Thursday, October 20, 2016
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) wife, Jane O’Meara Sanders, attacked Gov. Peter Shumlin over Twitter Thursday after an email emerged claiming she “begged” him not to endorse Hillary Clinton for president last year.
“1st, I don’t beg,” O’Meara Sanders tweeted Thursday morning. “Knew Gov Shumlin endorsement of HRC worthless,told him his timing as @BernieSanders announced was pathetic crass politics.”
The senator’s wife was responding to an internal Clinton campaign email allegedly obtained by Russian hackers and posted online by WikiLeaks. In the May 2015 message, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told the candidate that he had just spoken with Shumlin and an unnamed political adviser.1st, I don't beg. Knew Gov Shumlin endorsement of HRC worthless,told him his timing as @BernieSanders announced was pathetic crass politics. https://t.co/3rCf5KPpE5
— Jane O'Meara Sanders (@janeosanders) October 20, 2016
“He called Bernie a few hours ago and said he’s endorsing you, Madame Secretary,” Mook wrote of the governor. “It will be public at 3:30 today. This was a bold move for him so it would be great if you can call and say thanks.”
Mook added, “Apparently Jane Sanders has now called him twice and begged him to change his mind and he’s stood firm.”
Tags: Senator , Jane O'Meara Sanders , Peter Shumlin , Robby Mook , Bernie Sanders , John Podesta , WikiLeaks , Image , Web Only
Nope, it wasn't Jim Douglas, who won four races for governor from 2002 through 2008:
And it wasn't Brian Dubie, who lost the 2010 gubernatorial contest:
It was Lt. Gov. Phil Scott — the latest in a long line of Vermont Republicans who've sought statewide office in an increasingly Democratic state:
Tags: Phil Scott , Sue Minter , Frank Cioffi , Jim Douglas , Brian Dubie , Dick Mazza , Image , Video , Web Only
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
"We just sat down and talked about what they do, how they help and the essential services they provide," Scott told Seven Days last December. "I don't think we should be spending our time defunding Planned Parenthood. They do really good work for a lot of people in need."
The goodwill gesture apparently went unnoticed. On Wednesday morning, a super PAC financed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the Democratic Governors Association launched a $132,000 television advertising blitz questioning Scott's support for abortion rights.
"Two very different choices for Vermont's next governor," the ad's narrator says. "Phil Scott supported restrictions on a woman's right to choose. And Vermont Right to Life, which opposes all abortion — even for rape and incest — recommended Phil Scott."
Democratic nominee Sue Minter, the narrator says, is "the better choice" and would be "a governor we can trust."
According to Scott's campaign coordinator, Brittney Wilson, the ad is "dishonest and deceitful."
Tags: Phil Scott , Sue Minter , Planned Parenthood , Democratic Governors Association , abortion , choice , Image , Video , Web Only
A new poll commissioned by Vermont Public Radio finds that the leading candidates for governor are statistically tied.
Among likely voters surveyed over the first two weeks of October, 39 percent said they support Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Scott and 38 percent prefer Democratic former transportation secretary Sue Minter. That's within the poll's 3.9 percent margin of error.
Some 14 percent of voters remain undecided in the gubernatorial race and another 2 percent back retired Major League Baseball pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee of the Liberty Union Party.
The survey, which was conducted by the Castleton Polling Institute, found that the presidential race isn't even close in Vermont.
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is supported by 45 percent of likely voters, while only 17 percent plan to vote for Republican nominee Donald Trump. Libertarian Gary Johnson picked up just 4 percent and Green Party nominee Jill Stein 3 percent. Another 4 percent said they would vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — even though the former presidential candidate isn't on the ballot.
Tags: Senator , Sue Minter , Phil Scott , Bill "Spaceman" Lee , election 2016 , Bernie Sanders , Hillary Clinton , Donald Trump , Image , Web Only
Asked what they saw as "the single biggest issue" of the campaign, Leahy's challengers instead listed their biggest problems with him.
Republican Scott Milne called him a "career" politician. Independent Jerry Trudell criticized him for supporting Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) in the Democratic presidential primary. And U.S. Marijuana Party nominee Cris Ericson assailed him as a "bully," "sexist," "totalitarian," "fascist," "undemocratic" and, for good measure, "un-American."
Liberty Union Party nominee Peter Diamondstone showed up seven minutes late to the debate, which was held at Channel 17's Burlington studios and simulcast on C-SPAN, but after catching his breath he managed to call the incumbent a "war criminal."
Leahy took the earlier allegations in stride.
"It's kind of hard to respond to them," he said with a chuckle. "As the person who wrote the Violence Against Women Act and greatly expanded it, I don't think there's any group of women in this country that call me sexist."
Tags: cannabis related , Cris Erickson , election 2016 , Jerry Trudell , Patrick Leahy , Peter Diamondstone , Scott Milne , U.S. Senate debate , Vermont , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
In one recent television advertisement, Minter raises the dissembling to a whole new level. The ad, which the campaign did not post online, responds to Republican Governors Association attacks on the former transportation secretary.
"These ads attacking Sue Minter are trying to trick you," her ad begins. "They're paid for by a national Republican group whose biggest funder is the oil billionaire Koch brothers."
That's true. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the RGA's top donor is Koch Industries. As Seven Days reported earlier this week, the RGA has spent $1.8 million promoting Scott and criticizing Minter.
"But here's the real trick," Minter's ad continues. "Phil Scott voted to raise the gas tax and supported a tax on every mile you drive. So while the Koch brothers are trying to hide Scott's Republican agenda, Sue Minter's the one working for Vermont families."
Tags: Sue Minter , Phil Scott , gas tax , Republican Governors Association , Koch brothers , Image , Web Only
These are just a few of the 46 businesses that donated to Republican Phil Scott's gubernatorial campaign in late September and early October, according to his latest filing with the Secretary of State's Office. All told, the companies contributed $49,050 — or 36 percent of the $135,000 Scott raised during the 15-day reporting period that ended October 12.
It's been like this all along. Since launching his campaign last December, Scott has collected more than $429,000 from corporate entities. That's 33 percent of the $1.31 million he's raised to date. (The incumbent lieutenant governor has raised another $20,500 from political action committees — many of which represent corporations or trade groups.)
Scott's opponent, Democrat Sue Minter, hasn't taken a dime from corporate entities — at least, not lately. Last May, after facing sustained pressure from a Democratic primary opponent, Matt Dunne, she returned $11,055 in corporate contributions and promised to leave them on the table in the future.
Remarkably, Minter has still managed to raise more money than Scott — every single reporting period. Her latest disclosure, filed Saturday, shows that she raised $165,000 in the latest 15-day period and nearly $1.7 million since joining the race last October.
Tags: Phil Scott , Sue Minter , campaign finance , Image , Web Only
Monday, October 17, 2016
Vermont's junior senator plans to embark on a three-week book tour (with a brief break for Thanksgiving) starting November 14 in New York City and concluding December 2 in San Francisco, according to publisher Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers. The tour will touch down in Vermont on November 22 with stops in Burlington, Montpelier and Manchester.
In the book, called Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In, Sanders "shares his personal experiences from the campaign trail, recounting the details of his historic primary fight and the people who made it possible," according to the publisher. He also outlines a progressive agenda for "the millions looking to continue the political revolution." The book's publication date is November 15.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , book , Image , Web Only
New disclosures filed late last week with the Federal Election Commission show that Leahy, a 42-year incumbent, raised more than $445,000 in the two and a half months ending September 30. He collected another $55,000 in that period through a leadership political action committee called Green Mountain PAC.
Milne, a Pomfret businessman, raised just $57,000 from donors during the three months ending September 30 — and contributed another $12,000 of his own cash to his long-shot bid.
Since winning his last six-year term, Leahy has raised more than $4.67 million through his main campaign account, his latest filing shows. Milne, meanwhile, has collected just $74,000 — including $17,000 of his own money — since joining the race last May.
In the lead-up to next month's election, Leahy has been drawing down some of his reserves. The incumbent Democrat spent nearly $649,000 in the most recent reporting period, roughly $297,000 of which went toward television advertising produced by the Philadelphia firm Shorr Johnson Magnus. Milne, who has no paid staff, spent a mere $35,000.
Tags: Patrick Leahy , Scott Milne , campaign finance , election 2016 , Image , Web Only
Sunday, October 16, 2016
The majority of the money, nearly $6.5 million, has been spent by the five major-party candidates themselves: Democratic nominee Sue Minter, Republican nominee Phil Scott and their three vanquished primary election rivals. Another $3.1 million has come from national party organizations, special-interest groups and one wealthy individual.
The analysis reflects only money spent exclusively on the gubernatorial race, so it likely undercounts the total. For example, it does not include the $7,904 that the National Rifle Association spent on postcards last week, because those mention not only Scott but 19 other candidates. More significantly, it does not include spending by the Vermont Democratic Party or the Vermont Republican Party, since that money typically benefits the respective parties' entire slates.
By far the biggest player in recent months has been a super PAC funded by the Washington, D.C.-based Republican Governors Association. The organization, called A Stronger Vermont, has spent more than $1.8 million bolstering Scott's campaign, according to a disclosure filed late Saturday with the Secretary of State's Office. In the latest 15-day filing period, which ended October 12, it spent $573,000 — largely on television advertising criticizing Minter.
The RGA continued to vastly outspend its Democratic counterpart. A super PAC funded by the D.C.-based Democratic Governors Association, called Our Vermont, has invested $767,000 in Minter's candidacy. In the latest period, it spent $288,000. (It dropped another $98,000 on TV ads last Friday, after that period had ended.)
Tags: Sue Minter , Phil Scott , campaign finance , election 2016 , Image , Web Only