Bait the Hook Douglas, Bait The Hook!!

Crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com

It should be of no surprise to anyone in the Green Mountains that our state is in economic trouble. For six years Jim Douglas has been at the helm, how we again elect a captain who cannot bait his own hook? That was a very telling moment on that riverbank when Douglas's own Fish and Wildlife employee had to bait his hook for him.

Did the state employee feel that his boss was unable or unwilling to bait his own hook? Did Douglas not want to dirty himself, but just enjoy some photo-ops with a rod in hand? This is again to me a central theme in the whole Jim Douglas theory of governing Vermont.

He sets himself to look like he's doing all these great things, when really he not accomplishing anything worthwhile. If our governor does not grasp the concept of baiting a hook for himself and searching out a fish, how good will he be at attracting new business? That's indeed the very thing Vermont must do, fish for some businesses to grow here, using incentives as our bait. Incentives to relocate here, expand, and grow their business here.

Again with the fishing analogies, but we also need a governor who knows what to do when s/he's got one on the line. They need to know how to finesse the fish into the net, so we don't go home empty handed. We need to work with businesses that are already here that we've "hooked". We need to keep them here, and help them to grow here. Their successes are our successes.

That's why Jim Douglas's failure to bait his own hooks makes me question his ability to lead Vermont through these troubled times. If he needs other people to do his work for him, why are we electing him in the first place? I understand delegating responsibility and such, but this is where the governor needs to rise to a leadership role.

The next governor of Vermont needs to say it's their responsibility to find work for Vermonters and they're not gonna rest till they do. That's not the vibe I get from Douglas when he has state employees bait his hooks for him. It's more like, I have people do my work for me so if they fail, the blame doesn't fall on me, and I can point fingers elsewhere.

Democrats For Douglas

Crossposted at www.greenmountaindaily.com

Now that I've got your attention, this little ad on the TV has me ammused. This is not the first time we've seen this ad, with the very same people. It's the one he uses campaign cycle after cycle, and to effect. It's not an attack ad, nor is it negative really. Kind of a neutralizer ad suggesting the democrats may not fully support their candidate.

I must say hands down this is my favorite go to tool in the whole Douglas Campaign re-election chest. It's predictable, we see it campaign after campaign. But my question to Governor Douglas is that are we to think the ad's still current? I mean here we are a couple years later, has their opinion of Douglas not to have changed? How will these "democrats" vote this election cycle?

To me it's kind of reminiscint of the whole Douglas theory of governorship; take old ideas, give them a new spin, repackage it, and sell it to the people as what they need. I'm not buying it, it's a rope a dope, a shell game. Watch one hand while the other does what it wants.

He's had a fair shake at being Governor of Vermont, what has he really done for us? Sure, he can point fingers and blame everyone but Douglas, but is that moving our state forward? Are any of us better off now than we were before he became Governor? We need to think about this dearly as we vote for the next governor.

I still don't know how this election will playout with the record turnout predicted. It's quite possible that a vote for anyone other than Douglas, may do nothing but help Douglas out. It's a sticky situation. If the election gets tossed to the legislature, a majority of Vermonters would have not voted for Douglas, but he'd be the candidate with the most votes. This would mean Vermonters wanted a new governor, but were unsure of who among the other candidates.

What would the legislature decide? Boy, that's a whole other can of worms, makes who you vote for this fall awfully important. Lots of things to think about in the weeks leading up to the election.......

Poop Or Get Off The Pot Already!!

Well it’s getting down to that time in this election cycle that I’m sick of it. All the candidates do is spend their time attacking each other. This other candidate is worse than me because…. This is not constructive, nor does it do our state, or nation’s history the justice it deserves.

Where is the change? Where are the plans to help Vermonters and Americans live out and afford their lives? Where is the foresight to say this is the future we want to have and these are the steps we’re going to take to get there?

Another election, another disappointment. Are there no great people or do great people not run for public office? We live in argueably the best state, in the best nation in the world. Why the negativity? Our fate is not pre-determined. In the words of Tom Petty, “the future’s wide open.”

Vermonters, Americans have persevered. No matter how bad things have been, we’re still here. We’ve banded together before and overcome obstacles. New Hampshire Grants, Independence, statehood, civil war, depression, World Wars, and every war since.

We will make it. We just need good leaders, and a plan to get us there. We will live more in harmony with our environment. We will feed everyone, we will make sure if someone is hurt, sick or ill they have access to the medical attention they need. We will make sure everyone has a roof over their heads, and a safe place to sleep at night.

We will make sure everyone has a fair slice of the American dream. We will provide equal access to the resources people need to live productive and satisfying lives. America cannot be about survival of the fittest. We will not, and cannot leave the economically disadvantaged behind. If we fail in this, are we truly the greatest state, the greatest nation on earth?

Douglas; Politicizing Tragedy For Political Gain

There is something the Governor of our state of Vermont is really good at. It’s taking a very unfortunate occurance and turning it into political gain. In a small state like ours, big news like our first amber alert had everybody concerned. Everyone watched, everyone waited, what would be the missing girls fate?

Then a disappearance turns into one families horror, and a statewide travesty. A convicted sexual predator, was released into the public on probation by our department of corrections. Released after completing the sex offender treatment program, where he was a “model inmate” and hailed as a success. Apparently the program doesn’t work, after his release he reportedly begins molesting a nine year old, and within a couple years effectively stalked and hunted his own niece. The abrupt and tragic end to her life is a testament to the failure of our state corrections and sex offender treatment program.

Here we are in an election year and a hot button issue lands in Governor Douglas’s lap. So what does he do, he picks it up and runs with it. Now he’s talking about civil confinement, the death penalty, and even chemical castration. Do I disagree, hell no!! This is one of the few instances where I actually agree with the governor. I don’t think we can ever go far enough with regards to protecting our kids.

However, there is nothing I hate worse than people who use tragedies for political gain. This is exactly the card Douglas is playing now. He is not calling a special session of the legislature because ““If I thought for a minute that the legislative leaders would embrace a serious package of reforms that we have talked about this afternoon, I’d have them here tomorrow,” Douglas replied. “Their past action does not give me a lot of confidence that in the aggregate they are prepared to take these steps.”” (BFP 7/11/08)

This is playing politics pure and simple. If the legislature were to meet, and pass the reforms he talks about, than the issue would go away. But this is an election year, and he can’t let it go away. He needs to keep beating this drum right thru November so he can sound tough on crime and make the Democratic legislature sound weak on crime. If the legislature is weak on crime, than his opponent who led that legislature is also weak on crime. It’s the forked tongue that Douglas speaks with that spews a whole lot of BS.

Governor Douglas, get off your butt and call a special session or get off the high horse. Take steps now to solve this obviously important issue before another kid gets hurt. Otherwise the failure here won’t just be corrections released someone who was a danger to the public. It will be a failure of the governor to protect the people, and more importantly kids, of his state.

Vermont; A State Without A Plan

I’m not very optimistic about Vermont’s economic future. According to Douglas’s latest, Vermont’s economic strength is in it’s “diversity”. That’s a crock of crap, the biggest load of BS that’s ever been heaped upon our state. Diversity?

We’re so reliant on tourists to pump up our economy it’s ridiculous. No wonder we have no tax base and have to tax peoples property. Driven around Vermont lately? We’re a state of tourist trap after tourist trap, just about every road you take. Can’t really blame people, it’s where the money is. None of us certainly have any.

We’ve got artisan and specialty businesses galore, but how many people do they employ? A couple at a whack. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great, but we need employers who hire a lot of people. We need employers who pay decent livable wages to Vermonters. This is where Vermont is absolutely not competitive. We’ve got a lot of educated, hardworking people who’ve had to settle for less.

How many employers are there in the thousand plus employee range? Not including the state of Vermont, you’ve got what IBM, maybe Lockheed Martin? Face it the only industry we have is our huge dairy farms, and who do they employ? Mexican immigrants with questionable legal status, because they can’t find anyone else to work for housing and pathetic wages.

Smart directed growth is what Vermont needs, spread evenly throughout the state. Not a bunch more service jobs that pay ridiculously low wages and force people to live paycheck to paycheck. This direction starts from the top. No, we don’t need all sorts of industry pumping pollutants into our air, water and soils, but we need something. The governor should be seeking out environmentally responsible businesses to bring into the state.

Better yet, look to accommodate local businesses and their growth needs. Help businesses that employ Vermonters to grow. Look at Unilever, opening a Ben & Jerry’s out west, look at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, setting up shop in Tennessee. We can’t even keep Vermont companies in Vermont let alone attract new ones!

The buck stops at the Governors office. That’s where the direction of our state comes from. Instead of taking credit for everyone elses work, and blaming failures on the legislature, we need a governor who can deliver. We need someone who can not only keep jobs in Vermont but deliver us new ones. After all the governor is not a spiritual figure head like the Pope. The governor needs to do more than make appearances, and wave to crowds. They need to do the work of the state, and work damn hard at it!

Perennial Loser Or Vermont's Great Hope?

crossposted @ www.greenmountaindaily.com

So I talk a lot of crap about Pollina running for governor against Douglas. This will be my last swipe until November when I post a big I told you so. Yep, 6 months of no Pollina bashing from me. Why? I actually like the guy, I'd even go so far as to describe myself a fan. I love everything that Pollina stands for, his heart is in the right place. He's the Bernie Sanders of Middlesex. However, because I like the guy, it makes me one of his biggest and most vocal critics.

I voted for Pollina to help make a point in 2000, and again in 2002. Where did it get me? I feel like my vote was wasted. I'd even go so far as to say counterproductive in 2002. I feel like I was burned by Pollina, for giving me false hope. Hope that he would get elected. Hope that all the great things he talked about would really make a difference when he got into office. Hope that he would help make Vermont a better place.

Perceptions are everything in politics. Pollina is a great speaker, but he needs to up the energy and charisma. He has a great, and good natured personality, but he needs to share it more with people. Show his vulnerable side, his hobbies, what he does for fun. He needs to relate more to your average working Vermonter. He needs to relay the message that he is the best choice because he will affect positively Vermonter's lives when they vote for him.

Going beyond that though, he needs to run an effective campaign. Progressives are good at running Chittenden County campaigns, but haven't really grasped the concept of a Vermont campaign. The Republicans and Democrats are much better equiped, and entrenched. The heart of a Vermont campaign lies within the county caucuses and town committees. In the small towns of Vermont everyone knows who's voting which way and why. That's where campaigns are really won and lost.

You can run all the TV ads and radio spots you want. But until neighbors begin talking to neighbors about Pollina and how good he'd be for Vermont, its all for nothing. Until people see their fellow townsfolk going door to door, knocking. Unless they're convinced that Pollina is a safe person to entrust their hopes and dreams to, he's a risk, a liability. He is as yet untested in statewide office.

Pollina is not just the underdog, he has three strikes already against him in the eyes of Vermonters. He lost the bid for congress as a Democrat to Jim Jeffords in 1984. In 2000 he was the candidate that was neither for or against civil unions, a safe place to be. In 2002 his last bid for statewide office, he was the spoiler candidate that gave us Dubie as Lt. Governor. That's a tough history to overcome, three times a loser doesn't inspire confidence the fourth time around.

So when I criticize Anthony Pollina, it's not because I don't think he'd be good for Vermont. It's not because I don't like him or his politics. It's because I'm afraid to build up hope again. I'm afraid that he won't run a Vermont campaign, and bring his message to the "you can't get there from here" villages and hamlets scattered throughout the Green Mountains.