Many people I've talked to feel that the recently passed veto session was, for all intents and purposes, the real start of the 2008 Governor's race. Sure we don't have a candidate yet – and, well… that's a problem, no doubt – but it feels for all the world like the race is on nonetheless, and we can at least be laying the groundwork for a successful run by…well, by somebody.
And a little encouragement might get a wavering candidate in. A usual Vermont short election calendar serves incumbents – especially the incumbent Governor – so why wait?
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It's time we all did what so many in the rest of the country have done (and what kestrel9000 is doing in Virginia, until such time as he finally gets a job up here that allows him to move back to Vermont where he belongs) – that is, make our OWN media. Blogs, sure. If you're at all inclined, you oughta have one, but what I'm really talking about is A/V! Time to get out the cameras and/or microphones and start following Republicans to public meetings and events. Ask the tough questions, get them on record and put it out on the intertubes as a permanent record. Ask them how they voted on the global warming bill, death with dignity, campaign finance. Ask how they feel about gay marriage, IRV, the RNC hiding from a subpoena behind “executive privilege.” Ask them in front of GOP crowds. Get a hold of a video editor and add your own music and effects, or just post it raw. Nobody's gonna do this for us, folks, so lets start to kick it up a notch.
To that end, GMD will have a contest: make your own internet ad that tells voters why its time to stop voting for Jim Douglas and submit a link in a user diary, or just via email to me (check my profile). We'll get them all posted and let people vote on their favoritte. It could be video, or just straight audio, if you're more into the radio thing.
Now, I have no illusions about the relatively small pool of readers of this site. None of us on the front page are expecting hundreds of entries. So we'll allow plenty of time for the contest. Get your entry in by the first of November, and we can announce the winner exactly one year before election day. That's three whole months, folks. Plenty of time to get creative! We'll post updates and reminders from time to time, and I'll add a link to this diary at the top of the page so new readers can be brought up to speed.
So what are you waiting for?