(Update: Randy Brock easily won reelection, making it all the more incomprehensible why someone who represents himself as a friend to small business found it necessary to do something like this. I thought the story of this odd bullying escapade might have been overlooked in the election aftermath; so I’m returning it to the front page for one more go-round. – promoted by Sue Prent)
Rather than join the soothsayer’s forum, I thought I’d tell a little election night bedtime story along the lines of “Bambi meets Godzilla.”
Now you all probably know that former State Auditor and current Franklin County Senator Randy Brock is facing-off in this election against a bright 27-year old St. Albans small business entrepreneur by the name of Michael McCarthy. Mr. Brock has relied primarily on name recognition and a reputation as a “nice guy” to retain his seat, keeping his head down and his mouth shut. This might seem inordinately cautious on the part of an experienced campaigner like Mr. Brock; but Mike McCarthy was shooting real bullets in his well-articulated positions on issues important to Vermonters…like healthcare, education, job growth and fair taxes.
Apparently this all became too much for Mr. Brock and so yesterday, while Mike was attending the Biden rally with fellow Democrats in Burlington, Randy Brock and Brian Dubie brought Channel 5 news into McCarthy’s tiny St. Albans business, “Cosmic Bakery;” for what purpose isn’t precisely clear. McCarthy received no prior warning of the visit, so perhaps it was meant to be an ambush confrontation. If so, what sort of desperation drives two highly seasoned professional politicians, including a current candidate for Governor to ambush a freshman candidate during a busy day in his little retail bakery? Are they insane, one is tempted to ask, or just plain bullies looking for a good time?
The picture isn’t much prettier if they didn’t expect Mike to be there, knowing how likely it would be that he would join the highly publicized Democratic rally in Burlington. That would demonstrate a level of cowardice befitting neither of these two former military officers.
All their unscheduled visit succeeded in doing was to disrupt a small local business and distress Mike’s very private girlfriend, who found herself confronted with a camera as she tried to simply do her job. Shame on you, Mr. Brock; “nice guy” indeed!
One can only conclude that the prospect of Michael McCarthy’s political future sends a chill right through the aging bones of Vermont’s Republican party, sufficient to bring out the Big Guns in embarrassing escapade.
The Dubie Campaign had a rally in the morning in St. Albans and then visited with businesses in downtown. If you watched the Channel 5 piece, Brian, Randy and Dustin Degree stopped into a number of stores on Main Street that morning.
Cosmic is a business co-owned by Mike with his brother and mother. Maybe Brian and Randy we campaigning? Similar to Shumlin, Howard etc. stopping into businesses that are owned by Republicans.
This does not warrant any outrage at all.
You ask if they are ‘insane’ or ‘bullies’. They aren’t. They were just out looking for publicity and votes.
If they were attempting to be provacative, who cares?
The bake shop staff would have done well to let Dubie&Brock know that they aren’t interested in political talk or TV cameras but they would be happy to sell them some freshly baked muffins and a cup of the best coffee in town.
We had important issues to discuss durring the campaign. This wasn’t one of them.
Unless they were duped by Dubie, they were complicit in this childish prank.
Is it possible just to ask Randy Brock..Hey what was up with that?
With a camera crew for a reaction shot,maybe.
I mean, do we all forget when Peter took the television crews inside Dubie’s campaign office. This seems like there was no malicious intent – small, local businesses are simply good optics for campaigns. There’s a lot of things I don’t like about Randy Brock and Brian Dubie’s views, but them going into a bakery while being followed by TV cameras isn’t going to get me going.
I love that you want to stick up for me Sue, but all I can say is thanks to Senator Brock and Mr. Dubie for the free advertising. I wish I’d been there to talk about how few of my employees and myself have real health coverage, or how hard it was for us to get credit and how much bigger my business would be if I wasn’t worried about benefits or not being able to borrow money.
If they come to Cosmic looking for a fight on the issues, I’ll give it to them. As for being a neophyte, I’ve been pounding the streets advocating on health issues since before I could vote.
For the next few weeks, I will savor the Shumlin victory, thank my supporters and sip my coffee a little more slowly. Next time Randy Brock comes into Cosmic bakery, he better make good on his promise to spend a little of his dough.
From what these two did compared to Shummy showing up at the headquarters of Lt. Gov Dubie with a bunch of his cronies unannounced? Do as I say not as I do. Need I remind you that Sen. Brock was the top vote getter in the county?
It is too bad that Mike didn’t knock Sara out, that certainly would have been a step up.
Sara is asleep at the wheel. She can’t converse, she can’t answer a question. She has no memory…she can’t remember what she told you last week let alone what she did in Montpelier last session. Mike is articulate and intelligent with some great idea’s.
only going to get one Democrat Mike was the better of the two.