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


6.13.2008

 

On the road again

Next Wednesday, Gov. Jim Douglas will launch his re-election campaign with an "every county counts" tour. He'll hit about half the state Wednesday (the southern half) then cruise through the rest, winding up in St. Albans for a barbecue.

Dennise Casey, his campaign manager, wanted something other than the customary balloon decorated rally to kick off Douglas' fourth run for governor.

Hope the campaign coffers are full, but a state tour is costly these days. Of course, Progressive Anthony Pollina and Democrat Gaye Symington, his challengers, also took to the road. It's hard to get face time with Vermonters without driving around, but yikes that's going to hurt when they pull up to the gas pumps this summer and fall.

Years ago, when I was a reporter in Maine, Republican Bill Cohen donned jeans and a blue workshirt and "walked" around that state's giant second congressional district to meet voters. Cohen would serve first in the U.S. House of Representatives and then the U.S. Senate. Walking worked for him. Trekking around that district, by the way, makes walking Vermont look like a stroll in a pocket park.

So how about it gubernatorial candidates? Up for some walking? Some bike-riding?

-- Nancy Remsen

Comments:
Which number will be higher ?
------------------------------
How many ribbons can he cut per hour?

How many people does he talk to that do not represent IBM, Entergy, Realtors Ass. or some other large scale?

What time in the morning doe he have his discussions with "Vermonters" ?"

But hey if Vermont wants to have a governor who openly supports the failed agenda of the Bush Republicans, and be proud of picking a "winner", and have stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom in which discussions with the President revolved around UVM basketball, and not the fact that Vermonters can't afford health care, food, fuel, or I dying in a war based on lies, then we are doomed.

A man who supports this President and is proud of it while at the same time is manipulating and distorting the needs of Vermonters does not deserve to be Governor.

Send DoesLess back to Middlebury where the only government function he is allowed to do is to speak in his monotone screech during town meeting day.
 
Jim Douglas spends more time talking to ordinary Vermonters in one week than Howard Dean did in a year. Dean rarely left Chittenden or Washington Counties except to campaign.
Do you want to go backwards to the Dean days? Dean is the one who brought us Act 60. Now we pay $1.3 billion for education when at the time of Act 60 the education budget was $600 million and 14% MORE students. Dean also put requirements on private insurance companies that made it unprofitable so they all moved out of the state and now we cannot afford health insurance.
NO THANKS- let's move forward with Jim Douglas, not backwards.
Douglas/Dubie08
 
Douglas talks to average Vermonters, goes and washes his hands, then heads to his palatial house on the Vineyard for wine and cheese. He's got as much in common with everyday Vermonters as any other flatlander. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can always fool people who take gladhanding seriously, which, it appears, NEK does.

As for Casey's grand idea, what a crock. Take you all night to think of ditching the balloons little two "n's?" What a novice.
 
Symington for Governor
 
POLLINA!
 
Symington is stuck in neutral. She's the crock. Explain just what she did to move Vermont forward during her term as Speaker? Did she answer Vermonters cry for tax relief? Did she answer Vermonters cry for lower energy costs? Did she answer Vermonters cry for lower health care costs? Did she answer employers cry for lower workers comp rates. NO, NO, NO As I said before she and Shumlin are the crocks (and crooks) What a sorry excuse for a "leader"
 
Jim Douglas has no vision, lacks leadership, and sticks to party mantra.

If you want to know why the Vermont statehouse became so partisan, follow the playbook the GOP used when they took power in 1994!

It all changed with in 2000 with teh civil union debate and then when Walt Freed and Jim Douglas took control in 2003.

The Vt GOP and Jim Douglas are rudderless and bankrupt of any real ideas - just rhetoric to be re-elected!
 
Where the hell are the ideas from Symington? None, I thought so.
 
Very interesting -- since you can't refute the previous blog - you attack Symington.

Douglas is a waste of a good mind!
 
Symington and Douglas did have one good idea; close the captial gains loophole and generate $20+ million for Vermont. Then for some odd reason, both turned tail and ran away from the idea. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. Rich friends carry big sticks and have deep political pockets. Who is for the average Vermonter?
 
And what ideas did Symington have?
I recall the focus last Jan for the legislature, particularly the majority party was to: 1. develop an energy plan; 2. affordable housing; 3.property tax reform; 4. create jobs; 5. health care; 6. transportation/infrastructure
Not many bills were introduced to address these issues except a couple energy bills and the creation of another efficiency staff that should help but at a cost. When bills were passed and subsequently vetoed, Shumlin & Symington couldn't rally enough support to override them.
Douglas addressed some of these issues in his stimulus package only after the majority party came up with NO ideas of their own.
 
Symington is stuck in reverse
 
To NEK...

Let's look at your list:
1)Develop Enegy Plan: Accomplished!
2)Affordable Housing: Accomplished!
3)Prop Tax Reform: Not
Accomplished! However, by NOT
approving some of the Governor's
budget priorities, the
Legislature prevented a pass
thru' of local property tax
increases from the state.
4)Create Jobs: Accomplished!
5)Healthcare: Accomplished -
however not everything they
wanted to do.
6)Transportation/Infrastructure:
Accomplished!

As for the Governor's 15 pt stimulus package -- once the legislature vetted it and corrected or simplified, we passed a 26 pt package taking it beyond the Governor.

The Governor (as a former State Treasurer should have known better) actually proposed a plan to use the state pension retirement accounts that would have been blatantly illegal!
 
Just curious- can the state pension retirement plans be used and/or invested in VT in any way? I thought the highway was a good use for those funds- Vermonters investing in Vermont!
And I do agree Douglas should have known better if they aren't permitted.
 
BFP - you should make clear in your terms of service that if people are posting comments here on behalf of a campaign (i.e. they work for a campaign or a party), they should disclose that fact. A bunch of campaign types posting their well-researched talking points under the banner of "anonymous" does not pass the straight face test . . . and makes a mockery of this blog!
 
NEK,

The current school funding law was negotiated and signed by Jim Douglas.

Doubtful he would ever defend his own work though.
 
Symington is still stuck in reverse...Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
 
Yeah I agree with Anonymous 12:50p,

Rob Roper, Jason Gibbs, and Dennise Casey should not be allowed to use an anonymous label!
 
Gibbs is up to his eyeballs in Casey's civil and military affairs job duties. He can now only sleep six hours a day, instead of seven. It's tough. He is also responsible for spit shining Lunderville's wingtips. All that should get him a raise or something.
 
He is getting a raise - of about 7.5%. How does that compare with workers around the state?

This Civil and Military affairs position is a joke - this person affixes a seal on Governor's papers and is paid about $75K to do it.

Oh, the other part of the job is to KISS THE GOVERNOR's feet every day!
 
Gibbs is getting a 7.5% raise? In these tough economic times? I thought there was a freeze or something? This sounds like the governor is making sure his flock stays close, so he rewards them with cash. That's Douglas financial responsibility for you.
 
If this gentlaman was given a raise while my friends are losing their jobs, then there should be some kind of an investigation. How can a person find out if he did get a raise? Can anyone help me?
 
Anyone can ask the administration for it - it is public record!

In fact, if the Freeps was doing their job, they would have already done that!
 
NEK said...

"Jim Douglas spends more time talking to ordinary Vermonters in one week than Howard Dean did in a year. Dean rarely left Chittenden or Washington Counties except to campaign."

Really? And your evidence in support of your latest heapin' helpin' of horsebrithume is....?

That's what I thought.

So, now that you've established that your ignorant ass is in its usual caseless, clueless condition, is it now your clueless-cretin contention that there are no "ordinary Vermonters" living in Chittenden and Washington Counties, nekkie boy?

"Do you want to go backwards to the Dean days?"

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Can I Get a Witness!!

Lord, I must be livin' right to have enemies this fookin' stupid.

That's a good one, little factually-challenged fella.

Which part of the Dean Years did you find so intolerable, the peace or the prosperity?

"Dean is the one who brought us Act 60."

Yeah, just like Ike brought us Brown V Board, School Desegregation and the seeds of the Civil Rights Movement, nekwit.

Oy Gevalt! What a putz. Make an effort, moron.

Like Brown, Brigham brought an end to social injustice and educational inequality.

"Now we pay $1.3 billion for education when at the time of Act 60 the education budget was $600 million and 14% MORE students."

And are those conditions confined to the State of Vermont and nonexistent in all other States?

Has the cost of Education gone down during the six years of the jimi douglas experience?

Was the price of gas lower or higher during the Dean years or the Doogie years?

How long was No Child Left Behind in effect and unfunded during the Dean years compared to the Doogie Debacle?

That's what I thought.

Of course, it's not all Doogie's fault, nekkie boy. Despite a corrupt and incompetent gop-scum Congress for eight of his almost 12years in Office, at least Dean had Clinton in the White House. Doogie's been stuck with the incompetence of shrub and the same corrupt, criminally-inept, gop-scum for the first four of his almost six years in office.

Then again, what Schmuck's Reelection Campaign was Doogie the Vermont Chair for in '04 again, nekkie boy?

Oh, yeah. So much for that gop-scum get outta jail free card.

"Dean also put requirements on private insurance companies that made it unprofitable so they all moved out of the state and now we cannot afford health insurance."

Ya mean he actually made them pay benefits and charge premiums, too!

Those poor bastards. Gee, next thing ya know, they'll be prosecuting corporate corruption and putting white-collar criminals in jail.

Nice try, nekkie boy. Ya did the best ya could with the cards ya had but once again, you're dumb, you're scum and ya got bupkis.

Take it where the climate suits your sheet.

Always a pleasure.
Dismissed.
 
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