vt.Buzz ~ a political blog

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

11.20.2008

Speaking for the gov

Gov. Jim Douglas is expected to announce tomorrow who will do the talking for him now that Jason Gibbs will be out talking to the trees.

Gubernatorial staffer Heidi Tringe says it isn't her. She will, however, have the new title of secretary of civil and military affairs, a ceremonial title Gibbs has most recently claimed.

Perhaps that means Douglas brings someone new into his cozy circle or reaches from just outside the circle.

It probably doesn't matter to anyone else, besides Douglas himself and us in the media. He was pretty much lock-step in sync with Gibbs these last six years. I can recall maybe two or three times when Gibbs got in trouble with Douglas for saying something he should have.

It's got to be an adjustment to have someone new telling the world what you think, but Douglas is not the sort for reflection.

posted by vt.Buzz | 1:53 PM |

Comments:

It sucks when you get in trouble for saying something you should have.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:46 PM, November 20, 2008

What happened did Gibbs get caught telling the truth once or twice??

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:57 PM, November 20, 2008

My money is on Jim Barnett

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:38 PM, November 20, 2008

You'd think in an economic crises we couldn't afford to pay JIM's personal boot lappers to take a "ceremonial job"

JIM = JOBS for his crew of lackies.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:43 PM, November 20, 2008

In a time of severe economic crisis the best the dims can do is try to enact homosexual marriage! You don't think maybe that could wait a while?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 4:12 PM, November 20, 2008

"..It's got to be an adjustment to have someone new telling the world what you think, but Douglas is not the sort for reflection."

He's not the sort for thought, either.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 5:22 PM, November 20, 2008

Bubba, I guess you would rather the legislature close down every committee except the money committees (ala John McCain suspending his campaign to fix the economic crisis)in order to deal with the state's economic crisis.

The last time I checked the legislature was able to deal with more than one item at a time. (Gave you a soft ball there!)

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 5:26 PM, November 20, 2008

It was such a softball that it doesn't even deserve my efforts.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 5:48 PM, November 20, 2008

bubba...

"It was such a softball that it doesn't even deserve my efforts."

You haven't mustered so much as a foul tip since ya got here, bubbakis. You weren't gonna touch that one, either.

Always a pleasure.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 7:55 PM, November 20, 2008

Anonymous said...

"We already dis Coop"

Sure, ya do, little nameless-nitwit fella. Sure, ya do.

Let me get this straight, Terri, you've got no problem with anonymous trash posting my name and number and trashing my wife and kids all over the place, but you've got a problem with me calling these clueless cretins on their nonsense and the fact that they've got no factual support for their delusional dreck.

Interesting priorities ya got there.

Tell ya what, Terri. If you've got evidence of me posting the name, address and phone, repeatedly trashing them and their family members by name while offering google map directions to their homes of any poster - named or nameless - without their authorization, feel free to present it and I'll stop posting right now.

Always a pleasure.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 8:15 PM, November 20, 2008

"Let me get this straight, Terri"

This guy posts so indiscriminately that he can't even keep the post he's commenting on straight.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:37 PM, November 20, 2008

"Let me get this straight, Terri"

"This guy posts so indiscriminately that he can't even keep the post he's commenting on straight."

Which leaves you another anonymous nitwit with bupkis, little fella.

Congrats.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 10:44 PM, November 20, 2008

we as Vermonters have got so much bigger problems - gay marriage has got to wait. I am not oppossed to gay marriage but I am oppossed to it chewing up all of the legislative session so that legislators don't have to deal with the tough problems.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:59 AM, November 21, 2008

This is what dims do - in Vermont AND on the national level. Pick something they think the majority is for - in Vermont, homosexual "marriage" is easy because of the type of people that have moved here the last dozen or so years. On a national level, Obama refuses to get involved in any serious issue, like during the entire campaign - just blame GW for everything and don't take on a stand on bailouts and the economy which SHOULD be the number one problem! The minute a dim is confronted with a problem - he suddenly realizes no matter what is right, he has to take the side of those that paid to get him there. This is why they will ONLY criticize the managers of the big 3 (deservedly) and look the other way when the union hogs say they're NOT going to cooperate!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:41 AM, November 21, 2008

I favor gay marriage but feel it should be left to the voters.

There are much more important matters the kids in Montpelier need to attend to.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:14 PM, November 21, 2008

Autoworkers make $28.00 an hour. How much do stock brokers make? I'd be careful who I called "hogs."

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:18 PM, November 21, 2008

WCAX: "Former AIG CEO may purchase Stowe Mountain Resort."

Maybe Bubba ought to aim his envy in that direction and leave autoworkers trying to make a living alone.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:26 PM, November 21, 2008

Big three autoworkers average $73 an hour. Auto workers for Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Hyundi average $43 an hour. When you are making $73 an hour, your company is collapsing, your management is forced to cut back, and you are begging for tax dollars from people making a fraction of what you "earn", and you say "to hell" with any concessions on your part, yes indeed, you ARE a bunch of HOGS!!!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:44 PM, November 21, 2008

Wrong. The actual number is $28 an hour.

"when you are begging for tax dollars from people who make a fraction of what you 'earn'.....
Guess that puts Wall Street in its place, doesn't it.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:05 PM, November 21, 2008

Anonymous...

"WCAX: "Former AIG CEO may purchase Stowe Mountain Resort."

Well, now that shrub has given AIG 85 billion with no strings attached, they're feelin' flush and are in good shape to buy their own distressed assets back for pennies on the dollar.

Such a deal.

"Maybe Bubba ought to aim his envy in that direction and leave autoworkers trying to make a living alone."

That's just not gonna happen.

You're askin' bubbakis and reality to occupy the same space and peacefully coexist.

That's like matter and anti-matter occupying the same space.

No can do. You're messin' with the fundamental nature of the universe.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 2:50 PM, November 21, 2008

Anonymous said...

"I favor gay marriage but feel it should be left to the voters."

Ah, the old Barry Goldwater "I'm not racist, but it should be up to the white people of Mississippi to decide whether they should be allowed to vote and drink from white folks' water fountains." song and dance.

It's easy to be patient with the civil rights of other people, little fella. After all, it's no skin off your back.

Besides, this "let's wait, talk tough, do as little as possible, hope the problem goes away and blame it on the Dems when it doesn't" approach of the doogie/dubie debacle mismanagement of this matter ain't gettin' the job done here any more than it is with their mismanagement of the state's infrastructure, education, health care and the economy.

Clearly, doogie's not gonna be content until he runs Vermont into the ground the way his boy shrub has run the Country into the ground in every conceivable way.

What's more, Doogie's "we need to focus exclusively on the economy is as lame and ludicrous as Mcsame's claim to "suspend" his campaign, call to cancel the first debate and take the scenic route back to DC to grandstand and pretend to focus exclusively on the economy at the expense of all other issues.

John Adams could get from Boston to DC quicker than McCain could get from DC from New York.

The Legislature can handle a number of issues at the same time.

The fact that doogie can't only serves to illustrate the point that he's got no business continuing to set up shop in the Pavilion and continue gummin' up the works in Montpelier than shrub does in DC.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 4:50 PM, November 21, 2008

To the poster at 2:05 - where do you get the figure of $28 per hour for UAW workers? Proof please!

In advance, I thought so.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 6:56 PM, November 21, 2008

And where's your $73/hr figure comin' from, bubbakis - the empty boxcar between your ears?

That's what I thought.

No matter what the topic, no matter what the issue, you'll never go broke bettin' on bubbakis and his coalition of the clueless comrades havin' bupkis.

Bubbakis, the next evidence you produce and the next thought you have will be your first.

Always a pleasure.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 7:14 PM, November 21, 2008

According to Forbes business magazine:
For the year 2006, average wages and benefits per hour:

Ford: $70.51
GM: 73.26
Chrysler 75.86
Toyota/Honda/Nissan $48.00

Your welcome. Anything else?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 7:57 PM, November 21, 2008

bubba...

"According to Forbes business magazine:
For the year 2006, average wages and benefits per hour:

Ford: $70.51
GM: 73.26
Chrysler 75.86
Toyota/Honda/Nissan $48.00

Your welcome. Anything else? "

Actually, that would be you're welcome, bubbakis.

You're welcome.

Gee, Forbes Magazine, eh? How could anyone possibly question the validity of stats plucked from the rag of some goofy schmuck who ran two or three times - unsuccessfully - as a gop-slime candidate for President only to get smoked every last time no matter how much he tried to buy the nomination.

He not only couldn't beat shrub, he couldn't even beat shrub's daddy or bob dole for cryin' out loud.

Think of a butt-ugly mittwit romney without the Mormon thing who's almost as dumb as shrub and made his money the old-fashioned way. He inherited it.

And they wonder why the gop-slime gang's on the ropes.

Good thing Obama named a Treasury Secretary today or the DOW would still be nosedivin' straight to gop-slime hell and another Depression, little fella.

Ya know, you can start tryin' any time now, bubbakis. I've had plenty of BP.

Always a pleasure.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 8:25 PM, November 21, 2008

Bubba:

That's wages and benefits, not wages.
and the benefits include retirees benefits, calculated to represent current auto workers salaries plus benefits. Not quite what you were claiming is it? A little Republican manipulation of the facts.

Actual wages seen by autoworkers: $28.00 per hour.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:33 PM, November 21, 2008

Calculated: all wages paid plus all benefits paid (including retiree benefits) and averaged out per current worker.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:51 PM, November 21, 2008

That should read retiree (singular) benefits.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:57 PM, November 21, 2008

Don't confuse the whacks with the facts.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 11:11 PM, November 21, 2008

jw and his new lil' buddy don't like facts because they come from Forbes! How about some FACTS (and source) refuting them, lil' idiots?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 7:30 AM, November 22, 2008

In other words, bubbakis, you want us to disprove what you've yet to prove in the first place.

Nice try.

Ya want us to prove that the cow didn't jump over the moon and the dish didn't run away with the spoon now, too, bubbakis.

Don't go changin'.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 7:42 AM, November 22, 2008

As I expected. No, I just want the likes of you to dig into your vast vault of facts and enlighten us as to what UAW workers at the big three make in wages and benefits, for say, 2006. And please don't use the "Doug Hoffer" book of "convenient statistics to be used when trying to prove an unprovable point"!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:35 AM, November 22, 2008

Bubbakis, let me try to explain it to ya again.

Ya didn't prove anything. There's nothing to disprove.

I'm not gonna swing the bat until if you're gonna keep throwin' the ball over the backstop.

Always a pleasure.

# Posted by:

JWCoop10 | 10:35 AM, November 22, 2008

Bubba:

Where are the complaints on the CitiCorp bailout? A sweet deal for them--no executive changes required just somewhat of a limit on compensation--and more in the future?
And they didn't even have to board the corporate jet to get it.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:41 AM, November 24, 2008

There SHOULD be limits on compensation for all employees of ANY company begging for bailouts. As much as I hate it, the survival of financial institutions is NECESSARY for the country. Without loans, businesses and every one else will go belly up. As for car companies - it hurt when St. Johnsbury Trucking Company went bankrupt but people survived. Same goes for FORD, GM, or Chrysler.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:04 PM, November 24, 2008