop

At first, one could argue that Dr. Dan Harrop’s decision to
donate money to the Elorza campaign was a last ditch effort to prevent Vincent “Buddy”
Cianci’s reelection as mayor of Providence. Of course, there were better means
of preventing a two-time felon from a third administration, like winning the
mayoral race. Despite one activist’s claim that Harrop didn’t have “a snowball’s
chance in hell”, US Senate candidate Mark Zaccaria remarked that Harrop could win
with one third of the votes plus one.

US Senate Mark Zaccaria
suggested that Harrop had a chance of winning

Did Dr. Dan’s decision have the best in mind for Providence,
or did he plan early on to violate his Hippocratic Oath, and become a hypocrite
to the cause early on? There were some rumblings of personal investments and other
colluding implications that Dr. Dan was plotting, but for now, I am not
interested in digging the dirt. I consider the implications of a Republican
candidate on a big ticket seat, the chief executive of the state’s largest city,
then double-dealing his label and his supporters with a $1,000 donation to the
Democrat.

Jorge Elorza
Got $1,000 from Dan Harrop

For the record, I
had written a strong endorsement of this candidate, detailing how a psychiatrist
could diagnose the mental complaints afflicting the capital city: “Dr. Dan: The Right Prescription for
Providence”. A flight of fancy, I enjoyed writing it, and I am glad that
readers in Rhode Island got a kick out of it, too, including many of his
supporters, the same people who must feel an incredible degree of betrayal.

Surprisingly, Harrop’s comments from our last interview indicated
a long-term vision for the party:

I believe in the
Republican label, I believe in the national label.

I believe in their
principles above the Democratic Party.

Really?

He did not expect to win, he then told me, but hoped to
bring up the GOP ticket throughout Rhode Island:

I expect to lose. I am
promoting our principles. I am helping to organize Republicans. If the state
candidates can get 25% of the vote in Providence, they can win. We just cannot
let it go.

Now, they have nothing to hold onto. One source informed me that Republicans are quitting the party
because of these shenanigans. How can anyone look at other Republican
candidates with any seriousness if they see the famous Dr. Dan, the founder of
the Roosevelt Society, throwing away his campaign with a hand-out to the Dems?

There is something devastating about a candidate who has
been anything but candid about his intentions. This affair reminds me of a
psychiatrist who listens to his clients’ woes in the day, then sings songs
about their pains to sold-out crowds at night. This psychiatrist needs a
check-up from the neck-up, or something deeper. This move hurts everyone.

Another conservative activist was livid, but without the
screaming:

He is just making a
mockery of the whole process. This campaign is like a joke to him. He acts like
he is playing in a playground. But there are plenty of people who take this
election seriously.

Harrop’s backdoor donation is worse than Operation
Plunderdome. Despite the revelation of that scandal, everyone knew that Cianci
had a seedy past, and at least Buddy 2.0 brought a Providence Renaissance to
the city. Harrop’s backroom dealing is worse than Speaker Gordon Fox’s office
getting raided by the FBI. Finally, Fox got fingered for possible corruption
(in addition to 38 Studios), and at least he stepped down (though he should
have resigned much sooner). Harrop’s backstab is betrayal. How many people were
vetting his candidacy or promoting his chances? The doctor owes at least an
explanation to his young Brown University charges. In Deo Speramus? Now they have nothing to hope in.

Brown University Memo

Harrop had even told me that his campaign was running parallel
(not contrary!) to Chairman Mark Smiley’s efforts to take back seats in the
General Assembly. Harrop crowed that his efforts in Providence would bring in votes
for statewide candidates, especially Mayor Fung, whose campaign he also claimed
to support. Disillusioned voters rarely turn out to vote. If this qualifies as
psychiatric help, I’ll take morning incantations or animal sacrifices instead.

What is the point of a political party when moderates,
Democrats in Elephant trunks, or self-serving misfits undermine the party
platform, the leaders, and especially the grassroots supporters who put their
time, energy, and money into propping up a long-shot campaigns? Harrop might as
well have beaten the RI GOP Chairman Mark Smiley over the head with a log
(except Buddy already did that to someone else, and won reelection a decade
later).

So much for Harrop
And these three qualities. . .

Forget the holy water, or the alcohol. Disillusioned stupor
is already in ample supply. When a crooked man steals, there is no surprise.
When someone inspires confidence in others to stump for his campaign, then
undermines it with a contrary donation, what’s the point?

In Dante’s Inferno,
traitors suffered the worst fate. Harrop has lost all credibility and future political
prospects: a fate worse than death for a politician. Still, does the Rhode
Island GOP deserve the same fate? And Providence still needs a mayor, not a convicted
felon nor an empty-slate Democrat.

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