I know this administration rewrites history fairly casually, but this is a new extreme. So now the problem is the timetable... what was it then? Ah yes... taxes taxes taxes: Governor Douglas has been the most outspoken critic of the Democrats' global warming fix, labeling it "Shumlin's Tax" in honor of the Senate's Democratic leader, Peter Shumlin of Windham County. Ad the governor has been doing an effective job of redefining the major environmental" bill of the 2007 legislative session as a "tax" bill. And being "Mr No New Taxes" is precisely how our governor wants Vermont voters to view him. "There they go again," is the constant Douglas refrain as he continues to effectively paint the Democrats as the raise-your-taxes party. H 520, he says, "is a terrible message to send to the business community."
...and of course, when word was out that Legislative leaders would agree to suspend the rules and remove the Yankee tax - all they needed was a teeny bit of Republican help, history changed again (emphasis added)... But Douglas said he objects to the creation and structure of the heating fuels efficiency program, not just its funding source. Both would have to be eliminated to gain his support, said the governor, who has offered a competing plan. "I have two problems with the bill," Douglas said. In addition to the tax it establishes an "untested bureaucracy that is not well thought-out and is expensive."
And now we hear it was just the timetable all along. Uh-huh. Anybody else feel insulted? Douglas has an astonishing history of flip-flopping all around on issues, depending on how he feels he can score electoral points, and the media have always let him get away with it. "Governor Flip-Flop" is a far more effective mantra than "Governor No" in my opinion - and at least as accurate. But the question remains as to where exactly he's coming from? I have no doubt that, if he could, he would have implemented by executive fiat some form of the efficiency utility program just to stick it to the Dems and take credit. Which begs the question again as to why he vetoed the bill and rejected the offer of removing the funding source? Sure he got a contribution from Entergy's PAC last election, but it was a paltry $400. Once again, Douglas seems to have no core values. He takes credit for anything done in Montpelier that gets positive attention, whether or not he opposed it from the outset. More than once, this approach has left members of his own party hanging out to dry - and the results of the last couple legislative elections have been a testament to that. But largely due to a cowed/charmed media and a ridiculously short election calendar, voters (particularly moderate Dems) let him get away with it over and over and over again. SO much so that he clearly feels free to casually and brazenly flip-flop on a dime at this point, confident that there will always be just enough self-dubbed moderates that will shuffle zombie-like into the polls and vote yet again for him in clear opposition to their own self-interest, that he never need worry about his job security. If we don't get a Dem candidate stepping up to the plate soon who will run an earlier, more ground-based campaign than we've seen before (and than election "professionals" are programmed to consider "proper"), it will be a failure of monumental proportions to the rank and file. Step up to the plate, folks. Now. |
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