Freyne Land

Republican State Sen. Vince Illuzzi (Essex-Orleans) returns to Vermonttoday from a week-long diplomatic trade mission to the Republic of China,a.k.a. Taiwan. Illuzzi chairs the Senate Economic DevelopmentCommittee. After Canada, Taiwan is Vermont  No. 2 trading partner.

Ol' Vincenzo, first elected to the Vermont Senate in 1980 at the age of 27, wasVermont's rep on a New England delegation that included Rhode Island'slieutenant governor and legislative leaders from Maine, Rhode Island,Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

"You come to a country like Taiwan with certain preconceived notions,"said Illuzzi in a phone interview from Taipei on Thursday night. "WhenI was a kid you’d get these cheap little toys with a sticker that said'Made in Taiwan.' So I’d thought I’d come here and find a Third World-like country," he told Freyne Land, "and it’s really anything but that."

He was surprised, he told us, to find that "the standard of living hereis almost equal to the United States." Plus, "they all speak English,which says something about society here. They’re all bilingual.

"In fact we’ve been joking today that in the next 20-25 years Chineseshould be our first language in America.  That’s the way things seem tobe developing."

The U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as a soverign nation. That is why, explained Vince, the U.S. rep there [we don't have an ambassador] "skipped town duringtheir Independence Day celebration" the other day. "There were representatives here fromthe countries that do recognize Taiwan as an independent and sovereignnation, and not a renegade province as does the People's Republic ofChina (mainland China).

Vermont's King of the Northeast Kingdom told Freyne Land he was interviewed by two television stations in Taipei about theobvious slight by the Bush Administration.

"As I recall it, said Vince, "I basicallysaid that I think most Americans know that the Taiwanese people arehard working and industrious, and that Vermonters appreciate Taiwanesecompanies because those companies purchase many of the chips producedat IBM Essex, Vermont's largest private employer."

"Made in Taiwan" no longer means what it did 35 years ago, said Illuzzi. "Thiscountry has transformed itself into a high technology R & D nationand it is moving fast forward to take the lead in the area ofbiotechnology development and manufacture, which they consider the nextfrontier."

And, yes, said Vince, they have heard of Vermont.

"Most are familiar with the changing seasons in Vermontand some have actually attended schools in Boston of New York and theyhave skied or at least visited Vermont," he said.

Have they heard, we asked, of our distinguished senators, Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders?

"Sanders' name has come up a couple of times," said Illuzzi. "They’ve heard of Sandersand find it intriguing that a person who’s declared himself a socialistat some point is in the United States Congress, and they ask questions."

How's your Chinese, eh?

Maybe the decade...or the millenium?

In Dan Barlow's piece this morning on the first public hearing of the House Speaker's gay-marriage commission, officially known as the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection, that was held in Johnson.

Ellen Hill began to cry Wednesday night as she remembered how her conservative father – who once shunned her when she came out as a lesbian – later accepted her partner into their family at their 2000 civil union.

“I could see happy tears in his eyes,” said Hill, a resident of Jeffersonville. “He said that it is not who we love or how we love, but that we love."

Food for thought, eh?

"Not who we love or how...but that we love"

Ultimately, mes amis, we are truly in the same boat, eh?

Together.

I first caught Democratic Party activist Laura Cary of Shelburne in action out on Burlington's Church Street Marketplace last spring. She was an early and, as she described herself, an "enthusiastic" supporter of Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois for president. His opposition to Bush's war in Iraq is what drew her to him more than anything.

Laura was a weekly regular on the Church Street bricks, gathering signatures to put Obama's name on the Vermont Presidential Primary Ballot.

But a couple weeks ago, Laura was noticeably absent from the Obama rally that drew more than 100 supporters to Nectar's.

Now we know why.

Laura Carey no longer supports Barack Obama. In fact, she's positively disgusted with him.

Ran into Laura at Sen. Bernie Sanders' Sunday morning town meeting at South Burlington High School. Darted after her when the event broke up. Wanted to know why I hadn't seen her in the usual places of late?

“All three major candidates [Hillary, Obama and Edwards], can’t commit to getting the troops out of Iraq by 2013," said Cary, "and so I asked myself, what am I doing  this for? I passionately think we need to bring the troops home, and I’ve heard the excuses and I don’t buy them."

The final straw came on September 26 when the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly adopted the Kyle-Lieberman Amendment, 76-22. It "expresses the sense of the Senate regarding Iran." Among other things, it opens the door for a Bush-ordered attack on Iran, declaring their Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

Vermont's two senators, Leahy and Sanders, voted  "no."

"Obama, who’s always made a big point of being against the Iraq War, and criticizing everyone else for their vote, ducked the vote," noted Cary. "He wasn’t there," she told us, disillusion dripping from her tongue.

"Obama’s whole thing has been he stood up against the Iraq War," she said. "He’s not standing up against the Iran War, which I believe is coming. If you read Seymour Hersh [in the New Yorker], it’s coming. And Seymour Hersh hasn’t been wrong yet."

"So, I can’t support him anymore."

Who do you support now?

"In all good conscience, I’m going to support Bill Richardson," she replied, "because he says he can get the troops out by 2013 and he’s against going to war with Iran."

Obama, she said dejectedly, "is wimping out. I think he’s got too many handlers. Ithink he’s taking the safe road. I don’t like that."

And it gets worse...

The Obama Campaign, she said, called her from Boston and told her that "the reasonObama couldn’t vote on the Kyle-Lieberman Amendment was beccause he had togo to New York that day for that 24,000-person rally, so he couldn’tdo it.

"So I just Googled it - The vote on Kyle-Lieberman was September 26. The 24,000-man rally was on September 27.

"So," said the former Obama supporter, "I now have the Obama campaign calling up and lying to me about whyhe didn’t vote on that bill. Soit’s just outrageous!"

Freyne Land double-checked - Cary's right about the dates. The NYC rally, where the photo [left] was taken, was on the 27th.

The Kyle-Lieberman amendment vote was during the noon-hour on the 26th.

Bummer.

Did not have room for it in this week's "Inside Track" which we pumped out today. Lot of balls in the air. 

Last week in "Track,"  I wrote about Sen. Bernie Sanders' visit to Costa Rica and his opposition to Costa Rica voting in favor of the Central American Free Trade Agreement [CAFTA}.

No other press interest in Vermont.

The pro-CAFTA side even aired a TV commercial attacking Ol' Bernardo and The Wall Street Journal went after him in two lovely articles.

The vote was Sunday and Bernie's side lost, though they made a strong showing with 48 percent of the popular vote. Tuesday. I requested a statement from the Vermonter on the losing side. This is what I received from Ol' Bernardo:

“The Costa Rican anti-CAFTA movement – made up of unions, environmentalists, students and religious organizations – was heavily outspent, took on the entire economic and political Establishment, a hostile media and the president of the United States.  Nonetheless, they managed to receive 48 percent of the vote, a very strong showing.  The Costa Rican anti-CAFTA coalition is part of a growing, worldwide movement, including in the United States, which understands that unfettered free trade policies are designed to represent the interests of multi-national corporations and the wealthy and not ordinary working people.”

Can't win 'em all, eh?

A lot more cars in the parking lot than the Methodists or the Lutherans had.

Interesting.

Sunday Services with Bernie. The "church," i.e. the cafeteria at South Burlington High School was packed.

"I remain profoundly optimistic," Independent United States Senator Bernie Sanders," told the congregation attending 10 o'clock mass [I was an altar boy],  "that if we get our act together; if we mobilize people, the vast majority of the people agree with our vision for the future of this country. We are the vast majority."

Sanders gave a 30-minute sermon that kept everyone's attention and then he took questions for 45-minutes.

Bush’s ideology of "right-wing extremism," said Ol' Bernardo, is "supported by the very wealthiest people and by right-wing fundamentalist religious groups. That’s about all they’ve got.

"We can beat them," said Bernie.

"We can turn this country around, but my plea to you all is stay involved in the political process. Do not become cynical. That is what they want. Get the young people involved. And if we do this. in fact, we change this country in very profound ways."

Congress is out of session this week. Sen. Sanders has more public meetings on his schedule. Tonight at 7 p.m. he's holding one at the St. Johnsbury School on Western Avenue.

Wonder if the Caledonian-Record editorial writers will show, eh?

The "King of the Kingdom," i.e. Essex-Orleans State Senator and Essex County State's Attorney Vince Illuzzi, sent this missive from the other side of the planet:

Greetings from Taiwan.  I'm here on a trade mission as a guest of ROC.  Taiwan buys most of IBM Essex's chips, making Taiwan Vermont's second largest trading partner, next to Canada.

The Vermont Chamber has an office here, but it's good to fly the flag and meet with the manufacturers.  They like meeting elected officials.  Other Vermonters have been here in the past, e. g., Welch, Nease, Kevin Mullin.

The government and business leaders here are convinced that China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC) and India will rule the economy in about 20 to 25 years.  The USA will rank behind.

We have a week of meetings with trade, economic development, manufacturers and foreign affairs ministry.

But why is Vince the Prince there, you ask?

Well, he is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Development. And after 27 years in the Vermont State Senate, that's right 27 years, this Vermont-style Republican knows a little bit about cutting a deal.

And with Vermont Democrats lacking a Grade 1 horse for the November 2008 Vermont Gubernatorial Derby, no less a political player than Democratic State Sen. Peter Shumlin [blue shirt] has suggested Vince as an "Independent" candidate that Democrats could get behind in race against three-term Republican Incumbent Gov. Jim Douglas.

Hope Vince keeps us posted, eh?

With the Bush presidency crumbling on several fronts, how does Vermont’s Republican governor view the national political landscape?

Vermont’s top Republican, three-term  Gov. Jim Douglas has twice headed George W. Bush’s presidential campaign committee in Vermont. And while Dubya did not win Vermont, he twice won the White House.

Lucky us, eh?

But times have changed, and the Bush presidency has itself become a disaster. Vermont’s Governor was asked at his weekly press conference on Thursday if he remains a strong supporter of George "WMD" Bush.

DOUGLAS: Well, I’m certainly of the same political party as the president. We get along pretty well and he understands that Vermont’s a different place from a lot of other states [laughter].

Douglas suggested the downward spiral of President Bush actually resembles that of a couple of his predecessors in the White House:

DOUGLAS: I’m no historian, Peter, but I think if you look at the lastcouple years of any administration it begins to fade in terms of it’sfocus and effectiveness, whether it’s Iran-Contra, in the case of theReagan eight-year adminsitration, or the Lewinsky Scandal in the caseof the Clinton administration, Toward the end of an eight-yearpresidency, we often see a change perhaps due to the inevitability ofits conclusion within the next couple of years. And I don’t think thisadministration is any different from that.

Who is she?

The Lady in Red.

And just what exactly is her relationship to Vermont's Republican Gov. Jim Douglas?

And why are they smiling like that?

Check back Friday morning for the juicy details....

UPDATE:

That's Douglas Press Secretary Jason Gibbs casting a friendly glance in the direction of The Lady in Red and her video camera.

Meet Liz Saxe, reasearch director at the Vermont Democratic Party.

Hey, it's the modern technological age - use it or lose it! Liz has been showing up at Gov. Scissorhands' pressers since winter. Nothing like being close to the enemy, eh?

The Guv's "weekly press conferences" stop being "weekly" during the summer. And also, the annual contract for taping the "weeklies" and distributing copies to the state's public-access cable TV outlets expired a few months ago.

Stay tuned.

On Friday, Tony da' Pom, sorry, Antonio Pomerleau, celebrated his 90th birthday.

What a guy!

"So you gotta, you gottatake a gamble," he told Channel 3. "You gotta have a vision. You gotta look ahead.Yesterday's gone by. Today's gone by. So you gotta think of tomorrow."

Tony's a rags-to-riches story. Landed in Burlap in 1939, gifted in the ancient art of buying-and-selling. Real estate was his shtick.

Was running the city police commission when Bernie Sanders pulled off that historic, miracle mayoral victory in 1981.

"I owe my victory as mayor to Tony Pomerleau," Bernie told me the other day, "because we campaigned against his disastrous waterfront development!"

Every vote counted and Bernie won by just 10.

"But the truth is," said former mayor, now U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, "as soon as I won, uniquely from the opposition, Tony Pomerleau called me up, came to city hall and said, 'How do we work together?'

"And the truth is," said Sanders, "we worked to make major reforms to the police department, significant reforms."

No lie.

"Tony helped me on a number of key economic issues. We killed a trash-burning plant that would have been a disaster. I appointed Tony to be head of a committee to look into that and he did a very good job on that."

Yes, indeed.

Some may forget that back in those days - the early 1980s - the wall between Mayor Bernie Sanders and the Democratic/Republican establishment in the Queen City of Burlington was both tall and thick, at times resembling an Iron Curtain. And the fact Police Commission Chairman Pomerleau spoke with and worked with Mayor Sanders cost him.

"The Democrats and Republicans who had voted year-after-year for Tony to be a police commisioner abandoned him ‘cause he was working with my administration," said Ol' Bernardo.  "What is not well remembered is that Tony Pomerleau won reelection as a police commisioner with the support of all the Progressives. He got his position because of Progressives!

"Here’s a guy who was in his seventies. Worked with Democrats and Republicans his whole life, and yet he thought that it was more important to do what he believed to be right and stand up to people who had been his political friends and allies. That takes a lot of guts!"

Our little chat with Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday afternoon covered a couple of other subjects besides Costa Rica. One was La Revolución here in Vermont.

Republican Gov. Jim Douglas looks almost unbeatable for reelection to a fourth term in November 2008. All the possible Democratic contenders appear to be quietly waiting their turn, except for Matt Dunne. Matt's the only one of significance who hasn't completely ruled it out, yet.

But Matt Dunne's not going to run unless he believes winning is doable.

Then there's Progressive Anthony Pollina, a fixture on the Vermont political stage for more than 20 years. Ran against Republican Congressman Jim Jeffords back in 1984 as a Democrat!

An Italian kid from New Jersey who became a champion and organizer of Rural Vermont. Was a senior policy advisor to U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders in the early 1990s. Then directed VPIRG and organized dairy farmers.

Was a founder of the Vermont Progressive Party. Ran for governor [2000] and lost. Ran for Lite-Gov [2002], and lost by less. He's articulate, passionate and, like Bernie, says what he means and means what he says. And he does most of his talking these days on Equal Time talk-radio on WDEV.

Hmmmm.

And right now, Anthony looks like the only true opposition candidate to our beloved Gov. Scissorhands who's out there with a shot. But he'd have to do "a Bernie," i.e. run as an Independent who has the support of the Progressive and Democratic parties - just the way Ol' Bernardo did in the 2006 U.S. Senate race.

Name one issue, one policy position, be it on healthcare, energy, the environment or economic justice where Bernie and Tony disagree?

There are none.

But the list of issues on which Bernie and GOP Jimbo disagree, well, excuse me, but the list is not short, is it?

I asked Sen. Sanders about it....

BERNIE: Let me just say this at this point, Peter. I’ve seen Anthony around in the last month or two. Have not talked to him at any length about his possible candidacy. I really haven’t. But I’ve known Anthony for many years.

If you’re asking me do I think he could be a very strong candidate, I do. He’s clearly smart and he’s clearly articulate, No question about that.

FREYNE: You're not urging him to run, are you?

BERNIE: I'm not urging him to run, I’m not urging him not to [run].

You know, I don’t like to make these decisions in one second when you ask me a question. It’s something that has to be thought about and I’ve got to talk to a number of people and so forth.

FREYNE: So, at the moment, you think he’d be a strong and smart candidate?

BERNIE: Well, Anthony is very smart and he is very articulate. No one disputes that.

No one.

************************************

UPDATE [11 a.m.]:  FREE LUNCH WITH GOV. JIM!

From Al Kamen's "In the Loop" column in today's Washington Post:

Free lunch today! We got an invite yesterday from Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R), former South Carolina governor Jim Hodges (R) and some contractors who are inviting all the state governors' Washington office directors to a fine meal at tony Johnny's Half Shell, where they'll hear why it is important to strip from the farm bill a provision that bans some outsourcing of the food stamp program.

The companies and their supporters perhaps could have held this briefing at a National Governors Association committee meeting, but food stamp matters obviously are better discussed over oysters.

Be there by noon!