Yesterday, Pollina nails Douglas to the wall in a well crafted, pointed attack that got the press and the media’s attention:
Pollina cited the 2008 “Summer Harvest” publication by the Agency of Agriculture in which Roger Albee, secretary of the agency, says that Gov. James Douglas “initiated” the “Buy Local movement” in 2003.
“This is ridiculous,” Pollina said during a press conference outside the Agency of Agriculture’s State Street headquarters Wednesday morning. “The idea that Jim Douglas founded the buy-local movement ranks right up there with the idea that Al Gore invented the Internet.”
Unfortunately, this is Anthony Pollina we’re talking about. And that means he fired off without care to the consequences – by which I mean, he didn’t bother with such trivialities as covering his ass. Such concerns are for lesser men, I suppose. Via vtbuzz:
Thursday, Enid Wonnacott, NOFA-Vermont’s longtime executive director, told PolitickerVt’s Zach Silber that Pollina’s comments were and “severe exaggeration” and that Douglas and his Ag folks had been “incredibly helpful” in promoting the buy local effort.
Wonnacott agreed that the buy local movement has been around for a long time, but said Douglas deserves credit for having the Ag Dept. institute a Buy Local Program in 2003.
Final analysis? Douglas’s damage control is effective, but the slam still very effectively reminded people that Douglas is both an obstructionist, as well as someone who shamelessly takes credit for the work of others. You can’t unring that bell.
But Pollina too, has been left bloodied, as the response has reminded those who pay close attention (many of whom are in that Prog-Dem distortion zone) that he’s a bit of a bull in a china shop, and doesn’t question his communications impulses. Both have had their credibility drawn into public question.
So oddly enough, the winner here is Symington, who wasn’t even involved. Or at least it could be if she gets out a “we need to move beyond tit-for-tats over who has bragging rights and recognize that we need to come together to do much more for Vermonters’ economic sustainability and supporting our local economies” statement, or somesuch.
An odd sidenote, though, are Sam Hemingway’s comments over at vtbuzz. For someone following politics for so long, Hemingway has a tendency to miss the forest for the trees. He comments:
Exactly how Pollina sees this as a front-burner issue in the gubernatorial campaign is a discussion for another day.
Given the evidence all around (by which I mean the coverage in all the media, and that quick, powerful pushback from the Governor), it would seem self-evident that this dustup is quite meaningful. I mean… Hemingway himself is clearly feeling obliged to cover it, right?
But Hemingway’s problem is that he doesn’t see what’s in play. It’s not the overwhelming power of the issue that’s being discussed – I think its very important, but it’s not likely to resonate as deeply as it should with the greater populace. The importance is the opportunity to reinforce the nascent narrative that Douglas is an ineffective phony – or in the Governor’s case, that Pollina is an attack dog ideologue. It’s those narrative impressions that drive the lingering undecideds in the voting booth, therefore winning or losing an election. Not sure why Hemingway doesn’t get that.
(… and BTW, today my recommendation from the Langdon Street Cafe is the Tempeh Reuben. No doubt that advice will boost my left-wing cred all by itself.)