vt.Buzz ~ a political blog

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

9.10.2007

Presidential visits

Interesting tidbit from Vermont This Week this past Sunday (or Friday depending on when you watched it). Rob Roper, chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, said he expected President Bush would not leave office without making a visit to the only state he has not yet visited - Vermont.

Roper quickly hedged his comments with the fact that no such visit is explicitly in the works, but the notion that Roper assumed he would visit caught fellow guests Ian Carleton, chairman of the Vermont Democratic Party, and Martha Abbott, co-chairwoman of the Vermont Progressive Party, by surprise.

The two of them would undoubtedly love for Bush to visit Vermont, stand arm in arm with Gov. Jim Douglas for all the cameras. You can bet that footage would roll all campaign long in 2008.

Which is why, if Bush makes a presidential visit to Vermont, I would bet it's going to be sometime between Nov. 4, 2008, and Jan. 20, 2009. Of course, there's also a chance it's not all that important to him to complete the set of 50 states he's visited as president.

- Terri Hallenbeck

posted by vt.Buzz | 10:24 AM |

Comments:

Douglas isn't stupid. He has a lot more to look forward to beyond '08, so it is highly unlikely that Bush will visit at all. If he does, it will at a time when Douglas is out of state.

Vermont Republicans do not share the values of George Bush and many of his cronies in Washington. Many Vermont Republicans feel betrayed by Bush's promises of moderation and bi-partisanship.

The Democratic party may be banking too much on the George Bush theme. It helped them in 2006, but Vermonters are getting a little tired of the same old rhetoric - they would rather talk about Vermont issues.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:59 AM, September 10, 2007

"Vermont Republicans do not share the values of George Bush"

So why does Rob Roeper and the Vermont Republican Party continue to support him and all of his positions???

Why don't they openly refute GWB's policies???

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:24 PM, September 10, 2007

Why won't the Democratic party talk about issues that affect Vermont?

I'm getting sick and tired of hearing about George Bush. We hear 10 times as much about Bush from the Vermont Democratic Party than the Vermont Republican Party.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:40 PM, September 10, 2007

Jim Douglas said last week that Bush's policies hurt Vermont -- so it isn't just the Democrats.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:26 PM, September 10, 2007

Douglas shouldn't be afraid to stand side-by-side with the moron he asked Vermonters to support in '00 and '04. This was Jimmy D's candidate of choice then, so why run away from that now. I'll tell you why. Because Douglas, Smith, Gibbs and the rest have no spine (or ideas for that matter). If Shrub does decide to pollute Vermont with an appearance, I hope Douglas will use the opportunity to openly question Shrub on the tax cuts he was railing about last week in the Argus and elsewhere. As for press coverage of such an event, were it to ever happen, would probably be limited to following Shrub while he visits a sugarhouse, then asking him how he liked Vermont maple syrup. That's it. That's all they would ask.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:56 PM, September 10, 2007

If Bush showed up in Vermont on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday, we might not even know he was here.

The owners and managers of media organizations in this state are so concerned with holding down costs that there are almost no journalists working on weekends. Bernie Sanders called a press conference on Labor Day, and only Peter Freyne and Brian Joyce of WCAX showed up - no Freeps, no Vt Press Bureau, no AP, no VPR, no WPTZ.

So Bush should make a sneak visit to Vermont on a Saturday evening sometime after November 2008.

Seriously, if Bush visits anyplace in Vermont it might be Norwich University - he likes speaking at military schools where the crowd can be controlled and protesters kept far away.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:05 PM, September 10, 2007

Yup,

Bush will do a touch and go on his way to a red state. We won't know he is coming and we won't know that he's been here until we read about it in USA Today.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:17 PM, September 10, 2007

No, he should show up at one of Matt Dunn's campaign stops - er... I mean Service Politics institute. Now that would be funny!

Dunn wouldn't be able to turn Bush away without making his farce look partisan, and the Bush Vermont photo-op would be with Dunn - not Douglas!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:21 PM, September 10, 2007

Why in the world would Bush want to visit a welfare state that hates him because he cut taxes (increasing revenues) instead of (like you-know-which-state) squeezing even more taxes out of the remaining productive people to feed the "entitlements now!!!" rabble? Maybe you leftists ought to visit a few red states and find out why Bush's poll numbers are so much higher than the morons in the dimocrat congress!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:28 PM, September 10, 2007

Hey - FYI - Lt Gov Duble and Senator Diane Snelling (both Rs) were invited.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:38 PM, September 10, 2007

But did you invite Bush?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:43 PM, September 10, 2007

The most incredible story that sort of sums up Vermont appeared in the Montpelier paper today. For some strange reason I used to thing handouts were meant for the old, children, and those that can't fend for themselves. However, the shining example used in the article were two slugs - one a law school graduate who just doesn't feel like working, and a union teacher who decided to stop working!!! And these freeloaders are getting on Catamount healthcare! Paid by the taxes of hardworking Vermonters! Go figure.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 5:46 PM, September 10, 2007

"Because Douglas, Smith, Gibbs and the rest have no spine (or ideas for that matter)."

This mindless attack has no relevance to any point you seemed to be making in your posting.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:30 PM, September 10, 2007

"Because Douglas, Smith, Gibbs and the rest have no spine (or ideas for that matter).

"This mindless attack has no relevance to any point you seemed to be making in your posting."

Actually I think the first half of this statement is right. Jim Douglas and his political hacks (Gibbs, Barnett, and Lunderville) all publicly supported Pres. Shrub.

Now with his poll numbers having gone way south and with some of Shrub's rules being implemented, Douglas is trying to hide as far away from Shrub as he can.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 7:49 AM, September 11, 2007

Bush at a Matte Dunne campaign stop - now that is just pure entertainment!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:24 AM, September 11, 2007

"Douglas is trying to hide as far away from Shrub as he can"

Hence, no spine... Duh.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:47 AM, September 11, 2007

Let's all invite Bush to the next "service politics" event - fantastic!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:59 AM, September 12, 2007