A nice big crowd gathered to hear the Unity Team at Cosmic Bakery in St. Albans this morning, spilling over into Franklin County’s Democratic Headquarters next door when it became much too large to be accommodated in the bakery.  First to arrive were Doug Racine and Peter Shumlin, followed soon after by Susan Bartlett and then Deb Markowitz.  We were told that Matt Dunne will be joining them later on the tour.

The atmosphere was warm and jovial among the candidates, and the hot-spot was focussed squarely on Brian Dubie who just happened to also be in town. According to the Messenger, the format of Dubie’s appearances allowed little time for questions; but the Democratic juggernaut was more than happy to define Douglas’ deputy in the void.

Susan Bartlett pointed out Dubie’s lack of experience and weakness on economics.  When it comes to budget, says Susan,

“Dubie knows nada.”

Deb Markowitz pointed out that, although Dubie is all over spending cuts to education, he’d allow taxpayers to support religious schools.

Doug Racine very graciously stated for the whole group that Peter is the presumptive nominee; but no matter what the outcome of the recount, they are united in  a single vision for Vermont as a community.

As the presumptive nominee, Peter Shumlin gave the wind-up speech listing five areas in which the united Democratic campaign intends to challenge Brian Dubie and bring Vermont to renewed prosperity:

.Healthcare.  It’s not a privilege but a right.  Universal coverage will free business of a key limiting factor.

.Creating a tax structure that works for everyone’s benefit.



If we want to see Vermont run on an economically sound basis, Peter concluded,

“Let’s have someone who has actually run a business do it.”

After a few more minutes of schmoozing with the Franklin County faithful, and lots of questions from the press, the four boarded a big white Winnebago for the brief journey to their next whistle-stop in Shelburne.  Camp songs and s’mores anyone?