This interview takes place just before Odum announced his goodbye to the GMD community. It has been tough not to notice, however, that he has been moreprolificthanever. So fret not, as his bid for Montpelier City Clerk does not culminate until Town Meeting Day, John will still be GMD's heart and soul for at least the month of February.
First we discussed John's print journalism gig at The Bridge. Then we reflected on Odum's ode to odious 2011, and how the Occupy Wall Street movement has already improved the political dynamic in 2012. Next we previewed the statewide races, in particular Governor Shumlin's rock star status and the GMD Oddsmaker. We turned to another rock star who's up for re-election, Senator Sanders, considering his lack of opposition as well as his recent "corporations aren't people, my friend" legislation.
Finally we discussed the Republican Presidential primary and the supposed inevitability of Romney. John nailed it and said South Carolina would determine whether we in Vermont would have a choice between Romney or Paul or a Romney-Gingrich-Paul choice on our primary day. (John assumes Santorum will be out.) Then I asked John if he advised voting in the VT Repub Primary, and he said no, that after crossing over years ago and voting for Fred Tuttle, he felt bad about it.
Funny though, the guy who now needs to win big in Florida is decidedly NOT a "purity of the process" guy. Here's Romney defending his own crossing over to vote in Democratic primaries:
I've never voted for a Democrat when there was a Republican on the ballot. And any chance I got to vote against Bill Clinton or Ted Kennedy, I took. I have always voted for a Republican any time there was a Republican on the ballot.
So it looks like Vermonters will have a chance to apply Romney's own logic on Town Meeting Day. So what say ye GMDers? Purity of the process or a chance to vote against a walking corporation?
oh and John, This blog will be a bit like the Enterprise without James Tiberius Kirk at the helm, but I know you'll make a great City Clerk. And note that he is on record as getting leftygeek.com up and running by Town Meeting Day!
