Last fall we published a diary on the carpetbagger, Jack McMulleny side of Dan Freilich, who was in Vermont for a cup of coffee in the 1990's, and then moved back to run for Senate against Pat Leahy.
Okay. Nobody owns any seat in Congress, no matter how long he's been there. He's entitled to run, just like anyone else.
It's just that the way he's doing it is weird.
For one thing, he's been putting up these videos on YouTube. Or someone's been putting up these videos. He posted one on Tuesday that I found from his Facebook page that was all about how long Pat Leahy's been in the Senate. Something about how many Rocky movies, Presidents, and a variety of other things we've had during the time Leahy's been in office.
And then after getting a couple of comments on the video, somebody, either Captain Dan Freilich or “Captain Dan Freilich” posted a note on FB that said
It sure looks like a campaign site to me, and I wasn't the only one who was confused. Aki Soga, the editorial page editor of the Free Press, asked him (again on FB) I'm not clear. Is this your YouTube channel and are these videos by you?
To which “Captain Dan” replied, this should clear things up a bit., along with a link to another video on YouTube.
And the kicker is, you follow the links to these two videos on YouTube and what you get is the message that “This video has been removed by the user.” I've seen each of them once, but apparently I'm not getting another chance.
It does make you wonder what he's trying to clear up, who is posting these videos, photos, and other campaign stuff, and what message he's trying to convey.
I think I might not be the only one wondering, either. For instance, last Saturday at the Vermont Democratic Committee meeting, Freilich was given an opportunity to speak. He did okay, although not great. During the question and answer period, though, he had to admit that he had signed the petition to nominate Paul Beaudry, a right-wing Republican and radio performer (Vermont's answer to Glenn Beck?) to run for Congress against Peter Welch.
Again, nobody owns his seat in Congress, but what the hell is someone running as a Democrat doing supporting a right-winger like Beaudry?
Is this a campaign? If he's trying to make some substantive points, he's actually making some odd choices in the effort.
Well, that pretty much defines Cap’n Dan then. Pass.
His answer, after admitting that he had signed the petition, was that it was just to get him on the ballot.
Of course, if you know anything you’re not going to sign a petition for anyone unless you want them to be elected, so maybe he’s just totally naive and inexperienced.
Maybe that’s why he should have started with something a little lower than United States Senate.
People should not be judged categorically based on petitions they sign when those petitions are about getting a candidate or an issue on a ballot. I’ve signed petitions for candidates that I don’t plan to vote for. Choice is healthy for our democracy. I think this is especially true for primaries when you know the incumbent is not going to have any problems getting on the ballot.
I also signed a candidate’s ballot petition in the governor’s race without knowing that I could only sign one. That aspect of Vermont law should be changed. We only get one vote on election day, but we should be able to give more than one petition signature to enable the maximum amount of choice for the one vote we have to cast.
who couldn’t get on the ballot without his signature. This guy is a mean-spirited carpet-bagger, as far as I’m concerned. He has sewn poison in Franklin County, the like of which I hope we’ll never see statewide. He’s capable of a lot of mischief, and I have heard it remarked that he fancies himself something in the mold of Rush Limbaugh.
No, I don’t think you should sign the petition of anyone who asks you to. What’s the point of the petition if its not to ascertain how broadly a candidate is supported? I’m glad someone limited it to one per person!
It’s not just the petition thing, even though as a liberal Democrat I can’t imagine signing a petition for a right-wing Republican for anything.
It’s the whole approach to the campaign, including posting these weird videos that may or may not be by the candidate, and then taking them down.
As I say, it’s hard to figure out what he’s really doing.
I’m not sure that’s a great strategy for someone nobody’s ever heard of.
Mr. Freilich was wandering the BTV Jazz Fest looking for signatures to get him on the ballot… didn’t have a chance (nor real desire at the time) to chat with him, as I was enjoying time with the fam and the little one.
As to signing petitions – yes, your vote is your voice – but so is your pen. You don’t have to make a choice at the booth if some of these folks (or issues) never make it to the ballot…