One of the last gasps of the recent presidential election:

Todd Palin Found in Contempt

JUNEAU, Alaska (Feb. 7) – Alaska legislators are still sweeping up after last fall's abuse of power investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin, but they insist the fireworks are over.

• This week’s Tottentastic: Shay’s list of seven gubernatorial wannabes includes Windsor Senator John Campbell but not Chuck Ross, as my list did. Ross is a perennial rumor, and it will likely go no further than that, but I’d be equally surprised if Campbell steps into this dynamic primary field. Wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him go for the Lite Gov spot though, even though many folks believe that Tom Costello will make another run at it himself.
• Also on Totten-reported gubernatorial news is the tidbit that Deb Markowitz has retained Jason Powell, the Vermont Director for the Obama campaign, to run her campaign for the state’s top spot. Interesting, if true, as nobody riled both campaign staff and the activists in the greater Dem infrastructure more than Powell. He was a bridge burner among the very people Markowitz will depend on in a primary like few I’ve ever seen. Her potential primary opponents may see this as good news, frankly.

  Why the choice then? Speculation centers on Carolyn Dwyer, who has emerged as a primary ally of Markowitz’s, according to reports. Powell, along with his partner, former Coordinated Campaign Director Kristina Althoff (with whom he was seen as a sort of “team” with and who similarly got on the bad side of many in the CC and the party infrastructure), did make a point of staying on the good side of the Team Leahy crowd – including Dwyer – even as they ran afoul of many of the grunts and the rank-and-file. During the campaign season, the atmosphere at the Party became so toxic that Chair Ian Carleton was reportedly forced to parachute in for an intervention of sorts. Sources suggest that Althoff, who was brought on as “interim” Director at the VDP, withdrew from consideration for the permanent top spot after former coordinated campaign staffers were polled as to whether or not they could work for her again. No word on what the results were…

  In any event, Powell’s new position suggests that his relationship with many who call the shots is still solid, which likely means Althoff’s is as well. Given this – and given that Dwyer has already stepped up to run Senator Leahy’s re-election campaign – don’t be surprised if Althoff gets tapped to run Peter Welch’s re-election campaign, given the strong influence Leahy folks have in Welchworld.

• I’m an agnostic sort, but seeing cancer survivor Ruth Bader Ginsberg (and way-old John Paul Stevens, for that matter) hold out as long as she has on the Supreme Court so she can be replaced by President Obama and not Bush makes me wonder if the country hasn’t received a little help from on high.
• At the outset of the session, I was getting very mixed signals from leader-types in the two Houses of the Legislature regarding the path of the same-sex marriage bill. Talk in the House seemed to be of continuing to “lay the groundwork” for the future, while talk in the Senate was of moving relatively quickly and decisively to get it done. Given that the new House bill has an eye-popping 59 co-sponsors, I suppose the Senate approach is carrying the day. Expect to see action on the bill this session (and check the link for a pic of and a quote from GMD’s NanuqFC, aka Euan Bear, holding a sign that makes the point perfectly).
• Finally, I poked my head in briefly at the Seven Days mayoral debate this week. It was in the schnazzy filmhouse at Burlington’s Main Street Landing before a mostly full-house, there was a live simulcast and liveblogging and twittering and texting of questions and big giant projections and lots of cameras and promised podcasts and tigers and bears, oh my. The Seven Days crowd is using their not inconsiderable resources and really taking this new multimedia technology thing and having a field day with it, bless their hearts. It’s great to watch.

  Funny thing is, I was actually in town discussing the mayoral debate that GMD will be co-sponsoring with Democracy for America (and possibly another org or two). Look for details on that in the next couple days. I guarantee you it won’t be such a high-tech, belled-n-whistled event, but it should still be fun.

Find a friend .Jason Gibbs,Governor Douglas’s Eagle Scout and new head of Vt.State Parks, overreached and got kicked off of Facebook .They didn’t look kindly on his spamming individuals to “become supporters of the state parks ” So much for his diversity of outreach activities skills.

Gibbs explains that he sent messages to his Facebook friends to encourage them to become “supporters of the state parks.” That was a violation of the Facebook’s anti-spamming rules, he was told in a message from Facebook, and he was thus suspended from the Facebook world.

Gibbs said he has asked the Facebook people when can he get back on. He’s awaiting word.

Meanwhile, his wife has launched a petition drive to restore him to Facebook.

http://www.burlingtonfreepress…