Rob Craig, candidate for State House in Groton, Newbury, and Topsham is a “Vermont Tea Party Patriot,” which, of course, he’s entitled to be.

He’s running against Chip Conquest, who’s just put in a terrific first term, after ousting Bud Otterman (who apparently found the sessions so compelling that he developed quite a reputation for sleeping through them). Chip’s ability to bring people from all sides to consensus has earned him a reputation as a hard-working, effective legislator. If you’re a voter in Groton, Topsham, or Newbury, I’d strongly encourage your support for Chip.

So, anyway, back to the tea partier: Craig is part of a group that decries government spending, but he is also the recipient of almost $400,000 in tax-payer subsidized loans in the last 2 years:

One loan for $172,300, one for $206,000 and most recently an additional [warning: PDF FILE] $15,000, for a grand total of $393,300 from 2008 to 2010.

So, let’s see if I’ve got this right, he’s against government spending, wants to cut yet more taxes for the wealthy, but is happy to take nearly 1/2 million dollars that is only available courtesy of the taxpayer.

And how many jobs does this nearly $400k windfall support?

2.

Yup. 2.

That’s just shy of $200,000 per job. His business, Sunapee Precision is listed in Hoover’s as an aircraft parts and equipment manufacturer (a Dubie connection, perhaps?).

But it gets better: Sunapee Precision appears to have disappeared. A little digging on the web shows two addresses at different times:

The first appears to be an empty space in Newport, NH, at the back of a dance studio. The former owner of the dance studio says Sunapee Precision used to be there. It’s hard to discern whether there’s anything there, now.

The second is an empty storefront in a boarded up building in Woodsville, NH.

So, this begs the question: are there still any employees? If so, where are they? Sunapee Precision hasn’t, as far as I can tell, filed for bankruptcy (though they could be at a point in the process that hasn’t made it to the public filing stage, yet). Perhaps they have moved again? If so, why have their address and phone info not been updated?

It’s also interesting that he’s running in VT on a platform of supporting small businesses in our state, but his own business is located out of state. And if his business does happen to be going down the tubes, is it really the best idea to campaign on his business background? I mean, if $400k can’t keep 2 people employed for 2 years, what does that mean in terms of his understanding of budgeting – a skill that will be excruciatingly important in the coming session?

On top of all this, his “likes” on facebook make me wonder if he’s not a little too extreme for Vermont.

One of them is particularly entertaining: SCHOOL CHOICE Vermont! a group that wants to use taxpayer money to send kids to private schools. Why is this so amusing? Because Mr. Craig is also running on:

“Furthermore, we must demand a first-rate education for the next generation of Vermonters, but we need to deliver it at a lower cost.”

Sounds good, but it turns out Mr. Craig has never bothered to vote on school funding for either of the school budgets that affect the town. He doesn’t go to the school board meetings to learn what’s being discussed and offer his own ideas. Nope, he just spouts an opinion based only on his own imagined reality of school budgeting, and wants us to kick in some more of our cash so his grandkids can go to private school. Of course, he wants that money to come out of the budget that would give public school kids an excellent education (you know, most of the kids – the ones who can’t afford the difference between the subsidy he seeks and the private tuition).

I’d give more links – for example, the one where he links to the extremist site redstate.com, but  he’s hidden the “wall” on his facebook page from non-friends since I last looked, so I can’t get to it anymore.

However, his “likes” are still visible. In addition to the Tea Partiers, he lists a few other choice beacons of right-wing lunacy. It’s a little hard to see, the way facebook lays out the list, so I’ve bolded the choicest morsels:

Groton Timberworks, Vermont First, Vermont Energy Partnership, Park Restaurant, Vermont Fall Foliage, Tom Salmon for State Auditor, Kevin Mullin For Senate, Tea Party Patriots, Vermont, Newbury, VT, Groton, VT, Charlie Smith for State Senate, Charles Krauthammer, Charity Lodge # 43 F&AM, Thompson Hill Campground & Country Store, “Walking through life” tv show, Kristin Sohlstrom for State Representative, Angela Chagnon for State Representative, Phil Scott for Lieutenant Governor, NFIB Vermont, The American Conservative, promoteVT, Bennington GOP, Allard For The House, Breakwater Cafe & Grill, Jason Gibbs for Secretary of State, Derby Historical Society, SCHOOL CHOICE Vermont!, Vermont Libertarian Republicans, Kleinhans Keller 2010, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Paul Avella, New Hampshire Libertarian Republicans, Michelle Malkin, Young Republican Network, Snelling for Lt. Governor, Shelly Roche, Windsor GOP, Thomas Jefferson – American, VTDigger.org, Len Britton, Americans Against Acorn, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – USA, Vermont College Republicans, Robert Craig, Republican Governors Association, Sean Hannity, Support Our Troops, Chris Roy, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, The Heritage Foundation, Vermont Republican Party, Brian Dubie, Wounded Warrior Project, Boston Red Sox Fans, Green Mt Monogram Inc., The West Point Candidate Book, Northeast Kingdom Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Vermont Made Products, Charlie Bucknam for State Senate, BestCigarPrices, Six degrees of separation in Vermont, Biz_In_Vermont, Spread The Wealth, Vermont’s Northland Journal, The Bridge Weekly Sho-Case, Lake Morey Resort, Cup Of Joe For A Joe, Vermont.com, Vermont Business and Industry EXPO, Inn of the Six Mountains at Killington, Deborah T. Bucknam & Associates, PC, United States Military Academy, West Point Association of Graduates, Army Football at West Point, The Weekly Standard, True North Radio

I’m curious as to what Mr. Craig has done with $400k of taxpayer money in the last 18 – 24 months. I’m curious about why he feels we should subsidize private educations for children of the well-to-do, and I’m curious as to why he thinks his brand of reactionary extremism is going to fly in Vermont.