Yes, the election ads are practically popping out of the TV, but what about the stack of campaign fliers filling up the mailbox? Five in today's mail alone, including one for a state House candidate I'm not eligible to vote for.
Today's Vermont Republican Party offering appears to be banking on the notion that former Gov. Howard Dean has lost some luster in his home state. The premise of the flier is that if we don't vote Republican, our values, our security, our wallets are in peril. It says:
"Don't let the liberals win. If you don't vote, liberals like Hillary Clinton,
Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, and Ted Kennedy will take over Congress. They'll
raise taxes, erode our values and make it easier for terrorists to attack
America."
That paragraph sits next to photos of the four. Dean's photo depicts him in the midst of his infamous Iowa scream.
At least some Vermont Democrats seem to be banking on the idea that Dean still has positive sway here. Scudder Parker and Matt Dunne, to name a couple, have been happily out campaigning with Dean. We haven't, however, seen Peter Welch or Bernie Sanders standing side-by-side with Dean.
Is it a case of the underdogs (Parker and Dunne) being willing to take their chances with Dean, while Welch and Sanders don't want to take the risk? Probably nobody polls Dean's favorability numbers in his own state anymore, but what's your guess? Liability or life line?
- Terri Hallenbeck
