All across Vermont today Republican robo-callers were out in force.  Many GMD’ers have reported the smear campaign calls by “Friends of Brian Dubie.”  We’ll have the audio up soon as well!



According to Sue Prent, the gist is that Peter Shumlin is proposing to release “nearly 800 non-violent offenders into the community.”  The Robo-call then alleges that Steve Howard has said that even he doesn’t agree with Shumlin’s plan.  

Tonight, Steve Howard responded to Dubie’s smear campaign:

Steve Howard’s Statement on Brian Dubie’s Negative Campaign Tactics

Rutland, VT – Today, Brian Dubie did it again.  After 8 years of failed economic policies that have cost too many Vermonters their jobs, Brian is trying to distract the voters from his record of losing 10,000 private sector jobs and 8 years of broken promises and misguided priorities.  I will have no part in these ugly, negative Karl Rove style political attacks on my friend Peter Shumlin.  The Lt. Governor ought to be ashamed of himself for bringing such despicable, fear-mongering and nasty campaign tactics to our state.  Vermonters have had enough, they believe these negative tactics have no place in the State of Vermont and are absolutely shameful.

Let’s be clear, we would not even be having this discussion if the Lt.Governor had bothered to show up and participate for the last 8 years in building the infrastructure we need to keep crime from happening in the first place.  This whole discussion is occurring as a result of the failure of the Douglas-Dubie  Administration to lead in any meaningful way to reform our corrections system.  I have spoken with Peter and we are both committed to a fiscally responsible law and order plan that locks up any criminal that is in any way is a danger to society.

Peter Shumlin and I agree that Vermont needs a greater public investment in drug treatment, mental health counseling, adult education, skill development, transitional housing and community support systems in order to get the Administrations runaway Corrections budget under control.

Peter and I are 100 percent in agreement that Brian Dubie has no plan to deal with our skyrocketing corrections budget and his plan to deal with government spending is to make across the board cuts to education and law enforcement.  Brian Dubie should stop misleading  and distracting voters and call back every Vermonter that he called to correct the record and explain why he refuses to talk with them about his record of failure on creating jobs for Vermonters.

Paid for by The Committee to Elect Steve Howard, Virginia McCormack, Treasurer

See GMD’s side-bar for two readers’ viewpoints on these calls.  

garybeck here

mmnek here

More below the fold…

I also received a Republican Robo-call today, but in comparison, it was certainly the ho-hum garden variety call that are usually more typical in a Vermont statewide campaign.  I was asked who I would vote for when I vote for governor, lt. governor, and secretary of state, and at the end of the call the recorded voice said that this call was from the Republican Party.  

I sure wish Dubie would just answer the questions and have a real dialogue.