Oh, looky here: amidst all the excitement around the unveiling of a half-billion-dollar development project in the Northeast Kingdom, a press release from Bruce Lisman’s Campaign for Vermont got lost in the shuffle.

Perhaps unsurprising; it was CFV’s first press release since May 1. Indeed, after a supercharged launch of what appeared to be Lisman’s bid for a hostile takeover of Vermont politics through the sheer power of his money, CFV has been largely invisible since the official campaign season began. No new radio ads since April, and only a smattering of public appearances by CFV founder and ex-Wall Street one-percenter Bruce Lisman.

But oh, its press release is a real piece of work, in its single-minded focus on the efforts of lead developer Bill Stenger to create something out of nothing through the muscular application of entrepreneurial drive. Almost entirely absent from CFV’s version of events is any acknowledgment of the public sector’s decisive role in the development. First paragraph:

The Campaign for Vermont Prosperity congratulates Bill Stenger for continuing to convert federal EB-5 immigrant investor program into good construction, aviation and travel and tourism jobs in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the first, last, and only mention of the government’s role in the project. When, in fact, EB-5 is generating 95% of the investment capital for the project. But CFV spins a tale of a brave businessman prevailing in spite of — not because of, but in spite of — the public sector’s single-minded efforts to thwart the workings of the free market.

Think I’m exaggerating?  

Entrepreneurs like Bill are working day and night, and against many forces, to move their communities, and our state, in the right direction. His effort reminds us that clear vision and a focused effort achieves real results.

While it is important to celebrate this exciting new project, it is equally important to acknowledge that there is much more work that must be done, and many reforms that must be made in state policy, to put all of Vermont–and all of Vermont’s families–on a prosperous path.

And more…

Though the effort is substantial, and the results real, we can’t fix these problems through the hard work of people like Bill Stenger alone.

Jesus Christ on a cracker. Even Bill Stenger himself wouldn’t claim that this project was realized “through the hard work of…Bill Stenger alone.” Quite the opposite, in fact; Stenger gave the credit to Senator Patrick Leahy, who worked hard for an extension of EB-5.

Stenger praised Leahy’s efforts in Congress. “It’s his work that has opened this window,” the ski area mogul said. “If it were not for him, this window would not exist.”

The gold-plated balls of Campaign for Vermont, putting out this piece of one-sided garbage in response to a real triumph of cooperation between public and private sectors.

If this is emblematic of Bruce Lisman’s contribution to our political discourse, I would welcome his move to a nice secure tax haven — say, in Florida or the Cayman Islands — where his free-market dogmatism would be a better fit.