This summer, I traveled to Rhode Island to write a story on Steve Laffey during his GOP primary challenge against Sen. Lincoln Chafee. Laffey told me that one of the experiences that helped make him a conservative was watching Free to Choose during high school–the teacher who made him watch it, in fact, was a campaign volunteer. Today, Laffey, who is the mayor of Cranston, issued this press release:
Cranston, RI – Mayor Laffey today ordered that Cranston flags be lowered to half-mast to honor the life of Nobel prize-winning economist, Milton Friedman, who passed away today at the age of ninety-four. The Mayor commented, “Milton Friedman’s belief that individual freedom should rule economic policy is inspirational to all of us who truly believe in the American Dream.” Mayor Laffey added that Friedman, “along with Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul, and of course, Ronald Reagan were all part of a team that brought us out of the global malaise of 1970’s and collectively – though in very different ways – contributed to the overwhelming victory of Democracy over Communism.”