Category Archives: theVPO

Weekend forecast: widely scattered blogging with a chance of getting other stuff done

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Hey there. You may have noticed a lack of activity around here the last couple of days. I’ll be back Tuesday morning with at least one big story, a VPO exclusive. And I’m about to post a story of one fallen soldier in honor of Memorial Day.

If you’ve been repeatedly visiting theVPO in search of fresh material, here’s a tip: In the right-hand column, you’ll find a box that says “FOLLOW BLOG VIA EMAIL.” If you enter your email address, you’ll get a notice every time I post new material here. It’s a handy way to keep in touch, and it’s absolutely free. Just like the rest of this blog, come to think of it.

See you Tuesday. Between now and then, thank a vet. Attend a parade. Visit a gravesite. Give a thought to those who have died in our service.

Kremlinology II: Back from Siberia

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I’m sure this is juuuuuuuuuust a coincidence.

Three days ago, I wrote a piece about Attorney General Bill Sorrell’s conspicuous absence from a pair of recent gubernatorial photo-ops. Both times, the theme was related to law and justice; both times, our Eternal General was nowhere to be seen while Chittenden County State’s Attorney (and former Sorrell challenger) TJ Donovan was in prime photo-op position, directly behind the Governor’s shoulder.

Well, today brought another law-related bill signing… and guess who was back, baby?

ShumlinSorrell

Yep, there’s Bill Sorrell. Along with, so I’ve been told, many members of his staff, gathered closely around the Governor. And no sign of Donovan.

I smell overcompensation.

Do I dare take some credit for this? The timing certainly suggests I can.

No, John, that’s not how an ethics panel works

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I feel so proud.

In announcing his complete reversal on the need for a Senate ethics panel, Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell put his finger squarely on the source of the problem.

The panel would also give a lawmaker accused of wrongdoing an opportunity to refute allegations made by “journalists or bloggers.” Campbell said lawmakers need a place “where people can go to clear their name if someone makes an accusation.”

Aww, John. I didn’t know you cared.

Continue reading →

Metapost: All right, already

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I’ve gotten a couple of comments/complaints about the Header image on this blog. My usual response is, “How dare you besmirch the name of our former President Warren G. Harding?”

Because, in case you didn’t recognize the Great Man in the later stages of his wastrel existence, that is, indeed, a photo of our 29th President, pretending to type. (Note lack of paper in the machine.)

But hey, I’ll acknowledge that after several months of unmediated Harding, it’s time for a shakeup. So I’ve uploaded several images related to writing or newspapering, and set my Header Image on “random.”

You’ll still get Old Winnie from time to time, but he’ll be one element in the rotation instead of a constant, looming presence.

So far, I’ve got six Header Images. I’ll add more when the spirit moves.

Metapost: The Augean Stable of my comments section

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One of my li'll buddies.

One of my li’ll buddies.

Writing this blog is rewarding on many levels. But with a steady and significant readership comes a great deal of unwanted attention from the numerous Spambots that litter the digital landscape like K-cups in that viral video. I get a few comments a day from actual readers, and dozens of fake “comments” from the Spamisphere.

All include links that I wouldn’t dare click, even if encased in the Internet equivalent of a Hazmat suit. They purport to offer discount merchandise and other stuff; all I do is spend about twenty minutes a day hitting “Delete.” (I could dump them all en masse, but sometimes an actual comment finds its way into the Spam folder and I try to rescue it.)

The only entertaining part of this little daily annoyance? The fractured Spamlish that is these bots’ native tongue. And here are a few examples.

The vast majority of the Spamments include a single generic sentence:

Nice Blog, thanks for sharing this kind of information.

But the real gems are the faux compliments, designed to stroke the ego of the really stupid blogger. Here’s one, from “Cheat Spider Man”:

Hello my friend! I wish to say that this article is amazing, nice written and include approximately all important infos. I’d like to see extra posts like this .

Thanks for the kind words, Cheat. (May I call you “Cheat”?) I always try to “include approximately all important infos.” Now, from “Miglior Mutuo a Tasso Fisso”:

A material are usually masterwork. you have done an excellent pastime with this subject matter!

Well, Mooch, I’m glad you think my excellent pastime are usually masterwork, but your tenuous grasp of the language makes me doubt the utility of your praise. So let’s turn to “Gerd Diet”:

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Extremely helpful info specifically the last section 🙂 I maintain such information much.

Good to know. I hope my readers maintain my information much. As for Spambot “Blair,” I’m near the top of its list:

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What’s up to every body, it’s my first pay a visit of this weblog; this webpage contains amazing and genuinely fine stuff designed for readers.

Yes, my words strung together in sentences are indeed “designed for readers.” Apparently “Best Dating Sites” is a true fan of theVPO because it has left several messages in recent days:

Good response in return of this issue with genuine arguments and explaining everything about that.

I think the admin of this web page is in fact working hard in favor of his web page, because here every stuff is quality based data.

And finally:

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I couldn’t agree more. I, too, don’t understood how I am not actually a lot more smartly-appreciated. But rest assured, I shall all the time take care of it up.

My first six months (give or take)

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This here blog has been around since June 12, 2014. It’s been a lot of fun, and rewarding to know that quite a lot of people follow it. Nowhere near Kardashian territory, but pretty good for a special-interest blog about Vermont politics.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog, and I’m sharing it for anyone who might be interested. If not, well, click on.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 49,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 18 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Metapost: Old Three Hundredth

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This is the 300th post on theVPO. Seemed like a good time for a few reminders, especially since I seem to have picked up a lot of new readers in the past couple of weeks.

The contents of this blog are my own creation. This is a place for commentary and analysis of Vermont politics (and the political media) from my point of view, drawing on my thirty-odd years as a journalist and political observer. Having reached the dawn of my senior years, and having found no place for myself in Vermont’s small and shrinking journalistic ecosystem, I decided to make a place of my own. The advantage is I run the joint; the disadvantage is that the rewards are entirely of the intangible variety.

I am a liberal, but not a doctrinaire one. Some of my opinions are not widely shared in liberal circles — for instance, I think development and growth are good things when done in a reasonable manner. For another instance, I don’t think the Vermont Gas pipeline is that big a deal. Also, I don’t shy away from criticizing liberal officeholders when they deserve it. If anything, I try to hold them to a higher standard; they are, after all, carrying my flag.

This site has existed since late June, and it has given me quite a lot of intangible satisfaction.  Readership has consistently grown, which means a lot of people are getting something out of this and the word is spreading. I appreciate your time and attention; I try to be informative and entertaining, and to shine my own unique light on our politics. My only currency is my credibility, and your readership is a nice validation. I thank you, whether you come here for information, entertainment, or (for my many conservative readers) a little something to purge the bile.

I invite you to follow this blog. In the right-hand column, you’ll see a “Follow” button. Click that, submit an email address, and you’ll get a notification every time I write a new post.

I welcome comments. I have enabled comment moderation, which means I have to approve a comment before it goes up. But I’m very generous about it; my grounds for trashing a comment have mainly to do with spam and really abusive stuff.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you come back.

Yep, I was wrong.

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dunce-cap-599x320Yesterday’s elections turned out to be a lot more favorable for Vermont Republicans — or, to put it more accurately, unfavorable for Vermont Democrats — than I thought.

My fearless, not to mention feckless, predictions were:

— Governor Shumlin would easily clear the 50% barrier.

WRONG! As of early Wednesday morning, he still has a mathematical chance of losing to Scott Milne, and there’s no way he’ll get 50%.

— Dean Corren would come closer to unseating Lt. Gov. Phil Scott than Cass Gekas did two years ago, finishing in the mid-40s.

WRONG! Scott cruised, with better than 62% of the vote. Corren was depantsed AND wedgied, finishing with a mere 36%.

— Republicans would have to be satisfied with a bare minimum of legislative gains.

WRONG! They took two Senate seats and at least seven in the House. A couple of races are still hanging, and they might even reach Phil Scott’s seemingly rose-colored projection of double-digit gains.

I wasn’t completely shut out. The Republicans failed to mount serious challenges in the Washington and Orange County senate contests, and Dan Feliciano stumbled to a very poor finish. He couldn’t even gain automatic ballot status for the Libertarian Party.

But those are mere bagatelles. On the big races, I was as thoroughly depantsed as Dean Corren.

And now I learn from my mistakes, or try to. Explanations in my next post. But first, where’s that crow pie? I’ve got a hankering’ for some crow pie!

Well, before the polls actually close, here are my predictions

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Conventional wisdom is that there’s an enthusiasm gap in Vermont in favor of the Republicans, and a low-turnout election will help them begin their comeback from a long dark night of the electoral soul.

There’s truth in that; but its impact will be blunted by (a) Governor Shumlin’s campaign machine and (b) the Democrats’ superior organization and database. They are devoting a whole lot of resources to selected legislative races, which will hamstring the Republicans’ efforts to gain ground.

So far, early (and scattered) reports indicate that turnout is somewhat better than expected, which should be good for the Democrats.

My caveat: I haven’t done a systematic study of past returns and trends, nor have I been traveling around the state sniffing the air and putting my ear to the ground. Just me in the metaphorical mom’s basement, sniffing the ground and putting my ear in the air.

In the race for Governor, the big question seems to be “Can Governor Shumlin get an actual majority or just a plurality?” But every time I give him something around (or below) 50%, I simply can’t imagine that many people voting for Scott Milne and Dan Feliciano. So in the end, I bump Shumlin up a little. My fearless forecast:

Shumlin 53, Milne 39, Feliciano 5, and 3% for “other.”

For Lieutenant Governor, Dean Corren’s energetic closing push will get him into the 40s, but that’s about all. The Democrats’ big drive won’t help him that much in a statewide contest because it’s so focused on key legislative races. Still, he’ll do better than Cass Gekas. Phil Scott 54, Corren 44, and 2% for “other.”

No need to forecast the races for Congress, Attorney General, Auditor, Secretary of State, or Treasurer. So, on to the Legislature.

In the state Senate, the Republicans will pick up no more than one seat, and things might remain exactly as they are now. In the absence of the Democratic organizational edge, I’d say the Repubs would win three seats or more. But I say the races in Washington and Orange Counties are not going to be as close as many think. Chittenden’s not changing. Which leaves the Repubs with two potential gains: one each in Franklin and Rutland.

(Flips coin.) Okay, a net gain of one seat for the Republicans. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dems hold serve.

In the House, I haven’t delved into specific races. But I do put a lot of stock in the Dems’ organization, and I think the Repubs will pick up no more than three seats. And as with the Senate, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Dems hold serve.

If my predictions come to pass, it’ll be a positive for the Democrats — holding their ground in very tough circumstances. The Republicans will claim victory if they manage the most marginal of gains, and the media will report it as a split decision. But it’ll be a victory for the Democrats, and push the Republicans a little bit further from real competitiveness.

And if I’m wrong, I invite my Republican followers to join me here tomorrow as I tackle a hearty lunch of crow pie.

We eagerly await good tidings from the VTGOP

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As you might know, although they did little to publicize the fact, the Vermont Republican Party had its fall fundraising dinner last Friday. The guest of “honor” was Islamophobic national-security nutbag Peter King, undistinguished Congressman from New York.

During the course of the evening, the operator of the VTGOP Twitter account posted four photos form the event. All four showed one of the evening’s speakers at the podium; all four were taken from angles that showed very little of the crowd. One example:

Screen Shot 2014-09-29 at 1.29.38 PM

Okay, so we know there were at least three people in the audience. Which is more of the crowd than you can see in any of the other photos, all of ’em focused on the podium.

No crowd shots, VTGOP?

What, too embarrassing? In my mind’s eye, I’m picturing a few dozen people crowded around the front tables, with plenty of empty seats farther away.

You may think my surmise unfair, just another example of theVPO’s liberal bias. But riddle me this, Batman:

— Right up to the day of the event, the VTGOP was sending out reminders that tickets were still available. The last one was sent at 10:43 a.m. Friday, less than seven hours before go-time.

— Since the Twitter posting of those four photographs, we’ve heard not a peep from the VTGOP about the success of the fundraiser. Or anything else, for that matter.

— This, in spite of the fact that I’ve been sending them gentle reminders via Twitter:

Screen Shot 2014-09-29 at 1.38.41 PM

And still no response.

I see a pattern. Last December, the VTGOP was very free with very generous pre-event estimates for its Chris Christie fundraiser. After the event, not a peep. Then in the spring, the Vermont Democrats hosted Sen. Elizabeth Warren; shortly after the event, the Dems announced attendance and fundraising totals.

Now another Republican event comes along, and once again, they’re being tight-lipped about the actual results.

As I said in one of my subsequent Tweets to @VTGOP, “I’ll take that as bad news.”

If the Vermont Republican Party does release totals for tickets sold and dollars raised, I’ll be happy to report them in this space, with whatever comments they provide. And if the totals are respectable or better, I’ll be happy to retract my cynicism and congratulate them on a successful event.

I’m not holding my breath.