Possible Republican gubernatorial primary?

The field of gubernatorial aspirants may expand again.

Rodolphe “Skip” Vallee , whose activism in the Republican Party included top party positions and a unsuccessful run for the state senate in 2000, is considering a run for governor.

Republican Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie has already announced his candidacy for the state’s top job. The 2010 race has attracted a lot of interest because Gov. Jim Douglas announced in the summer that he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Five Democrats have announced, too: Sen. Doug Racine of Richmond, Sen. Susan Bartlett of Hyde Park, Secretary of State Deb Markowitz of Montpelier, former Sen. Matt Dunne of Hartford, and Sen. Peter Shumlin of Putney.

Vallee has been on the political sidelines since returning a year ago from a two-year stint as U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia. Just after returning, he said, “I will not be running for anything.” Still, he admits he’s a political junkie and some friends have fed his habit. He’s been encouraged to run. “I went from no way to I’ll think about it,” he said Monday. “Yes, it is something I’m thinking about.”

“I like Brian, I respect him and he has won statewide four times,” Vallee said. Other Republicans who considered running backed off after Dubie announced, but Valle said, “It’s is the people of Vermont who make these sorts of decisions.”

In other words, political parties shouldn't automatically shy away from primary elections. Ideally, Vallee said primaries focus voters’ attention on ideas, not personalities and help the prevailing candidate hone a campaign that can be victorious in November.

“Skip is a friend and he and I have been talking,” Dubie said Monday. “We will keep talking.” Meanwhile, Dubie said, “The best thing I can do is focus on building a campaign.”

As to the pros and cons of a Republican gubernatorial primary, Dubie said, “This is a democracy.”

So when will Vallee decide? “If you are a serious candidate,” he said, “you have to get your act together by the beginning of the year.”

— Nancy Remsen

Here’s what Dubie would have said

It would have been fascinating to watch five Democrats and Republican Brian Dubie interacting at last week’s gubernatorial forum. Dubie, however, couldn’t attend the event for all announced candidates for governor sponsored by the Vermont League of Conservation Voters, but he provided his answers Monday in an email.

He wrote:

“When I travel the state and listen to Vermonters, I hear an overwhelming sense of anxiety and concern for the economy and for job security in our state. We must focus our attention on jobs, the economy, and the sustainability of government. That does not mean we should turn our backs on the environment, but we do need to make sure that our approach to environmental protection is consistent with our economy and supports the needs of our economy. We can grow our economy — and protect our environment at the same time —- if we take a smart, balanced and sustainable approach to both.

• On permit reform : Vermont is competing with other states for jobs. The State of Virginia, for one, guarantees a 48-hour-turnaround permitting. The time and cost of permitting, the uncertainty, and frequently, the court costs associated with Act 250 are driving jobs to other states. We can’t to lose them, or the young Vermonters who will go where the jobs are. We must protect Vermont’s water, air and soil. We must protect what makes Vermont special. And we must do it better, quicker, and at a lower cost. I favor reforming Act 250.

• On water quality : We should continue to make cleaning up Lake Champlain a top priority, and continue to work with our congressional delegation to secure any federal funding that might be available. Lake Champlain and our other lakes and waterways attract millions of dollars to our state every year from tourists, sport fishermen, boaters and others. Along with our neighbors in Quebec and New York, we must continue to work on cleaning them up.

• On housing and conservation : In a year of tough choices, state funding for affordable housing and land conservation will have to be on the table, along with every other appropriation that the state has made in the past. Land conservation has been of great value to Vermont farmers, and has preserved a landscape that brings tourists to our state and makes our quality of life second to none. But with the drastic reduction in revenue we have experienced, it’s imperative that as a state, we first take care of those who need it most: our children, our neighbors and co-workers who live with disabilities, our elders, those who have lost jobs or are living on reduced incomes. It’s imperative that we maintain a safe transportation system. It’s imperative that we keep Vermonters safe from crime. It’s imperative that we are able to respond in times of disaster. For the foreseeable future, we’ll need to keep our priorities clear.

• On Vermont Yankee and wind : As long as Vermont Yankee is operating safely, consistent with Nuclear Regulatory Commission standards, and as long as it continues to yield low-cost, low-carbon power that keeps the lights on in the homes, schools, hospitals, milking parlors and workplaces of Vermont, it is reasonable to relicense the facility to run for another 20 years. I strongly support investing in the development and deployment of in-state renewable energy production. I also have a vision for expanding our clean electricity options by means of strategic transmission. Whether it’s in 2012 or in 2032, Vermont Yankee will close. We should be building our replacement energy capacity today.

More on what the Democrats did say

The forum sponsored by the Vermont League of Conservation Voters provided the first opportunity to see the five Democrats running for governor sitting side-by-side. The event tested each candidates political agility. Could they differentiate themselves while not disparaging their Democratic colleagues?

If you missed the event or want to relive it, you can watch here

• Housing and conservation : All five agreed on the importance of funding the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, but the competition was fierce to establish credentials for leadership and commitment.

Secretary of State Deb Markowitz , first at bat, had the disadvantage of no legislative record to spotlight to prove her support.

Sen. Susan Bartlett declared herself the foremost champion of the housing and conservation board in the Legislature by virtue of her position as chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She also invoked the name of former Gov. Howard Dean, saying he passed the mantel — champion of housing and conservation — to her.

Sen. Doug Racine , in a “top this” move, recounted how he helped write the legislation that established the Housing and Conservation Board in 1987. “What a wonderful program it has been.”

Sen. Peter Shumlin said Bartlett could thank him for being in a position to champion housing and conservation because he made her chairwoman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

Matt Dunne , a former senator from Windsor now at Google, suggested innovations in land conservation grew from conversations that took place at his father’s kitchen table. He came by his passion for conservation genetically, he said.

• On Vermont Yankee : The state’s aging nuclear power plant didn’t have friends among these candidates, as they weighed in on whether it should be relicensed.

Dunne, alone among the candidates, said the Legislature should vote soon on whether Vermont Yankee should continue to operate after 2012 when its 40-year-license to operate expires. The Legislature has given itself authority to decide the plant’s future.

“Every day that goes by that we are not clear about what we are going to do about Vermont Yankee is simply irresponsible,“ Dunne said.

Shumlin, by contrast, said the Legislature may not be able to vote this winter because lawmakers don’t have enough information. Running over his time limit, Shumlin outlined five concerns: questions about the reliability of the plant, mounting radioactive waste, insufficient guarantees about what will happen once the plant closes, lack of information about the future price of power from the plant, and uneasiness about owner Entergy’s plans to spin the plant off into a smaller company.

“I would vote no today,“ Shumlin said.

Racine said the pending decision was both financial and moral. He charged Entergy has given Vermonters no confidence it can operate the plant safely and he argued its power rates, whatever they turn out to be, would not include hidden costs for future generations.

“I see no reason to continue the operation of Vermont Yankee after 2012. Period,“ Racine said.

Bartlett said she’s asked for one good reason to vote to allow Vermont Yankee to continue to operate — but she hasn’t heard one yet.

Markowitz simply said, “Vermont Yankee is not part of our energy future. Our energy future rests with renewable energy and efficiency.“

— Nancy Remsen and Terri Hallenbeck

Health reform’s prospects

Washingtion D.C. is buzzing about the “second Louisiana Purchase,” the deal Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid made with Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana to win her support in Saturday night’s procedural vote to allow debate on a health care reform bill to begin.

Is the health care bill careening off the tracks or does it have a political future?

Vermont’s senators offer their perspectives:

• Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT : “When the Senate voted Saturday night to end the filibuster and let the debate begin on health insurance reform, it was by the narrowest of margins. When the debate itself begins after Thanksgiving, the way forward will be difficult, no question about it. Some will again say it’s impossible. Pundits have declared health reform dead several times by now. Yet it has advanced farther now than in any attempt in decades. If health reform was easy it would have been done long ago.

Much of what the public “knows” about the bill is inaccurate, fed by distortions, and worse, by defenders of the status quo. The longer this discussion has gone on, the more these myths have been shown up for what they are. So there is hope that support for reform will solidify in the weeks ahead. During the debate the bill also may change in ways the American people want it to change. For instance momentum continues to build for the amendment I will be offering to end health insurance companies’ antitrust exemption.

At its best, the Senate has been able to rise to the occasion to reflect the conscience of the nation. This, I hope, will be one of those times.”


• Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT : “This country faces a major health care crisis. With 46 million Americans uninsured, 45,000 dying each year because they don’t get to a doctor when they should, almost 1 million going bankrupt because of medically related bills and health costs scheduled to double within 8 years it is imperative that we pass strong health care legislation that will address these issues.

It is tragic that the disintegration of our health care system was virtually ignored by Bush during his 8 years, while the Congressional Republicans today are playing an obstructionist role by filibustering every piece of major legislation. This leaves the 60 Senators in the Democratic Caucus. It is my intention to do everything I can to see that a strong bill is passed which provides universal coverage in a cost-effective way. This is going to be a very difficult, complicated and contentious process which I hope and believe will, in the final analysis, succeed.”

Labels: Bernie Sanders, Brian Dubie, Patrick Leahy, Skip Vallee

Nobody’s a spoiler under this scenario

Amidst all the talk about who is running for what as a result of Gov. Jim Douglas’ decision not to run for re-election, there were some missing voices — Progressives.
Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, took time from the harvest at his farm to give voice to his political aspirations. He’s considering a run for lieutenant governor or state senator from Chittenden County.

Here’s the twist. If he runs for lieutenant governor, he would run in the Democratic primary.
Before Douglas dropped his political bombshell, Zuckerman said he was only thinking about a senate run. Now he, like about everyone else with political ambitions, is thinking bigger.
Zuckerman said running in the Democratic primary would be a way to eliminate what he considers a chronically unfair accusation that Progressives who run in statewide races are spoilers. He would use the election system — with its primaries — to solve the dilemma.
“I feel in order to remove the angst of the three-way race, let the voters decide,” Zuckerman said. “I would hope I could earn, have earned the support of Democrats.”

Zuckerman is currently testing the political interest in this idea. “I haven’t heard anyone say if you do that you are selling out the Progressive Party,” he said.

Under the scenario he’s floating, if he won the Democratic primary next September, he would ask Progressive Party members to nominate him at their candidate — assuming someone else wasn’t already running as the Progressive candidate for lieutenant governor. He said he would want to be listed on the ballot as a P/D.

“If I go this route, it would an attempt to build a bridge,” Zuckerman. He would be trying to bridge some of the bad feelings that have developed as Progressives and Democrats have vied for many of the same voters.

Zuckerman said it will be well into October, if not November, before he would make a decision about running for lieutenant governor in 2010. He’s not worried that putting off his decision for the next month would be a disadvantage, he said.

“I think any number of people could jump in during the next eight to ten weeks and I don’t think anyone would have an advantage raising money or building support,” he said.
— Nancy Remsen

Tea anyone

Perhaps you heard reports about the Tea Party March in Washington D.C. Tea was served in Vermont, too. Here are some excerpts from an account of Vermont events by Jon Wallace of Rutland, state Tea Party coordinator.

“The rain held off, and even the sun broke through at times on Saturday, Sept. 12, as hundreds of passionate patriots assembled in Manchester, Burlington, St Albans and Rutland for sign-waves and marches. Following the local events, many Tea Partiers hopped in their Tea Party decorated cars, and formed caravans, which then proceeded to Montpelier for the Tea Party 9/12 March.”
Wallace noted the marchers got a surprise when they began assembling on the steps of the Statehouse. A security guard said they couldn’t hold a protest without a permit.

“We are not here protesting, we are here celebrating the United States of America,” Wallace said he replied. Wallace’s account notes that the group stayed put, sang God Bless America, recited the Pledge of Allegiance twice, thanked veterans for their service and got down to talking about the issues that brought many to the rally — health care reform and big government.
Organizers identified two bills pending in the Vermont Legislature that would establish government-run health care which drew crowd disapproval, Wallace reported.

The Tea Party organization is trying to awaken citizens to their responsibility to act.

“The day was a success as there were many new faces,” Wallace said. In contrast to some reports about the palpable anger at the Washington march, Wallace wrote, “The attitude of the crowd was ultimately positive and hopeful. ... Many expressed gratitude to the organizers, for they felt that they now had a way to become politically active. Previously, they felt ideologically isolated, therefore politically frustrated, and disenfranchised and unempowered.”
— Nancy Remsen

Reading tea leaves

James Haslam, director of the Vermont Workers’ Center, says Tea Parties are misreading the tea leaves on health care reform — at least in Vermont.

“In 2008, the Vermont Workers’ Center conducted personal interview health care surveys with over 1,500 Vermonters,” he said. The results: “Over 95 percent of those asked believed that health care is a basic human right.”
— Nancy Remsen

Checking the pulse of health care reform

So the weekend talk shows in Washington have aired, President Barack Obama has delivered another health care pep talk and Tea Party protesters took to the streets to complain about health care reform.

How does Vermont’s trio in Congress see the chances for health reform now?

Rep. Peter Welch, D-VT: “In his address to Congress last week, President Obama made a strong case for the urgency and necessity of reforming the nation’s health care system. He echoed what I heard from Vermonters throughout August: that Congress must focus on providing security and stability to those who have health insurance and extending access to those who don’t. In the coming weeks, I am optimistic we will pass a bill that will protect families and businesses from insurance company rip-offs, extend coverage to 37 million Americans, and provide more choice to Americans by creating a strong public option.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT: “As the president mentioned, it is an international embarrassment that the United States remains the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all of its people, while spending almost twice as much per capita as most other nations. If we do nothing, as many Republicans suggest, the cost of health care in this country will double in the next eight years. I intend to do all that I can to see that a strong and meaningful health care bill is passed.”

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT: “Uneasiness about reform understandably has grown over the last few months while congressional committees have struggled to draft their various proposals. With no complete bill to debate, the discussion has drifted, and some partisans have also stepped into the void to stir people's worst fears. You wouldn't know from the headlines that many of these reforms have had significant support on both sides of the aisle. It's worth keeping in mind that as popular as Social Security and Medicare are today, there was strenuous opposition to them at the time.

“Soon there will be real legislation on the table. That will not completely reset the framework of this debate, but it will help anchor the debate in real facts. That goes as well for the idea of a public option, which I strongly support.

“Health insurance reform would have been done long ago if it were easy. The President says he expects that Congress will pass health insurance reform by the end of this year. That seems like too ambitious a goal to some, but I believe it's a realistic one.”

Dubie as peacemaker?

Some might have expected an announcement last week, but Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, the Republican to whom other Republicans are deferring before making their own decision on whether to run for governor in 2010, says it will not come until perhaps next week. He’s visiting Alaska this week to see how turbines made by Northern Power Systems of Barre are working.
Dubie indicated last week, however, that his prospective campaign strategy will be to cast himself as the peacemaker at a time when peace needs to be made. (Think budget stalemate, vetoes, veto overrides).

“One thing is clear – the status quo of the relationship between the Legislature and the governor is not acceptable,” he said.

— Terri Hallenbeck

Roar of the crowd

From the Free Press online story chat on Auditor Tom Salmon’s switch last week from Democrat to Republican party:

bfpcommenter: “After the past 2-3 sessions I would want to be running as a republican , even in VT. Between Shumlin, Smith, and Symington it will be a wonder if the libs even have a majority in the Statehouse. If they do, we will know for sure that VTer’s vote solely based on party.”

proudvter: “This is all about positioning. Dubie will make a run for Gov. and Tommy will try to jump in Dubie’s LT Gov. seat. Just a guess, but the Dem. side of the house knows there are a number of far left groups that always interfere with the dems trying to get into the Gov’s office. Tommy, being a “conservative dem“ sees his opportunity and I am sure he has talked with Dubie about the future. Just my guess. Any other guesses?”

Labels: Bernie Sanders, Gov. Jim Douglas, Jim Haslam, Jon Wallace, Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, Patrick Leahy, Peter Welch, Rep. David Zuckerman, Vermont Tea Party

Sen. Bernie Sanders has put out a booklet of stories from around the country about health-care coverage woes.


"It is my intention to read some of these letters on the floor of the Senate. Every American needs to hear what’s going on with health care in this country," Sanders said.

Some samples:


"My younger brother, a combat decorated veteran of the Vietnam conflict, died three weeks after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He was laid off from his job and could not afford COBRA coverage. When he was in enough pain to see a doctor, it was too late. He left a wife and two teenage sons in the prime of his life at 50 years old. The attending doctor said that if he had only sought treatment earlier he would still be alive.
Jim,
Swanton, Vt.

"My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 22, just when she was finishing college and launching into her own life to be self-supporting. Not only was she unable to find a job that included health benefits; she could not make enough to pay the enormous cost of daily care and regular visits to a doctor in order to learn how to control this life threatening condition. As a result she put her expenses for diabetes on her credit care and soon found herself with an unpayable balance of over $14,000 with over 20 percent interest added. She became depressed and overwhelmed and said to me sadly, "Mom, I know they will never find a cure for diabetes in my lifetime because they make too much money on supplies and treatment."
Marilyn,
West Halifax, Vt.


"For 15 years, my wife and I were self-employed as craftsmen, making jewelry for our own business. One of the biggest problems we had to deal with was affording health insurance for ourselves and, later, our son. Now, we have been forced to abandon this business partially due to insurance costs, and I do not think that it is possible for us to restart it with the current system of health care. "
Randall,
Sharon, Vt.

Will it be effective?

- Terri Hallenbeck

Labels: Bernie Sanders, Congress, health care, politics, vermont legislature