On the heels of the new Rasmussen Poll with a 50-45 lead of Shumlin for likely voters, Shumlin did two stopovers this afternoon; one in Springfield and then the next in Brattleboro. We did canvassing in Brattleboro so we could get to the rally in the afternoon.
Shumlin was in incredible form today, but I’ll start with the other two speakers. Steve Howard opened. I will say that I’ve never seen Howard speak before and he’s quite good, and I wish that were more reflected in the polls. He’s a good guy and right on the issues, but doesn’t seem to be able to get that reflected in high numbers in polls, which I have trouble understanding. Howard gave a great short and quick stump speech and then introduced Vermont’s favorite Congressman, Peter Welch:
Welch spoke briefly, and without a lot of depth, but it was an introduction and that was appropriate. I got to meet him briefly after, which was very nice. In person, he’s a very kind and attentive man, but in the meantime, he was introducing the man we all believe should be our next governor.
And then came Peter.
Peter was on fire today– going after Dubie and his campaign tactics, without for a moment being hostile about it, but drawing stark and clear contrasts (I have a couple brief video clips to post after they’ve uploaded). On VY, on choice, on jobs, on health care.
It was incredibly refreshing to find a politician willing to be so directly and openly left wing and progressive in his expression of his ideas and policies. In a climate when so many Democrats are running from their record, this is someone who openly embraces it and loves to talk about it. I’ll also note that I’ve argued with Peter. He’s fun to argue with because he stands his ground, but listens and thinks about what you have to say. I’m looking forward to having a governor who isn’t about personal grudges and quiet agendas hostile to the very ideas of government itself, and it’s clear that this is a man who’s not about the ideology, but about the people, not about the grudges but about getting the job done.
And I’ll just say, at the risk of y’all getting sick of hearing it from us, this takes work, and if you want this to happen, you have to help. You have to talk to people you know, and explain to them what’s right about Shumlin (Jobs. Education. Choice.) and what’s wrong about Dubie (take your pick) and make it clear how important this is.
A couple very quick video clips:
while out canvasing, we saw this:
Peter is indeed attentive. We don’t always see eye-to-eye, but he’s been a good egg to work with on healthcare, war funding, Middle East policy, etc. Very respectful, frank and willing to discuss divisive issues and honestly hear you out when there’s disagreement.
When you hire an out of state campaign manager who doesnt understand Vermont politics you tend to lose the statewide election in Vermont. I remember Richard Tarrent looked like he was going to give Bernie a run for his money. Eventually, Vermonters picked up on how much of a jerk Tarrent was and Bernie won by a large margine. I am amazed that Dubie would be stupid enouhg to try that strategy again. I am happy as well. To all the Republicans in Vermont who don’t understand Vermont politics, thank you.
…from yesterday’s rally– I had a moment to talk to Peter briefly before he spoke– I said something like “I assume you’ve heard about the Rasmussen poll?”
His response “Yeah. Five points. Do you really believe that poll?” I told him I believed it more than the Mason Dixon one, but not completely, but what was surprising to me about this is that most of the time, politicians when they get good news from a poll use it to encourage people and look like a winner, but Peter surprised me by being a bit more shrewd than that. He knows that there’s a danger in a race this close that overconfidence can cause you serious trouble. He was smart enough to be encouraged about it without banking on it, which tells me again how glad I am with him as our choice for governor.
is that his numbers invariably favor rightwingers. I’m unsure how he accomplishes this feat or if he does, however to have only one poll which has these numbers is strange, unless the rest of them are playing w/the demographics & wording of questions & he is the one who is not which is a possibility.
Nonetheless, a pollster which uses exclusively robocalls is not scientific enough for some pollwatchers, at least one of which does not list Rasmussen results @ all.
This is why the poll is & has been so interesting-no matter which demographics used or how they are framing the question, Shumlin seems to come out on top from jumpstreet in this poll.
Also, most young ppl are & the tech-savvy who are likely to vote Shumlin do not have landlines nor do many others.
I & husband ea have own cell plus a voip broadband phone, we got rid of landline years ago.
One child has landline but also cell, one has cell & voip, one has only cell. This is more good news if they vote!