Until last election season, the Executive Director of the Vermont Democratic Party traditionally led the Party’s “Coordinated Campaign” during campaign season (the Coordinated Campaign being the coalition of Democratic interests – such as the statewide candidate campaigns, the House and Senate campaign committees, as well as the Democratic Party proper – all acting in coordination for the purposes of resource sharing and overall cooperation, to the extent allowable by law). Last year, former Democratic Statehouse Communications staffer Bill Lofy was brought in to run the Coordinated Campaign distinctly from the party, which continued under then-Executive Director Jon Copans.

This year, Kristina Althoff has been tapped to head the Coordinated Campaign, and given the more typical dual role of Coordinated Campaign Director and Executive Director, her arrival likely takes the pressure off to find a quick replacement for Party ED Jill Krowinski (who is leaving to run Gaye Symington’s campaign for Governor).

Altoff was a Field Staffer for the Party in 2004 and worked for the House Campaign PAC. Since that time she has kept busy in politics, most recently as a Field Organizer for the Obama campaign.

Althoff is close to Krowinski and Symington, and her appointment further underscores how seriously the Party infrastructure – enhanced considerably with DNC “50-state project” personnel and resources over the past year – will be focused on electing Symington this year.

As some of you who wander the greater blogosphere may have noticed, I was among the so-called “prominent state blog(ger)s” (heh) who signed on to an open letter to Democratic Chairman Howard Dean, asking for him to look at apparent irregularities in the process of credentialing the “state blogger corps” for the National Democratic Convention in Denver. In particular there are 4 cases where it seems the State Parties may have nixed the obvious choices in favor of more sycophantic blogs that don’t criticize local Democrats, or have direct connections to people in power. Now, honestly, 4 out of 50 is a pretty good ratio, considering this is an “experiment,” – but also considering that the MO seems to have been to explicitly defer to the State Parties on the credentialing decision.

As I’ve said elsewhere, I believe this is more naivete than malevolence, as such a decision is consistent with Dean’s desire to devolve resources and control to the State level. It’s just that he’s a Vermonter, and in Vermont, the inhabitants of the State Party office are all quite decent folk (even if give ’em hell sometimes). The problem is, not every state is lucky enough to be Vermont…

In any event, the most blatant and egregious example is in New Jersey, where Blue Jersey – which is arguably the state blog standard on which all others should be judged – was passed over for a site called PolitickerNJ. PolitickerNJ (formerly PoliticsNJ) is the companion to sites such as PolitickerNH and…. PolitickerVT. The “politicker” brand is a corporate one (as we discussed here), wholly owned and run by the New York Observer under what would seem to be a sort of blog-franchise model. It is supposedly non-partisan, and not a “netroots” site by any stretch, and that alone should tag the decision as a poor (and questionable) one.

But its worse than that. PolNJ is fairly innocuous, as is PolNH. The primary commonality between all these sites is anonymity, as they are all run by someone psuedonymed “Wally Edge” who occasionally chimes in with commentary of his/her own. Now, its clear that these “Edges” are all different people, but the point is that they all exist under the same corporate brand, logo, and even name, and the parent organization (which is the real entity being granted access to the convention) is equally responsible for all of them.

And far from being innocuous, let me share a bit of what Vermont’s Wally Edge has been gracing Vermonters with on a regular basis, through the Politicker platform generously provided by the Observer:

A crude hit on Senator Sanders from April 2nd:

During the last campaign cycle, we were all blasted with endless ads questioning Sanders effectiveness. (GOP Candidate Rich) Tarrant was unable to convince Vermonters that Sanders wasn’t going to be able to deliver on all his lofty promises.

…A Republican operative, who was active with Tarrant’s campaign, added that, “Bernie has a trance over a good segment of the population here, but in Washington he is just incapable of getting things done. It’s just sad.”

We hope to hear from Bernie’s camp on his ability or inability to deliver…

Here’s one from February 14th, wondering why a then-potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate would want to pick on poor, beset-upon, John McCain?

The past few days I have heard from a few insiders who have been wondering why Peter Galbraith would go after McCain. McCain is popular with Independents and is seen by many, including many Republicans, as an anti-Bush candidate. He’s shown a strong ability to break with his party on Campaign Finance Reform, Global Warming and even the Tax Cuts. Heck, Rush Limbaugh hates the guy.

Most feel that the move was a political mistake.

“Most” indeed. Edge’s posts are typically replete with bits of nonsense presented as conventional wisdom that are either pulled out of thin air, or packaged with a specific editorial purpos. Here he/she is undermining the then-expected (since confirmed) Democratic candidate for governor…

Rumors are swirling around the state house that the Speaker’s new interest in pursuing the governorship is based on her lack of support from her own caucus. Due to an inability to take advantage of their superior numbers and a lack of progress or control over the message, house Democrats are frustrated.

We began hearing these rumors last week but now that it looks as some insiders think that she couldn’t keep her position if she wanted too.

That’s freaking laughable, by the way (and I don’t mean the grammatical errors). The House Democratic Caucus has always been wildly supportive of Speaker Symington, as much as anything for all the work she’s done to help support their elections. This was only the latest in a string of dismissive comments designed to discredit and diminish her.

This is among the lamest right-wing drivel you can find in Vermont’s blogosphere.

There is no way you can convince this blogger that any of the Politicker corporate franchise sites should be given access to the Dem Convention, let alone be part of the state blogger corps. And choosing them over Blue Jersey is a major kick in the groin.

Hoo-boy. Well, Caoimhin doesn’t write a lot of diaries, but when he does, he sure kicks up a hornet’s nest.

I’m gonna play “publisher’s privilege” and just post a quick perspective check up here. I won’t disable comments, but I encourage folks to continue the conversation at the original diary. I also don’t wanna fight Caoimhin’s battles for him, but I do want to add a couple things. First of all, Rep. Pearson’s bluster notwithstanding, the diary is certainly based on solid ground. Like 100% of the other “scoops” this little blog has had, the evidence will come out verifying it soon enough. Seriously, we’re batting a thousand over the last 2 1/2 years here, do we ever let ya down?

One thing Caoimhin is careful to state repeatedly, is that those that hounded Richter were Progressive stalwarts, but not “The Progressive Party” per se. What I say in my own diary just a couple articles down is that the Prog Party proper was likely going to support Richter, as she had Martha Abbot’s support, at any rate. I want to be clear on this because we will NOT do what has become typical of so many anti-Dem activists; that is, ascribe every wrongdoing by any Democrat as the collective wrongdoing of all “The Democrats.” There is nothing that rankles me more.

As to Dr. Richter’s comments, I can’t help but note that she is as careful in what she does not say (or refute), as in what she does. And let me be clear, the last thing any of us want to do is make her life more difficult. She speaks positively of her support from Pollina, and of course we should all accept her word – but I also think its still completely legitimate for Caoimhin (who was fired up in the extreme about working to get her elected) to question why Pollina didn’t use his near absolute-clout with Progressive loyalists to call for the pressure to be turned off. Especially given that, as I have heard independently, that this pressure was applied by Progressives in the Montpelier and Hardwick areas (and that’s Pollina’s crowd).

In any event, the whole things sucks. Is there time for Richter to change her mind and – I dunno – run as an independent?

Word from insiders is that despite all the positive buzz on sites like this, great news coverage in the Times Argus/Rutland Herald and Seven Days, the rumored support of the Vermont Progressive Party, and a campaign role for the legendary Peter Freyne, Deb Richter has opted not to run for Lieutenant Governor after all, due to concerns over balancing such a run with her medical practice.

What does this mean? Well, there are rumors of another candidate (who was considering challenging Richter in a primary, even). Whoever that “other candidate” is, the ball is in their court.

Maybe it’s just time to draft somebody. Ideas?

As its proponents are quick to remind us, Vermont Yankee (with it’s steam leaks, cooling tower collapses, corporate shell games to avoid decommisioning costs – and of course, corporate booster currently residing in the Vermont Governor’s office) currently provides about a third of Vermont’s power, at prices far below those available on the open market, and with relatively low carbon emissions. And “about a third” is gonna be , what – 33%? Maybe 30%?

From the NYT:

JUNEAU, Alaska – Conservationists swoon at the possibility of it all. Here in Alaska, where melting arctic ice and eroding coastlines have made global warming an urgent threat, this little city has cut its electricity use by more than 30 percent in a matter of weeks, instantly establishing itself as a role model for how to go green, and fast.

Comfort has been recalibrated. The public sauna has been closed and the lights have been dimmed at the indoor community pool. At the library, one of the two elevators was shut down after someone figured out it cost 20 cents for each round trip. The thermostat at the convention center was dialed down eight degrees, to 60. The marquee outside is dark.

Schoolchildren sacrifice Nintendo time and boast at show-and-tell of kilowatts saved.

Maybe this doesn’t have to be such a problem after all.

Some time ago, I penned diaries discussing what I considered to be the best strategies for victory (at the time…. that was a while ago) for Gubernatorial candidate Anthony Pollina, and then-potential candidate Peter Galbraith, who – of course – has since formally deferred to the Speaker of the House's candidacy. Seems only reasonable to do one for Symington as well (with the usual caveats that it only represents one opinion). Since those are long, research-paper style pieces, I'll have to slog through it over the weekend.

In the meantime, though, there is one suggestion I would make to both Symington and as-yet-unannounced Democratic Lieutenant Gubernatorial candidate Deb Richter:

Run as a ticket.

Symington and Richter should appear often together, as they complement each other electorally and in terms of message – or at least they have the potential to. Richter's presence would shore up Symington among the left and ease concerns that her failure to aggressively advocate for many progressive priorities during her tenure as Speaker was a matter of strategic choices, rather than ideological disagreement. 

Symington could lend broader name-recognition and credibility among more centrist Democrats to Richter… and the two together could potentially synergize (sorry for the jargon), propogating a clear (and irrefutable) narrative that a universal health care system would be a magnet for attracting business to Vermont, as well as a powerful force in bringing down local school budgets (and by extension, property taxes).

And frankly, the picture of two women running together to lead the state would be absolutely terrific, and more than a little inspiring to a lot of people. In this sense, standing along side each other, the gender effect would be even greater than the sum of its individual parts.

UPDATE: … but Symington is gonna have to have a more clear, pro-active response to the question of “where do we go from here” on health care for it to work. Just listened to her meandering (careening, even) response on Vermont Edition, and it was not good.

Although he started the game as my fourth or fifth choice from the crowd of ten, by the time the primary came to Vermont, it was a no-brainer. I voted for Obama as well as doing some volunteer grunt work out of his Montpelier campaign office. I’m also an Obama delegate to the Vermont Democratic Party’s state convention coming up in a matter of days, which means I’ll be able to vote on which 3 men and which 3 women should comprise the 6 National Delegates we’ll be choosing at that point in the process (more will be chosen later, by the group chosen at the convention. It’s weird.) I’ve avoided making endorsements because I know a lot of the candidates, and I don’t wanna have to choose…. also, I want to be open minded for the people I don’t know. Who should get the nod from the assembled throngs? The people who did the most work? The people who give the best speech? Bright-eyed bushy-tailed newcomers who should get a cool opportunity?

But I’m kidding everybody if I don’t acknowledge two people I will definitely vote for. First is Vermont’s premiere political blogger and number 1 Obama booster in the local media – you know him, you love him, and you may have had him for a class once – Philip Baruth (I mean, c’mon – do I really have to tell you guys I’m supporting Philip?). Sure it would mean there’ll be competition from the convention for blogging coverage, but I’ll just have to make certain that he stays too drunk to type.

Also, I’ll be voting for Carolyn Dwyer. Yeah, Carolyn already has all the fun with all things Democratic in Vermont, but the fact is she busted her butt volunteering for the Obama campaign and really put her skills and contacts to work, so she has seriously earned it. And our kids are friends. Gotta make sure the kids are happy. (Also, I’m just informed that Neil Jensen, aka “Vermonter” on the sidebar, is on the candidate list… it’d be freakin’ criminal if he doesn’t get in, with all the work he’s done… I’ll be voting for him, too)

And that leaves me 3 more votes for other candidates, and I aint sayin no more.

…except to mention that there is one person you won’t be able to vote for for anything: me. Regular readers will recall that I was thinking very seriously about running for the position of Democratic National Committeeman, to take the whole gate-crashing blog-schtick straight into the DNC itself, but I’ve decided against it – simply because I may have an opportunity to implement a project very near and dear to my heart, and taking on something else under those circumstances would just be nuts. Maybe next time… thanks to all the folks who have been encouraging me (and I don’t mean to let anybody down – honest).

(UPDATE: Oh! Selene Hofer-Shall is on that list. I gotta vote for Selene. Uh-oh… now I’m just down to 2. Ack!)

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) have an amendment pending in the Senate Judiciary committee to vacate a ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board that will likely increase Internet music royalties by an astonishing 300 percent to 1,200 percent, putting a horrific squeeze on the still-nascent medium. From Technology News Daily:

Currently, terrestrial radio stations only pay royalties to songwriters. Internet radio and satellite radio pay royalties to both songwriters and record companies/recording artists. However satellite radio only pays royalties of 7.5 percent of their revenue. The Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007 corrects the enormous disparity created by the CRB by putting Internet radio on par with satellite radio. Additionally, the legislation would create special royalty rules for the Webcasting arms of non-commercial broadcasters like National Public Radio and college radio to ensure they are not left out of reaching new listeners on the Internet.

“Our bill is about standing up for folks ranging from a small Webcaster in a basement in Corvallis to an innovative startup in Beaverton to a new band trying to be heard in Portland to a huge music fan in Coos Bay” Wyden said. “Keeping Internet radio alive is part of a broader issue that is important to me — keeping the e-commerce engine running by preventing discrimination against it.”

Okay, so all of this means that my favorite music website is in dire need. I just got this via email:

Hi, it’s Tim from Pandora,

I’m writing today to urgently ask for your help. Our future and that of all webcasters is being threatened by the actions of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). In an effort to cripple Internet radio they have defied Congressional direction to negotiate reasonable performance fees and are trying to shut us down.

In spite of overwhelming opposition, including from thousands of musicians, they have blatantly pursued a strategy of undermining the process, making outrageous demands, and trying to run out the clock, hoping we will just quietly fade away. There is only one way to stop this violation of the public trust, and that is by mobilizing the collective will of our listening audience.

I am writing to you because your Senator is on the crucially important Senate Judiciary committee. It would be tremendously helpful if you would take just a minute to call your Senator:

Senator Patrick J. Leahy: (202) 224-4242

** When you call, please tell them your home town, and ask them to support the Brownback Internet Radio Equality amendment that will be considered in the Judiciary Committee this Thursday.

This amendment sets webcasting royalties at the same level as those paid by satellite radio, which would compensate musicians fairly and allow web radio to survive. For more info on the bill, please visit: www.savenetradio.org

I hope you’ll take just a few minutes to call. It’s easy to do and it will truly, truly make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners, are by far our biggest and most influential allies.

Pandora.com keeps me sane on challenging workdays. If you’ve never visited – you should. It’s plugged into what it calls the “music genome project” – a genre/style/artist database that uses some clever logic to create user “radio stations” queued to the listener. What that means is that you can plug in the name of a song, artist or style, and the system will generate a playlist for you – often of cool music you’ve never been introduced to before.

It’s awesome – not only for listeners, but for more obscure musicians. I’ve been introduced to so many performers I’d otherwise never have heard of. Trying to price these folks out of existence is one of those cutting off of noses to spite faces (and make the quick bucks now at the expense of the long term health of the industry) policies. It’s unreasonable, unfair, impractical – and by god it will wreck my life! (okay… maybe not my life, but… you know).

Once again, its time to save the music industry from itself. Why does it seem like we have to do this every couple years?

The national blogosphere is all a-twitter with the news that the DNC is announcing the first round of blogs that will receive credentials to cover the Democratic National Convention in Denver – including being seated with their respective state delegations. We’re happy to announce that GMD has received the honor of being the officially credentialed blog for Vermont. Expect lots of coverage, both text and A/V over the length of the convention.

Here’s Dean:

Mark Johnson needlessly gotten caught in the crossfire when I unloaded on Mr. Pollina (currently on Vermont Edition, again promoting his campaign by complaining about Democrats… seems to be the only “issue” he’s really passionate about in the last week). It seems Johnson really is hearing from many prominent Democrats that there may be interest in the legislative option in a three-way race, and isn’t just shorthanding GMD as “The Democrats” (although “some Democrats” still would have been a more accurate and appropriate phrasing). All I can say is: wow. That’s a 180 degree turnaround from what I was hearing.

Of course, Johnson did lead the chorus of very serious experts (which also included Terri Hallenbeck and Shay Totten) pooh-poohing the entire possibility out of hand on Vermont This Week last Friday, and has really latched onto the issue – even pushing Gaye Symington for a commitment to oppose the idea after her announcement speech (and reading way too much into her non-response: Here’s reality – no candidate with half a brain is going to get pulled into the specifics of any issue right after their announcement speech, lest they end up inadvertently eclipsing the positive message the whole announcement was designed to transmit.)

So I’ve made a couple more inquiries – and the landscape may indeed be changing on this issue, in no small part from the discussions at this site. Good. Now Anthony Pollina may currently be running around BSing Vermonters by insisting its a bad idea that he never approved of himself in 2000 or 2002 (which, by all accounts, is a naked fib), but the fact is that he was right, and folks like me were wrong. Now the question is for Mr. Pollina, is truth and what’s best for Vermont really of less importance than saying whatever pops into your mind to bash Democrats? Based on your media interviews in the last week and the content at the Prog Blog, that’s sure how it looks.

As for the very serious experts… I’ve only proposed the idea predicated on the ability of Dems to propagate the message in an IRV-style context over a long period to gain acceptance – and stated outright that it works much better if the third place candidate buys in and agrees to endorse the second place finisher in the event that happens. I’m not an idiot.

But as far as shorthanding Johnson’s advocacy of his strong feelings against such an approach as “lazy,” apparently it wasn’t, as my info was stale. My apologies.

Tell you what – I’ll make it up to you by phoning in reports to your show from the floor of the Democratic National Convention if you don’t make it (see above diary)….