Tag Archives: Don Turner

The Enigma of GOP outrage

local/regional, , , , , , ,

A campaign flunky for Don Turner has turned his righteous indignation toward the least likely senate candidate from Franklin County. Talk about choosing a soft target!

Isn’t it interesting that, attached as he is to the campaign of proud Donald Trump supporter and candidate for Lieut. Gov, Don Turner, Shayne Spence somehow managed to muster outrage over a tasteless joke made several years ago by Franklin County senate candidate Dustin Tanner. The fact that Mr. Spence proudly boasts of going to great lengths to ferret out a questionable tidbit speaks volumes about Mr. Spence’s own rather icky character, but that is beside the point.

What surprises me is that Mr. Turner’s prospects apparently are so dim that his campaign staff has nothing better to do than waste time “getting something” on a Franklin County novice who hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell against the Franklin County Republican Machine, oiled as it is with outside donations from the likes of “hate donors” like Carol and Tom Breuer and the bashful Ms. Lenore Broughton.

The County Courier, predictably a water carrier for the GOP, leapt on the meager “scandal” like a starving dog on a rubber chicken, gleefully embroidering the story with feigned outrage. I can’t share a link to the mighty Courier’s two full pages of coverage, because there is none, but we’re talking molehill-to-mountain proportions. Slow news days can stretch into months for the Courier.

This leads me inevitably to ask, where was the outrage when disgraced Senator Norm McAllister stood credibly accused of multiple acts of sexual assault, including violation of a minor? Surely The VGOP and the County Courier could have mustered a little more sensitivity for the victims, all of whom were not only dependent on him for their economic survival, but also politically dependent on him as his constituents. Surely the weak exploited by the powerful makes for greater indignation than a sophmoric standup routine.

Republicans try desperately to avoid responsibility for their own all too frequent acts of gross misogyny, but whenever someone from the other side of the aisle transgresses, they are all over the outrage even as Democrats are manning up and taking their medicine.

Now repeat after me, Mr. Spence:

“Hey-hey. Ho-ho. Kavanaugh has got to go!”

The VTGOP is hair today

local/regional, National, , , ,

It’s “all business in the front and party in the back” that’s a description of the classic mullet hair cut,famous in the 1970’s and 80’s, infamous by the 1990’s. And now with 20,000  votes for Trump  in the primary the Vermont Republicans needed a general election strategy to cope with Trump for President in a blue state. So,by intent, or by accident the VTGOP has styled itself a political “mullet”cut.vtgopelephaint1

At the presentable front of the “mullet”, gubernatorial candidate Phil Scott has denounced Trump and pledged to write in Jim Douglas for president rather than the party nominee (Scott picked the “Donald Duck for President” ploy). So he isn’t brave enough to totally disown Trump’s deplorable basket of views and  vote for Clinton, as many well known national Republicans are doing.

Randy Brock, the VTGOP candidate for Lt. Governor had supported John Kasich for President and denounced Donald Trump, but as far as I know, remains mostly mum on a write-in Douglas presidential vote — or one for Clinton.

Meanwhile on the backside of the VTGOP “mullet” you can find caucus leader Don Turner in the Vermont House of Representatives joining other Vermont Trump supporters, including Darcie Johnston (Johnston ran Randy Brock’s 2012 gubernatorial campaign). Turner boldly declares: “I am not afraid to say that I’m going to vote for Donald Trump,”  He does add the thoroughly meaningless comment that he will not endorse Trump for president. So,Don Turner isn’t afraid to vote for him, but curiously is afraid of endorsing the man.

So, “Dude! Check out the VTGOP’s hair style! Equivocation in the front, Trump supporters in the back!!” Or maybe it’s not a mullet at all, just a bad GOP comb over.

And coming next week: birtherism goes local: Was Phil Scott born in Vermont? Of course I am not endorsing this ridiculous question, but since people are talking and questions are being asked …!