As some of you who wander the greater blogosphere may have noticed, I was among the so-called “prominent state blog(ger)s” (heh) who signed on to an open letter to Democratic Chairman Howard Dean, asking for him to look at apparent irregularities in the process of credentialing the “state blogger corps” for the National Democratic Convention in Denver. In particular there are 4 cases where it seems the State Parties may have nixed the obvious choices in favor of more sycophantic blogs that don’t criticize local Democrats, or have direct connections to people in power. Now, honestly, 4 out of 50 is a pretty good ratio, considering this is an “experiment,” – but also considering that the MO seems to have been to explicitly defer to the State Parties on the credentialing decision.

As I’ve said elsewhere, I believe this is more naivete than malevolence, as such a decision is consistent with Dean’s desire to devolve resources and control to the State level. It’s just that he’s a Vermonter, and in Vermont, the inhabitants of the State Party office are all quite decent folk (even if give ’em hell sometimes). The problem is, not every state is lucky enough to be Vermont…

In any event, the most blatant and egregious example is in New Jersey, where Blue Jersey – which is arguably the state blog standard on which all others should be judged – was passed over for a site called PolitickerNJ. PolitickerNJ (formerly PoliticsNJ) is the companion to sites such as PolitickerNH and…. PolitickerVT. The “politicker” brand is a corporate one (as we discussed here), wholly owned and run by the New York Observer under what would seem to be a sort of blog-franchise model. It is supposedly non-partisan, and not a “netroots” site by any stretch, and that alone should tag the decision as a poor (and questionable) one.

But its worse than that. PolNJ is fairly innocuous, as is PolNH. The primary commonality between all these sites is anonymity, as they are all run by someone psuedonymed “Wally Edge” who occasionally chimes in with commentary of his/her own. Now, its clear that these “Edges” are all different people, but the point is that they all exist under the same corporate brand, logo, and even name, and the parent organization (which is the real entity being granted access to the convention) is equally responsible for all of them.

And far from being innocuous, let me share a bit of what Vermont’s Wally Edge has been gracing Vermonters with on a regular basis, through the Politicker platform generously provided by the Observer:

A crude hit on Senator Sanders from April 2nd:

During the last campaign cycle, we were all blasted with endless ads questioning Sanders effectiveness. (GOP Candidate Rich) Tarrant was unable to convince Vermonters that Sanders wasn’t going to be able to deliver on all his lofty promises.

…A Republican operative, who was active with Tarrant’s campaign, added that, “Bernie has a trance over a good segment of the population here, but in Washington he is just incapable of getting things done. It’s just sad.”

We hope to hear from Bernie’s camp on his ability or inability to deliver…

Here’s one from February 14th, wondering why a then-potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate would want to pick on poor, beset-upon, John McCain?

The past few days I have heard from a few insiders who have been wondering why Peter Galbraith would go after McCain. McCain is popular with Independents and is seen by many, including many Republicans, as an anti-Bush candidate. He’s shown a strong ability to break with his party on Campaign Finance Reform, Global Warming and even the Tax Cuts. Heck, Rush Limbaugh hates the guy.

Most feel that the move was a political mistake.

“Most” indeed. Edge’s posts are typically replete with bits of nonsense presented as conventional wisdom that are either pulled out of thin air, or packaged with a specific editorial purpos. Here he/she is undermining the then-expected (since confirmed) Democratic candidate for governor…

Rumors are swirling around the state house that the Speaker’s new interest in pursuing the governorship is based on her lack of support from her own caucus. Due to an inability to take advantage of their superior numbers and a lack of progress or control over the message, house Democrats are frustrated.

We began hearing these rumors last week but now that it looks as some insiders think that she couldn’t keep her position if she wanted too.

That’s freaking laughable, by the way (and I don’t mean the grammatical errors). The House Democratic Caucus has always been wildly supportive of Speaker Symington, as much as anything for all the work she’s done to help support their elections. This was only the latest in a string of dismissive comments designed to discredit and diminish her.

This is among the lamest right-wing drivel you can find in Vermont’s blogosphere.

There is no way you can convince this blogger that any of the Politicker corporate franchise sites should be given access to the Dem Convention, let alone be part of the state blogger corps. And choosing them over Blue Jersey is a major kick in the groin.

The old Ram stands looking down over rockslides,stupidly triumphant.I blink. I stare .”Scat! ” I hiss.”Go back to your cave ,go back to your cowshed-whatever.”

He cocks his head like an elderly ,slow witted king,considers the angles,decides to ignore me.I stamp.I hammer the ground with my fists.I hurl a skull-size stone at him .He will not budge .I shake my two hairy fists at the sky and I let out a howl so unspeakable that the water at my feet turns sudden ice and even myself am left uneasy.but the ram stays;the season is upon us.And so it begins another year of idiotic war.

The pain of it ! The stupidly!

With apologies to the late John Gardner

(Was gonna do a VY diary this morning, but didn’t have time… fortunately, BP has provided another alternative. – promoted by odum)

The Rutland Herald and VPR report today about New York State looking into Entergy spinning off another business entity to own and take cover for two of it’s aging nuclear power plants in New York.Another brick in the wall of liability deflection they are building .Look at this pattern and does anybody think that Vermont won’t get stuck solidly in the end  with the cost of Vermont Yankee decommissioning ? Gov.Douglas handed Entergy a big favor when he vetoed the decommissioning bill .This should be a major issue in the coming(on-going)campaign.

This story is Louisiana not Vermont or New York  but Entergy none the less.I have read this several times and still can’t be sure that the rate payers aren’t losing,but I can be sure that Entergy is gaining .I can imagine a plan similar in complexity but much bigger in volume at the time of the aging Vermont Yankee’s final decommissioning .

The Louisiana State Bond Commission on Thursday chose underwriters for the $1 billion loan to repay Entergy Corp. for its cost to get the lights back on after the 2005 hurricanes.The $1 billion goes to repay Entergy for restoring power after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, plus to set up a reserve to fund repairs in future storms.The bond would be repaid by a surcharge added to the monthly utility bill of the 1 million customers of Entergy Gulf States LCC, which includes the Baton Rouge area, and Entergy Louisiana LLC.

State Treasurer John Kennedy said that most typical homes could expect to see a $6 increase in their monthly bill. A typical residence uses about 1,400 kilowatt hours of electricity per month.

The Bond Commission chose three firms – Citi, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan – to handle the sale of the bonds.State Sen. Rob Marionneaux, D-Grosse Tete, said he was concerned that Morgan Stanley already has a relationship with Entergy. He asked that if Morgan Stanley handles this bond that it agree not do business with Entergy for 10 years.

Entergy proposed a quasi-government agency collect the surcharges and repay the investors who bought the bonds. That method could mean Entergy does not have to pay taxes – about $281 million – on the bond proceeds.Entergy and the state Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, say the tax-exempt structure lowers the cost Entergy customers have to repay.

The company agreed to lower the amount owed by customers by $40 million. If the IRS agrees to the tax savings in the future, then Entergy will split those savings 60 percent for the customers and 40 percent for the company.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/ne…

Would Dr. Richter have made a good candidate? I don’t think so.

From everything I know about “Doctor Deb” she is a great physician, a true humanitarian, a solid member of her community and a true friend to those that know her as such.

These things I can’t address from personal experience, because I don’t have it. I just know folks who do have that experience.

I do know for sure, however, that there are at least three people in Vermont who have a solid, reality based grasp on our state and national medical systems when it comes to finances: Dr. Marvin Malek, Con Hogan and Dr. Deb Richter. When it comes to their tireless work, endless trekking around the state and continuous output of facts, figures and lucid explanations all of us Jane and John Does on the streets can comprehend … well these three together and individually take a back seat to nobody.

And that is why Dr. Richter would not have made a good Lt. Governor candidate. She is so solidly associated with the medical delivery system, she would have a next to impossible job presenting a larger vision and agenda.

If medical care delivery alone were going to draw in votes, Dr. Marvin Malek would have done much better then he did as the Progressive’s Lt. Gov candidate in ’06.

In my opinion a good Lt. Gov candidate needs to be low key and needs to be prepared to play backstop to the Senate. The proper candidate needs to have a full agenda of issues, but at the same time needs to show a public understanding of the limitations presiding over the Senate entails.

And in the end a good Lt. Gov candidate should be happy to say she/he is willing to work against bad legislation and work for good … and describe what their good and bad is.

The State Democratic Convention is coming up this Saturday, and many GMD writers and readers will be there, either voting for delegates to the Democratic National Convention or running to be a delegate. I've had a couple of people contact me to talk about what they should be looking for, what criteria should be applied to this choice.

 My first observation is obvious: there are way more people who would be good choices than there are openings. We are voting for six Obama delegates and four Clinton delegates, out of a couple of hundred candidates. We have State Senators and Representatives; current and former elected officials; longtime Party activists and fresh-faced newcomers. I go down the list and I have a hard time picking out people who don't deserve to go.

My second observation is that I'm not actually an expert on this question. I have some ideas, but I've only been to one state convention, so I've only had to make this choice once before. So your opinion is just as valid as mine. I encourage other people to weigh in with your own ideas of what goes through your mind as you make your choices.

So here are some of my ideas: 

1. Have they earned it? There are some people who were there from the very beginning, who have worked hard for their candidate, maybe even before that candidate had declared. They've organized, raised money, talked, written, and traveled for their candidate. And all not for personal gain, but because they think that their favored candidate, whether Obama or Clinton, is the person that is most likely to make a positive difference for the country. I feel that that kind of work and commitment are worthy of recognition. In the Obama list I put Philip Baruth, Neil Jensen, and Mary Sullivan in this category, and Madeleine Kunin (and undoubtedly others) in the Clinton list.

2. What will they do for the campaign? As I look down the lists I see the names of some phenomenal organizers. These are people who get things done every time; they make the Party work, and they win campaigns. A vote for them is a vote for an aggressive, organized campaign. Obama candidate Carolyn Dwyer, who has managed two winning campaigns for Pat Leahy and one for Peter Welch, and Clinton candidate Linda Weiss, who until recently was the Party's field director and is an all-around great organizer fit in this category.

3. Who represents Vermont best? We know, or will soon know, who the nominee will be, but there are other questions to be decided at the convention. Who knows parliamentary procedure? Who is going to be an articulate and eloquent speaker for our interests? Who truly represents Vermont and Vermont values?

4. What does the choice mean for the future of the party? I feel that I'm often in a Party meeting and I'm one of the youngest people there. And in case you're wondering, I'm not that young. Our Party is full of smart, energetic, young people, and they are going to be the future. Some of the candidates for national delegate have already distinguished themselves, and others are showing promise, or may have become newly energized by this year's campaigns. When we vote for these candidates we are building the Party for the 21st Century, and there are some very attractive candidates who fill these qualifications.

As you might guess, I haven't decided who is getting all of my votes. I'm still looking forward to Saturday, and to hearing what the candidates and their supporters have to say. Meanwhile, since I'm still making up my mind, I'd like to hear what you're looking for in a national convention delegate.

Today I received an email from my cousin in Florida’s wife. Titled “something of interest”, I opened it thru endless attachments with hundreds of email addys. It begins with a snapshot of a a smiling black woman pointing to an Obama 08 sticker, claiming this woman is his grandmother. It then goes on thru many snapshots of “Obama’s family in Kenya” with paragraphs under each. In these paragraphs, it is claimed that Obama was illegitimate, that his late father was a drunk and drug addict, that his African relatives are all ne’er-do-wells, that his uncle named his son after Fidel Castro, that his family are radical militant Muslims, that Obama direspected his maternal grandparents by calling them “white folk” and that he changed his name to Barack Hussein Obama. I lit into my cousin’s wife over it. But judging by the volume of email addys, this must be everywhere. How entirely shameful.