jvwalt Posts

The Democrats rule the Vermont Senate with a supermajority, and Republicans are hoping to win no more than two or three seats next year. So why have a few key Dems endorsed a Republican for one of the state's highest offices?

Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown is "testing the waters" for a run at one of New Hampshire's senate seat, but the campaign was stuck treading water at a recent stop on his Listening Tour. Watch the video after the jump for a hilariously awkward 57 seconds of political theater.

Vermont's first campaign finance reporting deadline has come and gone. And the big news — just about the only news of significance — is the size of Governor Shumlin's war chest: $1.7 million. While the majority of that money is leftover from his last breezy re-election, some of those moneys are from out-of-state donations.

There's a bill before the Vermont House to enact new ethical guidelines for state lawmakers, statewide officeholders, and appointed officials. H.846 would also create a state Ethics Commission and prohibit former public officials from lobbying the Legislature for two years after leaving state government.

Vermont Gov signed an executive order earlier this week for the creation of a Pathways Out of Poverty Council. Apparently no one looked at the acronym before announcing the $2 million commission to combat poverty in the Green Mountain State.

Global computer giant IBM — one of Vermont's largest private employers — was legally required to tell the state how many employees were laid off in the latest round of job cuts at Essex Junction. And it did so. Now, it doesn't want the American public to find out because that would be bad for business.

Yet another wave of layoffs hits IBM's domestic operations, and once again, the multinational corporation is being completely tight-lipped about the cutbacks. However, it is apparent that dozens of Vermonters (at least) have lost their jobs at Essex Junction. Alliance@IBM, a union group, estimates this week's layoffs at over 1,600 nationwide — and it expects the total to go higher.

The godless state of Vermont is gloriously headed for Hell in a sap bucket. The good folks at Gallup have confirmed what we all suspected to be true: Vermont is the least religious state in the union.

Neighbors asked police to do a welfare check on Davis after seeing him carry the rifle to his vehicle Sunday evening. Davis then voluntarily surrendered the gun, telling police he put it in the trunk of his car in order to bring it to a storage unit he recently rented. The weapon was in the case and there were two, 30-round, high capacity magazines loaded.

Your Secretary of State, Jim Condos, has released the numbers from an audit of optical scanning machines in four randomly-selected Vermont towns. And the results were rather strikingly precise (with one small caveat, which I will get to later): The machines were accurate to within a couple of votes in almost every case.

After spending most of this year siphoning money from Randy Brock's campaign to buy expensive out-of-state political consulting, polling, and advertising services, and to pay herself eight G's a month plus expenses, chief consultant Darcie Johnston has had an epiphany:
It's all about the data.

Yes folks, the French Toast Alert System may be on SEVERE, but vital services must be continued even in the face of the coming Disasterphecalypse. Like, er, this week's edition of Thumbs And A Poke. Truly an essential service.
Joe Benning and all the other political figures who plan to take down their campaign signs, lest they become sharp-edged Sandy-blown projectiles. As far as we know, Benning made the call first; but now, G...

When I saw the TV listing for today's "You Can Quote Me" on WCAX, I just knew I had to tune in. Kirstin Carlson's guests: VTGOP chair Jack Lindley and VT Dem chair Jake Perkinson.
Yes, you've heard of the Duel in the Desert... the Thrilla in Manila... the Rumble in the Jungle... well, now we have the Scuffle in the Studio. The Desktop Dustup. Or maybe the Melee on Teevee.
Actually, it was a reasonably civil affair. The guys stuck to their talking points, but tried to frame them in ways that seemed nonpartisan. They actually agreed on a couple of things, most notably the malign influenc...

It's getting to be a consistent pattern on the Republican side: violations of state election law, mostly having to do with disclosure requirements.
This past week alone, the VT Democratic Party has filed four complaints with the Attorney General's office. And unlike Republican charges, which come in the form of "raising concerns" or "asking questions," the Dems have specific evidence to support their charges.
The alleged Republican violations are technical in nature, but as Dem party chair Jake Perkinson pointed out, the laws "are not onerous or overly complex." It's Politics 101: You ...

ICYMI, there's a newly-released poll in the race for Treasurer. (It was conducted in late September, but was just made public.) The Vermont Press Bureau's Peter Hirschfeld has a short story, not paywalled, at the VPB website; and a more detailed story, paywalled, on the Times Argus website and in the Saturday paper. (Presumably in the Rutland Herald as well.)
The survey was done by Public Policy Poll...

When I wrote a couple of posts yesterday morning about Lenore Broughton, Wendy Wilton, and Vermonters First, I honestly thought it was a major story in the campaign. But as far as I can tell, there's been nary a ripple in the Vermont media. So I'm gonna give it one more try, and this time I'll start with the key points:
-- In the past two weeks, Lenore Broughton's Super PAC, Vermonters Fi...

Just a little Friday morning hate speech on WDEV's Common Sense Radio today. Conservatives getting all outraged over alleged examples of liberals intimidating them in tactics that always seem to remind them of Nazi Germany.
Things like yard signs getting knocked over.
Yeah, just like Hitler.
It all started with a caller, John from Barre, complaining about a couple of yard-sign incidents and how some Republicans felt intimidated by it. Let's make it clear, we're not in favor of yard-sign despoliation by anyone. But as far as I know, these things happen from time to time on both side...

Let's say you're part of a small but energetic movement. What's the best way to gain new adherents and political credibility?
If you said, "divide in two," DING DING DING.
We now have not one, but TWO faux-populist write-in campaigns for Governor.
The first is Annette Smith's Gathering Of The Aggrieved, her write-in candidacy opposing wind power, the F-35s at Burlington Airport, "forced vaccinations," EPA-mandated treatment of public drinking water, smart meters, "the school lunch program," and, eh, whatever else ya got.
Now we have an anonymous drive encouraging voters to writ...

Things are getting desperate on the Republican side of the campaign. We've got Wendy Wilton swinging and missing -- badly -- on a particularly baseless charge against Beth Pearce; and Randy Brock wanting to rifle through the state's files looking for anything he can use against Governor Shumlin.
First, Wilton. You may remember she was effectively blindsided in a debate on Monday, when Beth Pearce noted that Rutland had been returned to a bond-rating watch list. In June. WIlton's unfortunate response: "That's news to me."
Need I remind you that WIlton is Rutland's treasurer?
...

Oh boy. The conservative Super PAC Vermonters First has just filed another mass-media report with the state Elections Office. This time, $35,000 in TV and radio ads for Wendy Wilton, Republican candidate for Treasurer.
For those keeping score, VF has now reported spending $108,000 for WIlton's campaign -- in the last two weeks.
October 11: $30,000 for Wilton TV ads.

October 23: $43,000 for a Wilton mailer.

October 24: $35,000 for Wilton TV and radio ads.
That's a stunning number, and I'll have more commentary on it in an upcoming post. But for now, I'll mo...