In a move that one would readily expect from Gentleman Jim Douglas, but not from the standard bearer of the Democratic party in Vermont, Peter Shumlin has sent a letter to the FCC endorsing the mega media takeover by Comcast of Time Warner.

This, the day after a Comcast outage lasting several hours left many Vermont households with neither internet nor telephone service.

Even moderate Democrat Howard Dean’s Democracy for America has joined the Consumer’s Union and Burlington’s CCTV Center for Media & Democracy in challenging the acquisition.

This giant gulp will leave Comcast in control of 16 out of 20 top cable television markets in America, and 35-percent of all high-speed internet service in the country.

In the bad old days before corporate law got a Republican makeover, that would have been regarded as potentially a “monopoly” position; something most definitely frowned upon by the feds.

In a small market like Vermont it very definitely would represent a defacto monopoly, because the swap formula by which Comcast plans to avoid running afoul of federal anti-trust rules appears to involve moving Vermont’s Charter subscribers over to Comcast.

Thus endeth competition from the # 2 player in the Vermont market.

Why would our Democratic governor think that is a good thing? Paul Heinz of Seven Days put that question to Shumlin spokesman Sue Allen who said the following:

…Shumlin’s letter to the FCC was focused on Comcast’s “regulatory commitments in Vermont when it acquired Adelphia and its work (as one of many private providers) in bringing more choice and broadband access to Vermonters.”

However this argument seems a little weak given that basic Charter subscribers now have access to channels that are unavailable to basic Comcast subscribers, and vice-versa.

Even though their markets don’t cross in Vermont, I know of at least one Charter subscriber who will not be pleased to lose some arts programming she now enjoys with a basic cable subscription. She will most certainly regard the “choice” of only Comcast as a pretty raw deal.

Remember when Bernie Sanders tried to move heaven and earth to get cable providers like Comcast to allow subscribers to pick and choose the channels they were actually interested in using rather than being forced into expensive “bundles” that included channels of absolutely no interest to them?

Why couldn’t Shumlin have at least held out for some sort of compromise like that which would have actually benefitted Vermonters?

The larger issue is that such concentration of media power in one giant entity represents the potential for unprecedented access to the public ear and eye from a single viewpoint.  That seems the very definition of a threat to our democracy.

Heinz reasonably raises the question of whether Comcast’s $475,000. “gift” to the Democratic Governors’ Association (of which Shumlin is the current chair) might have had something to do with the Governor’s willingness to endorse the consolidation.

The DGA apparently isn’t responding to requests for comments, but you can bet this won’t be the last time that Governor Shumlin will be expected to respond to questions about his corporatist sympathies

Crossposted at The Vermont Political Observer.

Oh dear. The Republicrat candidate for State Senate in Windham County, Roger Allbee, put his foot in it at a candidates’ forum last week.

For those just joining us, The Artful Roger is a longtime Republican and Ag Secretary under Jim Douglas, but he’s now running in the Democratic primary because, well, a Republican can’t possibly win in Windham. Or because of principle, your choice.

Anyway, there he was on August 21 at the American Legion Post 5 in lovely Brattleboro, along with the three actual Democrats in the race: incumbent Jeanette White, plus Becca Balint and Joan Bowman. Fortunately for all of us, the local community access cable folks recorded the event and posted it online. So we can all witness Allbee’s closing statement, which included the following example of acute political tone-deafness:

Whoever is elected represents all the people, whether they’re Democrat, Republican, they’re colored, they have alternative preferences, we represent everyone in the county. Everyone. We represent every citizen.

If you want to hear it for yourself, it’s right at the 108-minute mark.

Wow. How many people did Allbee offend in that one sentence? Well, obviously, “colored” is a longtime no-no. There’s also “alternative preferences,” by which he apparently means LGBT. But as we all know, “preference” is the right-wing code word for “you’ve got a choice, and you chose EVIL.” I guess he just can’t bring himself to utter the dreadful word “GAY.”

Plus there’s the Republican formulation of “Democratic.”

Ugh.

I haven’t had time to go back and listen to the whole forum, but based on this one statement, I have to say I really, really hope that the voters don’t choose this guy as a standard-bearer for the Democratic Party.

Sorry, Rog. I mean “Democrat Party.”

Vermont Auditor Doug Hoffer has just announced plans to conduct an audit of  “corrective actions” to improve functioning of the Vermont Health Exchange.  The audit is to begin in mid-to late September.

“The preliminary objective of this audit is to evaluate whether the State has plans to correct reported shortcomings in Vermont Health Connect (VHC) and the extent to which it monitors these plans.  During the course of the audit this objective may change based on the information gathered during the planning phase.”

In his letter to Dr. Harry Chen, Acting Secretary, Vermont Agency of Health &Human Services, Auditor Hoffer explains that his office is aware that the DHHS Office of Inspector General is currently doing fieldwork of its own and has chosen a delayed start date in order to avoid complicating VHC’s efforts with an additional ongoing audit.

Results of the Auditor’s own fieldwork will be reported to the Governor,”other statutorily mandated addresses and the public.”

The Governor should welcome involvement by the Auditor, whose reputation for independence and care can only enhance the credibility of VHC and its commitment to transparency and accountability.  It is this kind of proactive effort that will ultimately overcome VHC’s “growing pains.”

Warts and all, this is what good government looks like.

BP’s take on the Windham County race set me to thinking.

When the late Senator Jim Jeffords made his famous statement, that he hadn’t left the Republican Party but it had left him, he foretold the GOP’s future in Vermont.

Today’s Vermont GOP is a fractured and ineffectual mess.

It happened rather quickly; and it happened, for the most part, because nationally, the “Grand Old Party” had just grown too extreme to find support here, orphaning Vermont Republicans to explain their parentage as best they could.  

Longtime Vermont Republican figures soldier on in a joyless vacuum.  Money from the national party, so necessary to buying a credible place on the ballot, comes with a secret handshake and the long shadow of talking points that would make Ronald Reagan blush.

Both reasonable men, Phil Scott and Randy Brock represent two aspects of the same disfunction:    

Scott has found a “safe” place by being everyone’s friend and a little vague on where he stands on everything else.

Left rudderless by an appalling national party, Randy Brock seems to have lost the will to live, politically speaking.

Meanwhile, every political hopeful who lies somewhere to the left of Michele Bachman, is trying to cram him or herself into the (winning) Democratic blazer and make it fit.  It’s a Blue Dog bonanza!

Can you blame them for seeking an identity makeover?

When even the word “conservative” can’t be said with a straight face, and demographics seem poised to send your party straight over the cliff, Darwin-style, what alternative is there?

The problem is that this artificial swelling of the Democratic ranks resets the parameters of “moderation” within the party a little to the right.  In so doing, Democratic commitment to tough issues like social justice, single payer healthcare and environmental stewardship become diluted.

And yes; there is some truth to the argument that defection to the Progressive Party just reinforces that diluted state.

Guilty as charged.

The Windham County race for two state senate seats, if not thrilling, is at least lively this year. Four Democrats are running for two seats and there are two Liberty Union candidates but no Republicans stepped up to run.

One of the two seats is open due to Senator Peter Galbraith’s surprise announcement that he was leaving the senate. Galbraith left, he said, to take up private diplomatic peace efforts in support of Kurdistan where in the past he had interests in the local oil industry. The other Windham county seat is held by Jeannette White.

This week saw almost back-to-back endorsements from statewide players. Senate majority leader Philip Baruth made his dream team endorsement. And Vision to Action Vermont (V2AVT), the newest non-profit centrist PAC in what seems to a Vermont growth industry, made theirs.

Senator Baruth gave his enthusiastic approval to both Becca Balint and incumbent state senator Jeannette White.

Baruth further emphasized the need for a strong coalition from the County, stating: I think Jeanette and Becca complement one another beautifully. They will be a Democratic dream team for Windham County, and I fully plan to be the first to cross the floor to shake Becca’s hand when she’s sworn in come January.

With his senatorial endorsement in the Windham race it is worth noting that Baruth has remained remrkably quiet regarding the Lt. governor's race. In July he suggested the race between Republican Scott and Progressive Dean Corren,who is seeking democratic support, required more study.

And then there is Joan Bowman ,a health care navigator for Vermont Health connect at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. She has focused her campaign around single payer. Although that issue is top of the list for most Democrats,her candidacy has attracted little attention and no public endorsements by the movers and shakers in the Senate.

One of the endorsed candidates former Republican, now running as a Democrat, Roger Albee received his from the policy PAC called Vision to Action Vermont (V2AVT). V2AVT was co-founded by Republican Rep. Heidi Schuerman who flirted with running for governor and former Rep. Paul Ralston (D). Both worked together on economic development issues in the Vermont House. Guess it’s like Lisman’s C for VT but less well funded. This appears to be V2AVT’s first official affirmation coming on the heels of its formation. If elected to the senate, I’d guess Albee, the former Jim Douglas Republican, may mesh well policy-wise with the three-man VIP Democratic support club for Lt. Gov. Scott's continuing re-election. Update: Turns out V2AVT also endorsed Becca Balint in a press release dated  August 18th. I found it on Vtdigger.com but can't find on the V2AVT webpage.

Even while exiting the stage, Senator Galbraith has managed to cast his shadow over this race. He anointed Albee as his assigned replacement early on, going so far as to accompany him while gathering the signatures to enter the race. Later he moderated a candidates’ debate. Senators Baruth and incumbent White were clearly not in Albee's entourage: both tangled spectacularly in the senate with Galbraith.

Windham County! Where big senatorial shadows are cast, endorsements are made and tiny centrist PACs can make their debut performance.

( – promoted by Jack McCullough)

 UPDATE: The votes are counted in Montpelier and Corren got almost enough to qualify for the statewide ballot here. 

Corren–195

Scott–55

Definitely some evidence of an organized effort by the Republicans, but nowhere near enough. 

Tuesday's Democratic primary will have only one contested statewide race, and even though there is nobody on the ballot, it will probably get more attention than any other race this Tuesday. (No, there is no serious challenge to Scott Milne, who will win the Republican gubernatorial nomination easily.)

The big race is who's going to get the most write-in votes to be the Democratic candidate for Lite Gov: a Republican or a Progressive.

We come to this unusual spot because John Bauer, who started running for the Democratic slot, dropped out when he failed to qualify for public financing. Consequently, our choice is to leave that spot blank, which is what most voters will do, or write in somebody's name. Ignoring the inevitable write-ins for Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck (which is exactly what will happen to those votes, since write-ins for fictional characters are not even recorded),  the contenders are incumbent Phil Scott and Progressive challenger Dean Corren, each of whom is also running on his respective party's slate.

If you're coming here to support Green Mountain Daily's goal of more and better Democrats, I hope you'll write in Dean Corren.

Historically, Corren has a lot of baggage.  When he served in the Legislature in the 1990's he was tagged by Peter Freyne as one of the Self-Righteous Brothers, and he was known for being particularly hostile to the Democratic Party, and statewide Democrats who remember that will understandably hold that against him. 

Nevertheless, If Dean Corren can get the Democratic nomination it will have a number of positive outcomes that we should all support.

First, Corren supports the values that liberal Democrats support. From single payer health care to a livable wage to public power, the issues Dean is staking his candidacy on are the issues that we want to advance, and that many liberal Democrats have been disappointed to see have not moved forward as far as we would like, given the strong majorities we have in both Houses.

Second, if he is elected he will serve on the Senate's important Committee on Committees, and he will be an important liberal counterweight to a committee that has taken on a center-right drift in recent years.

Third, a statewide Progressive/Democrat office holder is yet another opportunity to foster cooperation between the two liberal parties, who by rights should be working together every chance they get.

Fourth, Corren has qualified for public financing, so people who believe that public financing is better than expecting candidates to go begging to the people who stand to gain from their activities in office should consider supporting the first statewide candidate to actually do it. 

Finally, and I say this as someone who likes Phil Scott personally, defeating statewide Republicans can only help the Democratic Party. There aren't that many top slots in Vermont, what with only one congressional district, and in the next several years we can expect openings that both parties will be looking to fill. To take one example, if two or four years from now Peter Shumlin decides not to run for reelection, a Phil Scott who has never lost an election, whether for Senate or Lite Gov, would look like a strong contender for the Fifth Floor. In a Republican Party with a bench that is essentially nonexistent, why would Democrats want to make the only strong statewide Republican stronger?

Get outta town,Scott Brown? A New Hampshire poll shows Scott Brown and incumbent NH Senator Jean Shaheen now in a “dead heat.”

The Granite State Poll, released Thursday evening, found Brown trailing Shaheen, 44 percent to 46 percent among likely voters, with 9 percent not knowing or undecided in a hypothetical general election matchup. […] The survey of likely voters on hypothetical ballot matchups has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

 Could Scott Brown be New Hampshire’s next US senator ,in a Republican controlled senate? Last time I read about Brown, the former Massachusetts Senator-turned-carpet-bagger was mocked by the former NH poet laureate in a short poem (almost like a Haiku). And in another campaign incident, Brown hid out in a men’s room to avoid a answering a reporter’s questions.

Yet races always tighten up. Besides, Scottie may have gotten a boost from the recent visit by Senator John McCain. The old maverick is still popular in the “Live free or die” license-plate state. Of course he still has his party primary to win or lose on September ninth too.

Helpfully the Huffington Post suggests: Stop Freaking Out Over The Results Of One Poll. The Huffpollster has a half dozen polling experts explaining why this poll and polls generally are so often unreliable predictors: this poll may be an outlier, it relies on more Republican voters than past polls, and for accuracy you should take the average of several polls etc. etc.

Let’s trust the Huffington Post to ease our minds — it’s a good reliable source. Yeah, no freak-out, move along to the story posted near the survey take-down: Secrets of Iceberg That Sank the Titanic Revealed in New Study

And at least Scott Brown is still within the margin of error.

if you thought the 2014 gubernatorial campaign was going to be a bit of a snooze, you might want to hang on to your Snuggy.

The Republican roster may be poised for cannibalism; and there is a hint of open rebellion in the works even for the incumbent’s party.

We are Vermonters, after all, not Canadians: and we never want to look altogether too dull.

Tomorrow, VPR is scheduled to present a  gubernatorial debate featuring the three Republican primary candidates.  As of this afternoon, VPR promos were still suggesting that Scott Milne will participate, despite the fact that two days ago, Milne announced that he would pass up on an opportunity to engage his primary opponents, about whom he said:

“They are going to be working against the Republican Party and the nominee after the primary so it didn’t make sense to go.”

Will he or won’t he? That seems to be the question.

But meanwhile, back at the ranch, Milne is reportedly hosting his own private telephone forum this evening. We have learned that he intends to robo-call 30,000 Vermonters to invite their participation.

Speculation among the GMD faithful has been high as to whom, exactly, might comprise the selected 30-thou.  ‘Might be hard to find 30,000 phone-ready Republicans in Vermont, so we guess he’s got a goodly portion of blue-dog Dems in the mix as well.

We wouldn’t be at all surprised if he didn’t even fancy his chances with Progressives, given how dissatisfied they have been with much of Governor Shumlin’s performance.  Of course that is a fantasy for the truly delusional.

If you find yourself among the lucky 30,000 and are not inclined simply to hang-up, we’d love to hear from you. You can be our fly on the wall and tell us what all transpired.

There is, however, a related twist-upon-a-twist that really could get interesting.

Some Democrats, persistently disappointed by Shumlin, are reportedly planning to write-in Doug Racine for governor on their primary ballots, as a protest vote.

The primary is a safe opportunity to register that protest with the Governor, loudly and clearly; and many are still angry with the manner in which Racine was pushed out the door.

Unlike Milne’s possible fantasy, Racine as a write-in has a good chance of picking up serious votes.

It will be interesting to see whether or not the Governor gets the message.

There really are far more important things to grouse about in the world today, but this got my goat and wouldn’t set it free.

Today’s Messenger held an editorial that I take very personally.  

Not for the first time, Emerson Lynn trotted out those old Republican talking points:  that Vermont’s environmental community doesn’t want any growth whatsoever to occur, and that the only purpose of Act 250 permit appeals is to delay projects.

My response:

In your editorial of August 20, you have mistakenly put words in the mouth of Vermont’s environmental groups:  “They’d prefer no growth to any growth.”

I can think of only one environmental organization in Vermont that holds a “no growth” position, “Vermonters for a Sustainable Population”, which contends that Vermont has already exceeded its capacity for long-term sustainability.

The remainder of Vermont’s large environmental organizations believe that we should only permit growth that follows the rules established under laws, backed by math and science, which seek to ensure that development occurs where it may benefit the community without negatively affecting either the environment or the local economy.

While developers might sometimes disagree, I think most people would say that is an eminently sensible goal.  

Vermont’s historically conservative attitude toward development has been vindicated by the fact that, in the last recession, the state’s housing market wasn’t pulled into the same vortex of ruin that plagued other states with laxer rules.

You suggest that appellants’ only motive is to delay the inevitable.  That may be true of some business-on-business appeals, but it simply is not true of appeals that arise from the action of environmental groups.

The vast majority of Vermont’s environmental groups are not interested in stopping growth; and they do not have the resources to pursue appeal as a frivolous delay tactic. They bring arguments to the Environmental Court only when they feel that the District Commissioners have failed to uphold provisions of Act 250.  

Act 250 review involves ten different criteria, some of which are highly technical.  District commissioners are seldom appointed for their scientific knowledge.  If they have any related professional background at all, it will be in just one area of the ten. I have read District Commission decisions that seemed completely at odds with the lengthy record of facts and findings, as if they were pre-drawn conclusions.

Commissioners are political appointees; which usually means they have friends in high places.  If those friends have more sympathy for developers than for the environment, it is likely that the Commission’s decisions will reflect that bias.

You are quite right that nearly all Act 250 applications are approved.  It is also a fact that appeals are rarely successful, but that does not invalidate the need.  Developers have much deeper pockets than environmental groups, and only the terminally naive do not believe that money makes the difference.

It was hoped that by making the initial phase of Act 250 more accessible and responsive to concerned citizens, the need for appeals would be reduced; but an important component in the fairness of the process is the criteria for selection of commissioners.

If the composition of those commissions continues to reflect a business rather than scientific bias, be prepared for more appeals.

Midway through the comments section on VtDigger.com, Republican state Senator Joe Benning made a comment worth noting concerning Lt. Gov. candidate Dean Corren’s campaign kick-off. Benning’s response was to Corren’s observation that the VTGOP is “long gone.” Specifically this bit raised his ire: 

“In case anyone is nostalgic about losing the last statewide Republican office, Vermont cannot afford to be a museum for moribund political parties,” Corren told his supporters. “The Republican Party that many of us knew had a whole different relationship with — that had a Dick Snelling, George Aiken and Jim Jeffords who was forced to leave the party because it left him — that party is long gone.”

That must sting, but it should amount to zero surprise. Senator Benning, who is not ready to surrender, quotes WWII’s Japanese Admiral Yamamoto.:

I am reminded of the words of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto as his fleet turned away from a successful attack on Pearl Harbor: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” Message to Corren: We’re still here and we’re waking up!

There is substantial doubt Yamamoto even said this. The “quote” in this form was made popular in the 1970’s action movie Tora, Tora, Tora about Pearl Harbor.

The VTGOP, taken by surprise? Did they just notice that they only have seven seats in the State Senate and that Phil Scott is the only Republican still standing in a statewide office? Sleeping? Maybe.

But go ahead, VTGOP, give us the elevator pitch: It’s a sneak attack! Pinned down in conservative foxholes, Vermont Republicans suddenly wake up to find the harbor full of sinking candidates.

Cast: Joe Benning, co-starring Ronald Reagan and Whit Bissell (‘cause it’s a ‘B’ movie). They turn off the alarm, put on coffee and madly search for their “terrible resolve.” Perhaps they shall return … or just hide out on their tiny little island.