(Bumped to the top, cause I’d love to see Doug in charge… – promoted by odum)

OK, like Odum I’ve been lying awake at night thinking to myself, “Which Dems can run for Gov in 2008 and beat Douglas?” I’ve run a lot of candidates through my internal self-polling mechanisms with varying levels of success.

There’s one candidate that I keep coming back to.

The best democratic candidate to run in 2008 and take the Governor’s seat is Doug Racine.

The main arguments for Racine have already been articulated here.

In August, cjcurtis wrote:

In 2002 Douglas’ margin over Racine was 45%-42% and the contest was decided by the legislature. Racine was a statewide office holder and well known to Democrats over the years. He took on and prevailed over perhaps the best known incumbent Lt. Governor in Vermont history in Barbara Snelling. Clearly he had the near universal support of the party. As a result he gave Douglas a run for his money.

And back in April Odum wrote:

In fact, if you look at the realities of numbers and statistics, of the current crop of Dem pols, the one on paper who would have the best shot is former multi-term Lieutenant Governor and current Chittenden Senator Doug Racine. Think about it – voters outside his district know him, and have elected him to statewide office despite the none-too-insignificant anti-Burlington-area feelings out there in greater Vermont. And of course, there’s the fact that he’s the only Dem who’s run against Douglas for the top spot that made a respectable showing (only losing by 3 points – and then, thanks to Con Hogan who apparently pulled virtually zero R votes).

I think these are solid and compelling reasons why Racine is the best candidate we have to beat Douglas.

Racine is currently co-chairing (w/Rep. Ann Pugh, D-South Burlington) the Vermont Child Poverty Council, a new legislative creation with the ambitious goal to find solutions that would cut the state’s poverty numbers in half in 10 years.

Poverty, income disparity, or economic opportunity to put a positive spin on it, is an issue that undermines much of our political discussion today. Although it sometimes remains unspoken, it directly or indirectly affects everything from education to healthcare to the reasons we go to war.

And it’s becoming a bigger issue in Vermont where we saw the second-greatest jump in income disparity in recent years in the United States. Vermont is now 31st out of the 50 states in one common measure of income disparity, but it was 47th as recently as 1989.

(OK, enough with the poverty stuff, I recently posted on this with zero comments so it seems to be a non-starter)

Like a certain presidential candidate that I tend to favor, Racine finds himself now in a position to champion economic equality. I’m not sure if it can be turned into a winning campaign focus, in either race, but I have gained respect for the people who recognize the importance of the issue.

Doug, just say the word and I’m on board for Racine 08.