Before we all move much farther into the future, we’ll undoubtedly have a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and a Republican candidate for Congress.
Neither of those races are easy sells to anyone who actually wants to win.
I would not be going out on any limb to say first-term Democrat Peter Welch will be tough to beat for Congress. Even Republican state Rep. Rick Hube of Londonderry locked arms with Welch at a recent local event and praised him so much to make one do a double-take.
In a recent e-mail newsletter, Hube said:
"As a state, we are very lucky to have Peter Welch as our representative in
Washington. His ability and willingness to work with others brings a different
style of politics to Washington - a Vermont approach. It is this approach that
will ultimately make our state and our country a better place to live, work and
raise our kids."
Republican Gov. Jim Douglas, at his news conference today, said he thinks it’s important for a Republican to challenge Welch and that he expects somebody will. It’s good for democracy and good for Welch, he said. "He’ll do a better job if he’s tested."
As for Lt. Gov., Dems apparently have a candidate in the wings.
At the same time, one Democrat told me that beating Republican incumbent Brian Dubie could be harder than beating Douglas for governor. And here’s the argument why: The lieutenant governor casts almost no votes, and as such does nothing to anger anyone. An enviable position. Dubie also happens to be a likable guy who connects with a lot of people.
That’s not to say Democrats have no beefs with him. Party Chairman Ian Carleton, speaking the other day when it became clear Deb Richter would not run for the office, said the light guv should use the position to speak out on public matters, as Richter presumably would have tried to do with health care. "The real failure of Brian Dubie in that office is he hasn’t used the symbolic merits of the office to raise issues," Carleton said.
Last session, Dubie did speak up against decriminalization of marijuana, but it was a rare moment for him to take on a cause publicly.
To make the argument stick with voters, though, Democrats would have to prove that the raising of issues could be more than symbolic.
- Terri Hallenbeck
