Freyne Land

Good morning!

Today, Tuesday, is the day I spend writing "Inside Track" for the Seven Days print (and online edition). It'll be out and up tomorrow morning. So newswise, that's where my mind will be today.

But I wanted to write this "Big Picture" post to get some feedback from you guys and gals. Until a few weeks ago, the blogoshpere was virgin territory for me.

Look, I love criticism. "Inside Track" started in the Burlington-based Vermont Vanguard Press back in 1981, a couple months after Bernie Sanders won the mayor's race by 10 votes over the incumbent Democrat Gordon Paquette. Those who recall those days will remember the column was not popular with da' mayor nor with his Prog supporters who vented their anger regularly in Vanguard letters-to-the-editor trashing yours truly.  In the 1990s we zeroed in on the Self-Righteous Brothers. Anyone remember them?

Unlike blog responses of the present, folks put their names on what they wrote. Some have done so here, too, but most use fake-IDs. Hey, believe me, after doing this for the last quarter century, I've got a pretty thick skin. Besides, getting called every name in the book is what real columnists want. Trust me.

Flashback - Summer 1976.

Location -  Southbound on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. "The Magnificent Mile" as it's known.

Transport - Behind the wheel of Cab 2706,  a leased red-white-and-blue American-United    taxi.

Time - About 5:30 P.M. Evening rush hour.

I'm stopped at the southbound lights at the crosswalk between the Tribune Tower to my left and the Wrigley Building to my right. (The pic at right looks northbound) In the back seat, a businessman-type heading for Northwestern Station and the commute home to lovely DuPage County (western suburbs). About a $1.50-run in those days.

A crowd of pedestrians surges across in both directions as the light turns red. Suddenly the silence is broken as Mr. Commuter mutters, "Look at that goddamn piece-of-shit drunk."

"Excuse me, sir?"

Mr. Commuter leans forward (there were no bullet-proof shields in American-United Cabs - mostly Ford LTDs) and points to a figure in the crosswalk moving left-to-right with the flow of people.

"See," he says, "Right there, There's Royko, that goddamn drunk."

Mike Royko, then with the Chicago Sun-Times had won a Pulitzer a few years earlier for his memorable bio of the first Mayor Richard Daley. It was called Boss. He was not stumbling as he walked. In fact, he looked perfectly normal.

I read Royko's five-day-week column religiously as did so many Chicagoans. Along with incidents like the angry Royko reader above, I came to realize that  the front seat of that cab was my journalism school..

And a damn good education it was.

Anyway, back to the present. Like to know the thoughts of the intelligent readers of this blog. How's it going so far?  What do you think of the posts? The comments?  Should posters register?

I can't help but think of the local state social worker who got busted a while back at Leddy Park having a rendezvous with a 14 year old girl he'd been talking to anonymously online from work. She turned out to be a Vermont State Trooper.

Some of the blog comments to date sound like their writers are also inhabiting a similar power-tripping fantasy world. Hey, it's a free country, but some "Freyne Land" readers may find that stuff juvenile, useless and boring. I don't know.

You tell me.......please!

And thanks for stopping by Freyne Land.

The Sanders for Senate Campaign was in the field polling over the weekend. And unlike the American Research Group poll which Ch. 3 and the Freeps reported on last week without identifying who paid for it, we do know who paid for this one. In fact, the Sanderista Senatorial operation is using longtime Leahy pollster Geoff Garin over at Peter D. Hart Research Associates. A proven winner, eh?

According to Sanders Campaign Manager Jeff Weaver, 500 likely Vermont voters were surveyed.

Guess what?

Ol' Bernardo's incredible lead over the richest capitalist in Vermont history is widening.

Sanders - 66 percent
Tarrant -  27 percent

Bernie from Brooklyn's favorability was: 64 percent favorable v. 27 percent unfavorable.

Meanwhile Richie from New Jersey, king of the yuckiest, most twisted, negative attack ads Vermont has had the displeasure of viewing, is becoming even less popular. Tarrant's is currently viewed favorably by only 24 percent of Vermont likely voters. Richie's Rich, a first-time candidate starting at the top, has already dropped $5 million of his personal fortune to get to 27 percent support and says he'll spend at least another $2 million.

“Rich Tarrant negative attack ads are cleary backfiring,"  Weaver, the former Marine from St. Albans, told"Freyne Land" over the noon hour. "Tarrant’s negatives are now at 54percent and two-thirds of Vermonters believe that Tarrant is running anunfair negative campaign.”

Can't say Rich Tarrant isn't getting results from his huge personal investment in the power of advertising, can you?

But seriously, if anyone knows why he's doing this, please, please contact "Freyne Land!"

Other races:

U.S. House:
Peter Welch - 47
M. Rainville - 41

Governor:
Douglas  - 54
S. Parker -  31

*Afternoon Update Below*  2:30 p.m.

Had to wonder last night at the Sheraton GOP banquet, whether I and the 400-plus mostly Republicans in attendance (I saw a couple Democrats and even one Progressive!), were watching the next president of the United States. Regardless, just knowing there will be a different president of the United States in office in 2 years and 4 months is reason to lift one's spirits, eh?

Sen. John McCain crushed Gov. George W. Bush in the 2000 Vermont Presidential Primary. The Arizona senator swept 60 percent of the Vermont vote, and you bet he remembered it Sunday. If only the nation would see it our way, eh?  Plus he's a much better after-dinner speaker than the current prez.

"We have had a lot of speakers tonight," said McCain as he rose last in the line-up after dessert. "I feel a little bit like Zsa Zsa Gabor’s fifth husband who, on their wedding night said, “I know what I’m supposed to do I just don’t know how to make it interesting.”

He also mentioned former Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona who was the GOP presidential candidate in 1964 (backed by Howard Dean’s conservative Republican Wall-Street dad!).

McCain told the Vermont crowd about how on Election Night in 1986 when he succeeded Goldwater as senator, the old conservative icon got a little nostalgic.

"Barry said, 'If I had been elected president in 1964 and beaten Lyndon Johnson, you’d have never spent all those years in a North Vietnamese prison camp.'

"And I said, 'You’re right, Barry, it would have been a Chinese prison camp!'"

Old Jokes, but funny ones.

Earlier, at the Hinseburg Volunteer Fire Department, where he took questions from local press for 2-3 minutes,  McCain gave great bite when it came to capturing Marvelous Martha Rainville in a soundbite.

"One thing I know about Martha is that she has had command. She’s an Independent thinker. She has a base of knowledge. She has lived here long enough to know and understand the state of Vermont. I would welcome her expertise in the Congress concerning military issues.  We need a lot more people who’ve had the military experience she’s had as adjutant general of the state of Vermont. Her views would give her instant respect in the United States Congress."

And yes, a campaign video guy was there to get footage for upcoming TV spots. Hey, they'd be crazy not to use him. This Vermont House race is still very much in play and the boys in D.C. know it.

And..... Marvelous Martha's following up quickly on the McCain visit with a 10 A.M. presser this morning - word went out late last night. No topic given.  Interesting.

Looks like we'll have an update Monday afternoon.....

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Afternoon Update*

Martha started with a call for "term limits." She'd like 12 years for both House and Senate. That's six terms in the House or two in the Senate. Gonna have to figure out a way to eliminate seniority first, eh?

Sen. Patrick Leahy's last run would have been 1980!  Jeezum Jim Jeffords' last race would have been 1994. Bernie would have had to retire after the 2002 race.

Rainville also unveiled a snappy new TV spot that hits the screen tomorrrow. Plays on her recent job experience. In particular, her speaking up back in 2003 to ensure there'd be proper body armour on a group of about 45 Vermont Guard troops heading to Afghanistan.

Meanwhile her Democratic opponent Peter Welch has a nice new ad. Looking into the camera and talking. And saying what his side believes is the only thing voters need to know - a vote for Martha Rainville is a vote for George W. Bush!

This one will be a nailbitter.

Damn clouds are lingering over the Champlain Valley Sunday morning. Let’s hope for a little sun by late this afternoon when U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona hit’s the Burlington, Vermont tarmac. There’s a big GOP fundraiser at the Sheraton in South Burlington this evening, but a McCain photo-op pit stop at the Hinesburg Volunteer Fire Department has been scheduled for 5:15 p.m. At the moment, that’s looks like where the only brief “press availability” of Sen. McCain’s Vermont visit will occur.

Bummer.

If ever there was a politician you’d like 10 minutes with, heck, an hour with, it's McCain.  Remember his visit to Burlington back in January 2000?

It was a Sunday. pre-New Hampshire Primary, last-minute kind of thing. Frosty. frigid. cold. sunny Sunday morning. And more than 650 people packed, and I mean packed, themselves into Contois Auditorium at Burlington City Hall to see McCain: Republicans, Democrats, Progressives and Independents. More than triple the fire code. McCain’s appeal crosses party lines. For folks my age (56), the Vietnam thing is a big part of it.

When I see John McCain it’s a little like seeing former Georgia U.S. Max Cleland. Know what I mean? On behalf of the government of the United States of America, they paid a very painful and visible price for their service in uniform. And every time I see them, I am reminded that they,  like the American people - and the 58,000-plus other young Americans of my generation who paid with their lives -  were lied to by the White House about the reasons our country had to launch a war in Vietnam in the first place.

Just like our current Iraq War, eh?

In fact, just caught Sen. McCain on ABC This Week with George Stephanopolous. At issue, President Bush’s bold, brazen, anti-American and utterly stupid attempt to override the Supreme Court and push through legislation that would “modify” the Geneva Convention on prisoner treatment. More than two-dozen former top generals and admirals, including former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell strongly oppose the White House on this one. Wrote Powell to McCain this week:

“The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of out fight against terrorism.”

Beginning to doubt?

As the former military commanders put it in a letter this week to Chairman John Warner and Vice-Chairman Carl Levin of the Senate Armed Services Committee:

“If any agency of the U.S. government is excused from compliance with these standards, or if we seek to redefine what Common Article 3 requires, we should not imagine that our enemies will take notice of the technical distinctions when they hold U.S. prisoners captive. If degradation, humiliation, physical and mental brutalization of prisoners is decriminalized or considered permissible under a restrictive interpretation of Common Article 3, we will forfeit all credible objections should such barbaric practices be inflicted upon American prisoners.

“This is not just a theoretical concern. We have people deployed right now in theaters where Common Article 3 is the only source of legal protection should they be captured. If we allow that standard to be eroded, we put their safety at greater risk.

McCain says it's an issue of conscience. Already the loud-mouthed right-wingers like Joseph McQuaid at the Manchester Union Leader are condemning him.

At times like this I get the fleeting thought that perhaps human beings were smarter, and got along better, in the Stone Age?

O.K. How about in the Rock & Roll Age?

*Updated at bottom at 5:50 P.M. Friday*

*Updated CIRC SECTION  7 P.M. (good link)*

Candy Page’s juicy “Manure World” feature in today’s Burlington Free Press Living Section got my juices flowing this Friday morning.

Never really took a moment before to realize a dairy cow pumps out 21 tons of manure in a year. For the 64 Fairfield, Vermont milkers Ms. Page focused on in her piece, that’s 1300 tons in a year. For the 37,000 cows in the Missisquoi Bar watershed, that’s about 775,000 tons or 1.5 billion pounds of manure a year.

Holy shit!

The phosphorous in the manure run-off does wonders to keep the algae blooming in Lake Champlain.

I’ve been reading about the problem since landing here for good back in 1979. At least there’s finally a little federal funding to help Vermont farmers clean up their acts on this one, eh? Imagine one day the headline: “Lake Champlain Getting Cleaner!”

Dream on, right?

Trying to look at the bright side. It ain’t easy as some of you may know. Especially if you caught our president’s Rose Garden presser this morning. The bad movie at the top continues, folks.

Speaking of manure, we got this press release earlier today from the Rich Tarrant for Senate Campaign:

TARRANT TO SANDERS:  LET’S DEBATE

The Tarrant for Senate campaign today called on Congressman Bernie Sanders to debate.
Now that the primary is over it’s time for Congressman Sanders to start talking about the issues.  We’ve been in touch with the Sanders campaign to set up a debate schedule, but have not heard back,” said Tarrant campaign manager Tim Lennon...

The Tarrant campaign has received numerous debate requests from organizations around the state.

“Congressman Sanders has accused our campaign of lying about his record.  We hope he will stand up and have an honest dialog about his record and not run a campaign on 30-second sound bites or photo ops,” Lennon said.

The Sanders response?

“I don’t know what Rich Tarrant’s talking about,” Sanders’Campaign Manager Jeff Weaver told Freyne Land. “We’ve already agreed with debate organizers to attend at least 10 debates with Mr. Tarrant.”

He didn’t have the schedule in front of him, but he said he thought the first one was on September 30 at Champlain College, to be hosted by Christopher Graff. The topic: U.S. foreign policy.

“I don’t know what Mr. Tarrant’s is complaining about,” said Weaver. “That’s far more debates than most people who are doing as poorly as he is doing in the polls would get.”

Asked if  Sanders would agree to more than 10 debates, Weaver replied, “Look, we have always wanted this to be a campaign about the issues because we know, not think, we know that when Vermonters see the difference between Bernie Sanders and Rich Tarrant on the issues, this race will be over.”

Ouch!

Caught a bit of the Peter Welch v. Martha Rainville debate this morning on WDEV’s “The Mark Johnson Show” - live from the Tunbridge World’s Fair. Didn’t catch any blockbusters in between incoming phone calls here at the ranch. But I liked the audience question about what was the favorite book each candidate had read?

Martha went first and said “The Bible.”

Peter kinda chuckled and said he couldn’t let Martha take the Bible all by herself, after all, there was his Roman Catholic schooling to acknowledge. So he claimed a piece of the Bible, too. Then he added War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Perfect pick when running against the former head of the state’s National Guard during wartime, eh?

As they say in French “Twoshay!”

This just in: Peter & Martha go at it again Monday night at 7:30 PM at the Doubletree Motel on Williston Rd. in South Burlington (the old Ramada). It’ll be broadcast live on VPT. VPR’s Steve Delaney is the moderator. It’s sponsored by AARP and the public is invited. No admission charge and FREE BEER!

Just kidding about the beer.

And continuing with our Friday “manure” theme, this just in from Jim Douglas Central Montpeculiar:

MONTPELIER – The State of Vermont and the Federal Highway Administration today filed a notice of appeal from the May 2004 United States District Court decision finding insufficient the environmental documentation supporting construction of segments A and B (Williston and Essex) of the circumferential highway...

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Updated CIRC SECTION  7 P.M. (good link)*

Holy shit! The Douglas administration lost that case two years ago over in U.S. District Court! Our governor, you'll recall, had used all his good connections with the Bush White House to speed up the CIRC's construction after years of delay. Got it on the fast-track just days before the 2002 election. Only problem was, the speed-up was illegal. The Douglas Team unsuccessfuly tried to rush past the need for an up-to-date Environmental Impact Statement as required by federal law. And they did it with Bush White House connections and a straight face.

Instead, they ran in 2003, Jimbo first year as governor,  with a EIS done in the old days of the mid-1980s when I was an editor at the now-defunct (but memorable) Vanguard Press. They ran on a 1986 EIS, a study from a time without cell phones or grape tomatoes or email and people smoked cigarettes in restaurants. Attorney Judge William Sessions simply wasn't buying it.

Supposedly, the Douglasadmonsitration has been working on a new EIS that allegedly will examine all transportation alternatives to the CIRC Highway's constuction. Things like roundabouts and actual public transit. Or is the one-human-per-car, bumper-to-bumper crap, the way we all want it to be in 10 years, too?

I thought the Guv's Transportation Team (now headed by former political Boy Wonder and advisor Neale Lunderville, who gave up a Pfizer sales job after about three months to return to Vermont to replace whatshername as Gov. Douglas Secretary of Transportation) was looking at alternatives to the old sure-fired sprawl builder?

Live and learn.

VPIRG’s Paul Burns had this emailed reaction:

“Seems as though they are willing to explore  'all available avenues' in order to AVOID having to investigate the real transportation needs and options available to the people of Chittenden County.

"How exactly does wasting more money on unnecessary litigation like this fit into the "affordability agenda?"

Good question.

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*UPDATE*  5:50 P.M.

Two things:

1. Democrat Scudder Parker will be launching his first TV spot next week.

2. The Sanders' Campaign forwarded this list of 10 debates with Tarrant that Mr. Weaver said they have agreed to so far, including VPT, WCAX-TV and WPTZ-TV.

*Champlain College & VT Council on World Affairs 9/30   7:00 to 8:30 PM
*Association of VT Credit Unions 10/10  11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
*Candidates Forum with a focus on disability issues 10/11  7:00 to 9:00 PM
*League of Women Voters 10/12  7:00 to 9:00 PM
*AARP 10/13  7:30 to 9:00 PM
*VT Law School Debate 10/17 6:30 to 8:15 PM
*WCAX 10/22 or 10/29 TBD
*VPT "Super Tuesday" 11/5 "around 6:00ish" PM
*WPTZ 10/23
*Williston Central School Candidates Forum 10/6 9:30 to 10:30 AM

It's been a strange year campaign-wise in Vermont thanks to GOP megabucks U.S. Senate candidate Rich Tarrant. The Rookie Republican's endless stream of nasty, sour, half-truth attack ads have guaranteed Bernie Sanders' upcomingNovember 7 landslide victory in the race for U.S. Sen. Jeezum JimJeffords' seat.  They've also pissed off more Vermonters of everypolitical stripe than any previous political ad campaign in Vermonthistory.

Congratulations, Richie Rich!  You are certainly a household name inVermont these days! Amazing what you can buy for a measely $5 million,eh?

But everyone we know was startled Wednesday when incumbent Republican Jim Douglassuddenly went into Tarrant-style, negative-attack-mode with a 30-secondTV spot trashing Democratic challenger Scudder Parker and a 60-secondversion doing likewise on the radio dial. Hey, I thought Ol' Scudderwas a long-shot?

Here's the radio script:

Some people make a name for themselves, andthey call Scudder Parker "Mr. Property Tax." Why?  Because ScudderParker has backed higher property taxes – even taxes like Act 60, theproperty tax that turned Vermont families against each other, and drovefamilies and jobs out of state.  Now Vermont taxpayers have somethingelse to worry about – now Mr. Property tax wants to be governor! 

Andhe's working on making a few new names for himself – how about Mr.Income Tax?  Mr. Payroll Tax?  He just told Vermont Public Radio hewants just that – higher payroll and income taxes.  He said under hisplan "everybody pays."  And even with prices at the pump over threedollars, he's ready to raise gas taxes.  Mr. Property Tax. Mr. IncomeTax. Mr. Payroll Tax. Mr. Gas Tax.  There's just one name Vermontersshouldn't call Scudder Parker – and that is governor.

Paid for by Douglas for Governor.

Candidate Parker had  a Thursday morning presser in the Cedar Creek Room at the Statehouse. His running mate, Lite-Gov hopeful Matt Dunne was at his side. After both saying very nice things about John Patrick Tracy who lost to Dunne, the Man Who Would Be Governor tore into the current one:

"Ihave to say that I am shocked to say that a sitting governor would beso tone deaf to the kind of campaign that Vermonters want theircandidates to wage," said Parker.  "Especially given the outrage that Vermontersare expressing at the the campaign being waged by Rich Tarrant. Hisbarrage of negative ads against Bernie Sanders is something that isturning Vermonters off and the same will happen with the ads Mr.Douglas has started to run.," said Scudder.

"Youknow what?" asked the Democrat. "This isn’t about me. This is about howwe conduct ourselves as candidates. And this attack ad represents thevery worst in politics and it has no place in  a campaign forgovernor....I call on Gov. Douglas to pull this add and pull hiscampaign back out of the gutter."

Fat chance!

So we called Dennise Casey, Douglas' campaign manager, and asked if she will honor Parker's request and pull the offensive Tarrant-style attack ad?

"No,"replied Ms. Casey, who has played a much more behind-the-scenes rolewith the Douglas, VT GOP Team until recently.  "We’ll continue withthis ad as planned with absentee voting occurring in just three weeks,"she told us. "We believe that Vermonters need to know that ScudderParker wants to raise their taxes."

At the moment,  Vermont Democrats and Progressives (and a quite afew Republicans we know) are startled by Gov. Douglas's negative attackstrategy. These Douglas ads will surely raise Parker's name-recognitionquickly, eh?  And they just might remind people that our nice-guygovernor is actually a Republican, just like Richie Rich Tarrant andjust like George W. Bush and his despised V.P. - Dick Cheney.

Is Jim Douglas sure he wants to remind people of that fact?

*Update* at 3:20 P.M. Re: "Capitol Domes"

No surprises, eh?

In fact, the latest news the morning after is that the NRCC has started running a TV spot for Marvelous Martha Rainville. This inaugural one is positive and just about Martha. That will no doubt change.

Our Freyne Land Interview this Wednesday morning was with Congressman Bernie Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver. Weaver, a St. Albans, Vermont native, is a former Marine and Georgetown Law School grad. Mr. Weaver, a 41-year-old father of three, first hooked up with Ol' Bernardo on the 1986 governor's race. Then he was with him in the 1988 U.S. House race, both of which he lost. Sanders, the ex-Burlington mayor, first won his House seat in 1990 and has never looked back.

Q. Bernie did pretty well, eh?

A. We did very well. Obviously Bernie appreciates the strong showing he got from rank-and-file Democrats across the state and now that we’re in the General Election we hope that our opponent Rich Tarrant will stop the mudslinging, will stop the despicable negative advertising and we’d like to get onto a discussion of the real issues facing the people of Vermont.

Q. Top 2 Issues?

A. The top issue is the decline of the middle class in America. People working longer hours for longer wages, having a hard time affording health care, college education, you know, the bread-and-butter economic issues that Vermonters are facing.

And I think the other big issue is the war, which Bernie and the whole Vermont delegation opposed from the beginning and we need a new strategy to bring the American troops home.

Q. Isn't this November 7 election really about whether or not the GOP will hold absolute control in Washington for two more years?

A. Look, it’s no secret that Americans and Vermonters in particular are tired of radical right-wing, one-party rule in Washington. We think it’s time to break up their monopoly on power so we can have some real accountability in Washington.

Q. What are your duties today?

A. Today I’ll be delivering Bernie’s petitions down to the secretary of state’s office to put him on the ballot in the General Election as an Independent and to respectfully decline the very generous Democratic nomination that Bernie won yesterday.

Q. What was the final vote total there?

A. It was a five-way primary and at this point it looks like Bernie got 94 percent of the vote.  We’re very pleased with that and we really do appreciate the strong showing Vermont Democrats put forward for Bernie yesterday. We look forward to the General Election where we’ll build a coalition of Democrats, Independents and many ran-an-file Republicans who are tired of George Bush/ Dick Cheney rule.

Q. And the reason Bernie will decline the Democratic nomination he just won with 94 percent of the vote is because why?

A. Bernie is an Independent, he has always been an Independent, and the Democrats put him on their primary ballot as a way to ratify the unanimous endorsement that Bernie received from the Democratic State Committee earlier this spring. That decision has been soundly ratified by the rank-and-file Democrats across this state. But Bernie is an Independent and will be running as an Independent on the ballot in November.

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Monday Afternoon Update: Thanks to ED in Lebannon, New Hampshire for alerting us to this one! It's about hair...on heads.

It comes from "Capitol Domes," an "insightful" article in something we've never seen before called Radar Magazine. Do check it out.

The character to Bernie's left , Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, recently lost her seat in an August primary. The character to his right, former Rep. James Traficant of Ohio, is in federal prison. Gave some snappy speeches, did he!

Interesting company...hairwise.

*Updated Below at 9:20 PM*

So, I wrote the column for the Seven Days print edition and voted. Ward 5 in Burlington. Lot's of sunshine and a healthy turnout at 4 PM on bustling Pine Street.

That's Democratic State Rep. Bill Keogh on the right. He's in a three-way for the two seats available. Incumbent Democrat Joey Leddy Donovan (not pictured) holds the other seat . (Her son T.J.'s running for State's Attorney.)  Also running, just to make it interesting, is Elisa Nelson (not pictured). One guy v. two gals. Interesting. It is the district of former Governors Madeleine Kunin and Howard Dean. Keogh, by the way, says people think he's me when he's riding his bike.  What, they scream and throw things?

Tonight our duty is to get the city hall numbers for the Associated Press. The last few times the system's worked quite smoothly. Fingers crossed.

The big one's are Tracy v. Dunne in the Lite-Gov contest and the three-way State's Attorney shootout: T.J. Donovan v. Ted Kenney v. Rob Backus. Young T.J. seems like the only one with higher office in mind.

Let's see, when the last time a Chittenden County State's Attorney went anywhere?

Later, gang.

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*UPDATE*  9:20 PM - Burlington "Unofficial" Results from City Hall

Democrat U.S. Senate Primary:

Bernie Sanders 3213*
Louis Thabault   125
Craig Hill             32
Peter D. Moss      22
Larry Drown         21

Democrat Lt. Governor Primary:
John Tracy   2251*
Matt Dunne 1041

Democrat State's Attorney Primary:
T.,J. Donovan 1634*
Rob Backus    1167
Ted Kenney       521

Republican U.S. Senate Primary:
Rich Tarrant  1002*
Greg Parke     383
Cris Erickson   58

Republican U.S. House Primary:
Martha Rainville  1117*
Mark Shepard       379

Democrat State Rep Two Seats (Ward 5):
Johanna L. Donovan  858*
Bill Keogh                  613*
Elisa Nelson              391

Assuming he will accept the fact that he needs a fresh, steep learning curve, Republican gazillionaire and rookie U.S. Senate Candidate Rich Tarrant would have benefited from tuning in The Mark Johnson Show this morning on WDEV. Mark was firing the questions at Middlebury College political  "scientist" Eric Davis and Ol' Eric was giving some very straightforward answers.

Davis, like everyone else with a TV, radio or mailbox, has been getting barraged for the last six weeks with the most negative political media campaign we've ever seen in the Green Mountains. There are indications - based on Bernie Sanders' tracking polls - that the intense Tarrant negativity has only soured stomachs, including GOP tummies, and made Bernie's already majority support not only larger but firmer and more appreciative.

Davis said the man who sold IDX Medical Software to General Electric last year for $1.2 billion, needs to completely relaunch his campaign!

Richie's rookie mistake, said Davis, was hiring the high-priced, out-of-state consultants. Professor Politics said in so many words that Tarrant's only hope is to stop the negative, crotch-level, best-that-money-can-buy campaign strategy and immediately fire his campaign manager. He would replace Tim Lennon with Kate O'Connor - yes, that Kate O'Connor, who's quietly been with the Tarrant Campaign for a couple months. Mr. Tarrant needs to tell us about who he is and look the camera in the eye while doing it, said Davis.

Not that a new beginning at this late date would get him elected, suggested the Professor. Hey, nothing could get Richie Rich elected at this point. And he's already dropped $5.2 million of his own personal stash!!!

Unfuckingbelievable!

It's personal respectability and no more double-talk that count now. And it's the potential negative impact that Tarrant the Tyrant will have on fellow Republicans with last names like Douglas, Dubie, Rainville and Brock that counts, too.

Live in the present.

I caught this little artistic gem while pedaling through the Five Sisters neighborhood on Burlington's southend. You know, the neighborhood with the famous neighborhood e-mail forum?

Not a lot of Republicans in that lovely old neighborhood.

Lot of Bernie signs and Welch signs. And this colorful bumpersticker that does cause a chuckle or two. Very colorful, too.

As for 9/11, I've done my best to keep busy - a Statehouse presser on the International Paper tire burn - and other duties. The utter horror of that day isn't far. Nor is the utter horror that has since been carried out in its name. In fact, the Bush-Cheney administration's deceptive, deceitful and "successful" response marks one of America's darkest periods.

I had a column to write on September 11, 2001. And I wrote it. Here's the ending:

2:33 p.m. New York Gov. George Pataki and New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani face the media. It was “an attack on freedom and our way of life,” says Pataki.

“One of the most heinous acts in world history,” adds Giuliani.

They look composed and call for calm. They assure everyone that New Yorkers would pull together and meet this challenge. The subways, notes Mayor Rudi, are still working. It’s good news on the baddest news day in memory.

2:53 p.m. On CBS, Dan Rather gives a Texas pep talk for George W. Bush.

“He’s the commander in chief. He’s in charge,” says Dan, with an air of Longhorn patriotism. Rather defends Dubya from crticism of the lengthening Pres-idential absence. Unfortunately, Dan doesn’t know where the President is, either.

2:58 p.m. Locally, ABC 22 breaks in with anchorman Eric Greene announcing most of University Mall is about to close. A prayer service is planned at the Unitarian Church at the top of Church Street for 7 p.m. Gov. Dean, he says, told reporter Keith Baldi, “It’s war!”

3:00 p.m. ABC reports the President has landed at an Air Force base in Nebraska. He’s on the run in his own country? But the President is not a running back, he’s our quarterback. Does anyone know where Bill Clinton is right now?

3:03 p.m. Ch. 5 breaks in with twin anchors Stephanie Gorin and Thom Hallock. They show a tape of Ho-Ho making “Pearl Harbor” references. Gov. Dean calls for blood donations and asks people to get off the telephones.

3:18 p.m. Still no information on the plane that went down in Pennsylvania. “This is a dark day in this country,” says Brokaw. Prominent people went down on the hijacked planes, he says, but no names have as yet been officially released. Bush, it’s announced, will have a teleconference with the National Security Council this afternoon.

That’s nice.

3:45 p.m. The president’s spokeswoman, Karen Hughes, is on camera announcing Bush is in Omaha. ”No one should doubt our country’s resolve,” she says before departing quickly without taking questions.

Following Hughes’ statement, Jennings accurately and politely remarks, “There’s not a whole lot of news in there.”

4:30 p.m. Deadline time for Seven Days. Still no Bush sightings. To say we’re not concerned is an understatement.

Weeks of funerals lie ahead. Stories of heart-warming human heroism will emerge. Calls for revenge will ring louder and louder. More blood will flow.

What can we learn from this?

I'm all ears.....

Meanwhile, let somebody you care about know you care about 'em.

Today.

Take a longer lunch today. It’s going to be a beauty according to Roger Hill who was just chatting it up with Dana Jewel on WDEV (550 AM - 96.1 FM). And Mr. Hill predicted “80 to 85” on the roof of the Waterbury radio station!

You know the last time it hit 80 degrees on the roof of WDEV?

Get it while you can, folks. Call that special someone. Take the afternoon off! It hasn’t hit 80 in Waterbury since August 14.

Full disclosure: I’m a news stringer for ‘DEV. Paid per story like news was pork bellies. Started in 1981. Why?

WDEV News Director (in radio the title usually means news department) Nedene Martin was in the market for Burlington coverage. And Ken Squire, WDEV’s distinguished president and host of “Music to Go to the Dump By,” was willing to pay five bucks a story!

Why?

Because a wild, screaming left-winger with a Brooklyn accent and no plan had just been elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont by 10 votes in a three-way race.

Get me central casting. One radio reporter, please! 

The Burlington winner was Bernard Sanders and it's fair to say, the town hasn't been the same since. Bernie received 40.1 percent of the popular vote, just above the required 40 percent. If today’s Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) system had been in play, Bernie would never have won. Surely the vast majority of Dicky Bove’s 1500 third place votes would have gone to Mayor Gordie Paquette on the second round.

Gordie, by the way, had been so confident of an easy victory and so dismissive of Bernie and Bove that he didn’t even mount a campaign effort of any kind. Heck, Paquette was the successful Blue Collar Democrat from the Old North End who had led the effort to get federal buckaroos to turn Church Street into the pedestrian shopping mall you see today - it wasn’t Bernie’s doing. But talk about good timing, eh?

Change was in the air in dusty old Burlap in more ways than one in the early 1980s. Hey, I know a guy who started selling Teddy Bears off a street cart. Who’d a thunk John Sortino was founding a trademark, eh?

Bet you didn’t know the official City of Burlington record book that holds the March 1981 vote total and others from that era is missing! Disappeared when the city’s records were moved out of the city clerk’s vault during remodeling a couple years ago.

Ah, a memory lane Friday morning! May be a few more memories when we catch former Georgia U.S. Sen. Max Cleland appearing at the VFW with the guy who won the mayor’s race 25 years ago. A U.S. Senate campaign event. The Los Angeles Times is sending a reporter up from its Boston bureau to check out the Vermont political scene November-wise.

And on the subject of professional double-talk, did you catch John McClaughry’s snide editorial comment on ‘DEV this morning mocking Sanders, along with Patrick Leahy and Peter Welch, for holding that "raise-the -minimum-wage" press conference in a Burlington delicatessen "owned by a Democratic state rep who voted against raising the minimum wage?"

Hey, Freyne Land bloggers, that one was covered right here. And the alleged “owner” of the Radio Deli, Rep. Jim Condon of Colchester, posted this comment on September 1:

"I just wanted to respond to an earlier post about the news conference at the Radio Deli. I do not own the Radio Deli, I am a manager. I supported the 2005 Vermont Senate Bill raising the minimum wage to 7.25, but I opposed the House version because I believe the Legislature should have the flexibility to raise the minimum wage at a higher or lower rate than proscribed by the COLA that was adopted as a house amendment. I also fully support a federal minimum wage increase to the level we are currently at here in Vermont (7.25)."

"If this is the best Mr. Barnett can do (antagonizing a blue dog), then perhaps 7.25 an hour would, in his case, be a bit over-generous.
His "Gotcha" Gun is firing blanks!"

Interesting, eh?