On the day before numbers from the recently completed VPR/Mason Dixon poll on the Governor’s race are expected to be released, there’s lots of hubbub in circulation – some reliable, some a bit more sketchy.

In the reliable department, word is that I’m not the only one who reckons that Mr. Dubie is hurting himself with a slash and burn campaign that is devastating his nice guy image – so are Republicans. All across the GOP hierarchy, there are concerns that Dubie has pushed too hard, too aggressively, and with too little regard for the truth, and that it may well be costing him.

Where I was wrong in my earlier piece – and this is where it gets more interesting – is that, according to insiders, Governor Douglas himself is among those urging Dubie to chill out (which blows my own theory that Douglas was in some degree of control of the Dubie campaign). Douglas reportedly expressed concerns that the negativity is distracting from the Secretary of State race and the Lieutenant Governor race, and that it could lead to an across the board backlash.

Turns out there are many people who work for the Governor and are active in his political circles who are still scratching their heads as to why Dubie hired an out-of-state political operative (Corry Bliss) to run his campaign in the first place, given the availability of local GOP election veterans such as Neale Lunderville, Dustin Degree, Kate Mitchell, Denise Casey and others. At the time, Dubie indicated he wanted “the best,” which didn’t go over well at the Republican Party and the Gov’s Office.

Few are happy with Campaign Manager Bliss, who many in the GOP feel has already permanently damaged the tenor of Vermont elections (privately, some in the media are saying the same thing, although they won’t come right out and say that, mired as they are in the false equivalence nonsense they use to shield themselves from the dreaded charge of “liberal bias”). Republican insiders continue to be concerned as Bliss spends unprecedented amounts of money on nasty ads, while allowing Dubie’s debate performances to be increasingly embarrassing.

And (unconfirmable) word is that they have reason to worry; Dubie campaign internal polling reportedly shows his negatives increasing among Vermonters identifying as independents. Think that Pinocchio ad from the Shumlin campaign was tacky? Maybe, but it sure scared the GOP crowd.

What’s even more eyebrow-raising is another rumor that should be taken with a few grains of salt, given the degrees of separation. A political insider sympathetic to the Shumlin campaign (but in no way associated with the Shumlin campaign) indicates that their source within Dubie’s campaign reported that Brian Dubie’s wife is unhappy with the nastiness from the Lite Guv and considers it unchristian (presumably given his trashing of the 9th Commandment’s rule against bearing false witness).

True? Who knows. Sounds iffy for sure, although the source is a good one, I must say.

But one thing is for certain: all is not smiles at Camp Dubie, and a lot of people on every side are holding their breath in anticipation of those upcoming poll numbers…