As the VTGOP surveys the wreckage of its sans-Scheuermann gubernatorial field, there’s a whole lotta lookin’ on the bright side goin’ on. I’d say it’s glass-half-full, except in this case it’s more like “glass-with-a-drop-of-water.”
This festival of happy talk comes via Neal Goswami at the Mitchell Family Organ (paywalled, sorry), in a piece entitled “Gov. Race Loses One Challenger; Others Are In the Wings.” Let’s review the desperate cheerfulness, shall we?
Let’s begin with travel mogul Scott Milne, who apparently plans to make a decision on the deadline day for filing. (Which would make petition-gathering into quite the magic trick.) Scheuermann reviews his qualifications for Vermont’s highest office:
“I’ve met him a couple of times. I don’t know him well, but I certainly think he’d be a strong candidate.”
Cough. A brilliant display of damning with faint praise, methinks.
Now, on to Randy Brock, who lost to Gov. Shumlin really, really badly in 2012:
[VTGOP Chair David Sunderland] said Brock has “a great background at running and winning statewide elections” and “would bring an interesting dynamic.”
Well, I suppose he’s got a better record at “winning statewide elections” than any other potential Republican candidate. But that record stands at a solid one win, two losses. Which includes a one-sided thumping in the race for Governor, and the rare feat of an incumbent managing to lose a race for a low-profile statewide office. That’s a very Charlie Sheen definition of “winning.”
With that, we turn our attention to the gorilla in the room, Bruce Lisman, who (by his own words) isn’t seriously considering a run, but is seriously considering The People’s repeated requests that he run.
Sunderland said Lisman has “ideas and thoughts about the condition of our state and the condition of the economy … that are hopefully aligned with what the Republican Party believes.”
“Hopefully aligned”? They’re serving up some awfully thin gruel in the VTGOP Cafeteria, aren’t they?
No shrift is given to the only declared candidate in the race, Emily Peyton. Party officials have said they would disavow her if she managed to win the primary.
This is so sad, I almost begin to feel sorry for the VTGOP. I’ve heard that as recently as a few weeks ago, a Scheuermann bid was considered virtually a sure thing, which probably kept party officials from beating the bushes for other alternatives. And now, following Scheuermann’s encounter with the reality of late-starting a challenge to Shumlin, they’re up Shit Creek with a depressing variety of untested, misfit, and/or broken paddles.
Just FYI, the Goswami piece is NOT paywalled (at least not for me, and I don’t subscribe to the RH). For news, the paywall impacts the Rutland and Southern Vermont sections, but NOT the Vermont News section where this article appears. Similarly, editorials are paywalled, but Letters and Commentary are not. Go figure.
seem to get act together. Always look like they’re attempting to herd kittens — somewhere. Scheuerman was the best thing since well, uh, memory not serving me well here. Not just b/c she’s a woman. Persona appears to be the kind of common-sense level-headed individual they need — too moderate? She & Scott or even Brock if he has brains enough to stay away from Ms. Johnson could have presented a respectable challenge. No name-recognition of Milne I think will be difficult to overcome. Unless Scott comes to the rescue & I know it’s earlyish they don’t stand a chance imho.
Lisman & his propensity for sending mixed-messages darting hither & yon, hiding behind hirees like trees in the small forest of functionaries he has purchased for that very reason is just getting ridiculous. Such a frikkin weasely-wimp. All I can think of is Sues comical caricature of nervously batting eyes behind fan hoping his astrotufed so-called grassrooters will mount a groundswell.
Problem is, when your “members” or supposed supporters are auto-added under false pretenses & therefore vitually nonexistant there’s no one there to prop him but his Lisman-bankrolled entourage. So who’s asking him to run? Obviously no one who cares to make their crappy choice public.