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Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen


11.18.2006

 

Report from Progressive convention

Progressive candidates for assorted political offices recounted lessons and tales from the campaign trail Saturday at the Vermont Progressive Party Convention in Montpelier.

Marvin Malek, unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor, stole the show with his observations. Malek admitted he should have started sooner. A first-time candidate, he said he figured out how to distill his views for debates, radio talk shows and newspapers, but he couldn't get used to the self-promotion involved in running for office.

He said he had worn lots of buttons over the years in support of causes. "But this was the first time I was promoting a person and that person was me."

While promising to remain active on issues, Malek told the crowd, "Whether or not I can ever run again and indulge myself in this orgy of self-promotion -- I don't know."

Malek also had an interesting observation about his Democratic rival in the race -- Matt Dunne.

"What Matt Dunne systematically tried to do is not oppose me, but absorb me," Malek said. Remembering the Malek is a doctor is important context for the rest of his next remark. "I felt like a nutrient in a small intestine."

In other news from the convention, Rep. Chris Pearson of Burlington will be the chief spokesperson for the six-member Progressive caucus in the House. In his absence, Rep. Sandy Haas, P-Rochester, will act as caucus leader.

The party also recognized some folks who toil out of the spotlight. Elizabeth Skarie of Williston and Richard Kemp of Burlington were presented with the Party's Zilliacus Award.

-- Nancy Remsen

Comments:
Is this really news??

Leftstream
 
No, blogs aren't news.
 
Is it really true that the door prize at the Progressive Convention was a full scale replica of Tony Pollina's tin foil hat?
 
Was there any mention of the failure of the Progressives' much-ballyhooed "Legislative Strategy"? If they were Republicans or Democrats much more would have been made of it in the press. After all, they failed to pick up any seats in the House. Zero. Zip. Nada. And, for Progressives, they spent a lot of money. Is it possible that the Progressive Party, with all of its emphasis on party building over the past dozen or so years, has peaked? After all, Anthony is old news and even the "new" faces are beginning to look haggard around the edges. The only bullet left in the Progressive gun is Zuckerman, who can't get elected to statewide office, regardless of what he thinks he heard when he tested the wind for a Congressional race. The voices in that echo chamber all come from the same throats, repeating themselves over and over again, making the only wind he could have felt blowing his way. I will never understand why the Democrats gave him the bully pulpit of the Agriculture Committee. But that's a topic for another time.
 
Hey Tex,
How many seats did the Progs pick up in the legislature??
Just curious.
-Tin Man
 
The progs are always quick to blame others for their own failures.

They fail because there is no IRV. They fail because the "pols" were predicting a Democratic wave ... on and on with the excuses.

How about this: The Progs failed to pick up any seats (and again failed to win a single state wide election) because the voters rejected them.

It's the voters fault that the Progs didn't win. They chose to vote for other candidates.
 
At least Peter Welch can't screw us over at the state level anymore. Being one of 435 he'll really have to work at it.
 
High on bile and hate, short on facts ...
 
Givetexasback (great name, by the way) says, "Good for them (the Progressive Party) for providing Vermonters with another voice."

Yeah, it's another voice saying the same things that many other people within the Democratic Party are already saying. I love the idea of adding another voice to the political landscape. But if you're gonna have another voice, it should say things that other people or parties aren't saying. Especially if they're running against people with the same beliefs and positions. The Progressive Party I know used to do that. I'm not seeing them take leadership on controversial progressive issues. They seem to be playing it safe (and frankly boring). What issues did ANY of their candidates raise in the last election that no Democrat mentioned? None so far as I can tell. It's hard to distinguish them from the lefty Democrats.

What's the point anymore?
 
Spoken like someone who already has health insurance.
 
"It was an election year in which not a single pol refrains from calling it a Democratic wave."

A convenient label for what was really an anti-Republican wave. It was a breathless, unquestioning swing to the left. It's astounding that the P's couldn't capitalize.

"The progs are always quick to blame others for their own failures."

I like how they disowned their poster boy Clavelle as soon as it became evident that he had botched Burlington's pension situation and then quietly failed to fund it. Real classy.
 
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