A WIZARDRY HE HASN’T, CAHONNES HE HAS

All this blather about Bill Clinton, political genius, does not wash. Bold, yes. A great liar, right on. Smooth, sure. But when he chose to run in 1992, there was little competition. Then when he was double digits behind the president at his convention, that wacky jug eared Texan Ross Perot, who for six months had beaten President Bush like a drum, jumped ship because aliens were planning to attack his daughter’s wedding with the help of the CIA. With no alternative candidate in sight, all Perot’s support jumped to Clinton.

Now everybody acknowledges Clinton’s brilliance. Kerry listened to his advice, followed his game plan, rocked them at the convention, and ended up as the junior senator from Massachusetts.

The Democratic Leadership Council was and still is all the rage. Be Republican lite, and you win. So much for Clinton’s brilliance. He won yes, but with Perot in both the ’92 and ’96 races. Clinton could never reach fifty percent of the vote. Kerry followed his advice to oblivion or to Nantucket to wind surf or to Sun Valley to snow board or to Washington to entertain. Not a bad life, and better yet, he will never be president for he is unfit for command.

WALDO WAS RIGHT

Dean for all his quackiness was right. Stand for something. Why should there be more than the Democrat wing of the Democrat Party?

GROWTH, HOPE, AND OPPORTUNITY

Not surprisingly, the red states have more economic freedom than the blue states. Twenty-four of the top twenty-six states in the United States Economic Freedom Index are red states. The exceptions not surprisingly are New Hampshire and Delaware. The only red state in the bottom-ten sea of blue is Ohio. Vermont tucks into thirty-sixth place.

Go to www.nationalreview.com/nrof_nugent for charts.

BLUE STATE BLUES

Yup, the blue states oppose economic freedom because according to the Economist, they are “dominated by people with no yearning for growth: public sector workers, academics, trustafarians, environmentalists, and billionaires who are too rich to aspire to anything.”

CHARITY BEGINS IN RED STATES

The Opinion Journal plotted data from a recent study by the Catalogue of Philanthropy of the most generous states based on donations as a percentage of personal income. Recall a few years back when Vice President Gore was criticized for donations of only $350 a year when his income exceeded $200,000.

According to the study, the top 25 states in philanthropy were all red states. In spite of their generosity, they are derided in the foreign press. Get a load of Brian Reade’s rant in the London Daily Mirror; The Bush voters are: “the self-righteous, gun-totin', military-lovin', sister-marryin', abortion-hatin', gay-loathin', foreigner-despisin', non-passport-ownin' rednecks, who believe God gave America the biggest dick in the world so it could urinate on the rest of us and make their land free and strong.”

WHERE GOETH THE PUPPETEER?

Recall all those folks who said that President Bush was just an empty shirt, that Vice President Cheney was running things. We have not heard much of that lately.

THANK YOU CAPTAIN KANGAROO

Well not exactly. Harry, our ten year old son, told us that he voted for George Bush. When asked why, he said, “Being the president is a hard job. It takes time to learn how to do it. He is now experienced.”

And so it is. Look at his appointments. Last time he appointed people he knew but had not worked with. Now he is appointing his team, folks that he knows and has worked with. Experience is valuable.

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

The Douglas administration has been pushing its Healthy Kids Initiative encouraging five to seven year olds to be more active. Fine idea. Even Senate Leader Peter Welch spoke highly of that and the governor’s chronic care initiative as ways to lower health care costs in a recent interview in the Herald of Randolph.

They both forget to call for personal responsibility, ones greater control over ones health practices and treatments. In Vermont alternative medical practices are on every corner. On the opposite corner is a health food store. Check them out.

Parents can control the diets of most five to seven year olds. That is where good practices can take root and bad practices can be eliminated. How about a "Parents get on the Stick" initiative for Healthy Kids?

PAYING THE COMPANY STORE

Vermont unemployment rate is the lowest in the country. Just gotta work just to pay the taxes. According to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Vermont is third in property taxes as compared to income, fifth in workman’s compensation, and eighth overall in taxes.

http://www.masstaxpayers.org/research_publications.html

OUR HEROS

Quick now, who are Vermont’s two accidental Republican presidents, each advancing from vice-president when the president fell? Calvin Coolidge and somebody else? There is now a Chester A. Arthur Society celebrating his presidency.

“The office of vice president is a greater honor than I ever dreamed of attaining,” said Arthur. Four months later, Garfield was assassinated elevating Arthur to the presidency. His crowning achievement was the Pendleton Act of 1883 which created a classified employment system for government workers including competitive written exams and the removal of political retribution from the federal employment system.

DO NOT LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT

Howard Dean’s BISCHA Board Chair Elizabeth Costle overruled common sense, the community, and the unanimous approval of her thirteen member board for the Central Vermont Medical Center’s improvements to clear the decks for the approval of Dean’s corrupt Fletcher Allen Hospital by denying Central Vermont Medical Center’s application.

That they had raised the money for the project, had tons of community support, and had a need to update its equipment and space, was lost on Dean. So the Certificate of Need was denied. The attorney general’s office is still trying to sort Fletcher’s good guys from the bad. The bad guys list is longer. Indictments are coming.

THE BREATH OF FRESH AIR

What a difference now that Dean screamed his way to humiliation. The Central Vermont Medical Center is approved. Gee a new birthing center, radiology department, more lab space, and a makeover. It makes Jim Douglas’ easy reelection with 58.7 percent of the vote make sense. Dean’s last two elections resulted in 55.6 and 50.4. That too makes sense. Rumor was the Chittenden County boys were mad that Central Vermont chose to ally itself with Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover instead of Fletcher. It was payback time.

SCROOGE TROLLS MONTPELIER

Last February, the Recreation Department announced that public skating would end in Vermont’s capital, no money, no fun. The city found $120,000 to hire a consultant to re-zone a 120 acre parcel affectionately know as Sabin’s Pasture. In years gone by, a rope tow hoisted the hopefuls to the top. But $1,000 needed to allow skating hopefuls and not so hopeful to recreate could not be found. Upon loud complaint, the city found the $1,000.

Zoning has said that folks could develop Sabin’s Pasture for housing but alas, now facing reality, the diziens decided we cannot have afford affordable housing, or any housing, in Montpelier. Deftly, dour denizens disseize.

BOB, TINY AND MARTHA CRATCHIT HOMELESS

Here in Vermont where the average value of the rarely occupied second home is $232,300 and the average cost of a resident’s home is $166,448, there are no homes for the Cratchits. There are endless conferences attended by those on comfortable expense accounts talking about affordable housing. Unfortunately Marley’s ghost does not appear to terrify them into action.

Sabin’s Pasture is one good example, all that “conserved” land as well, where demand is stifled by blue state statists. As Theodore Roosevelt is quoted on the walls of the New York Museum of Natural History, “Conservation means development as much as it does protection.” Not here.

THE COMMON MAN

In Stowe, the Stowe Reporter has chronicled years of efforts by the award winning Lamoille Housing Partnership to build affordable housing in the lower village. Too big, too ugly, too near us equals no. The mucky mucks v. the hoi polloi and the mucks win.

The mucks of course want to helped onto the lifts, fed atop Vermont’s highest, have their toilets unplugged, and their driveways plowed. But they do not want to have to live near the folks who provide these services. Best they live in Morrisville, Elmore, Wolcott, and points northeast.

GO BUILD YOUNG MAN

Instead of hand wringing editorials, why not jump start the housing market by trying one or all of the following.

1) A one year permit holiday for affordable resident housing construction. All developers are held responsible for knowing and complying with all rules and regulations pertaining to housing development but all approval processes will occur in retrospect. Go build young man.

2) Zoning rules are in moratorium for one year. Let the buyer decide. Go build young man.

3) Twenty percent of any “conserved” land with immediate access to municipal services be made available for low cost housing. Go away Jacob Marley.

ANGLERS MOURN

A spat of hand wringing articles appeared recently in the Vermont press about the passing of the native trout from Vermont’s streams because of “development.” Development has filled the streams with pollution, warming them so as to deprive the trout of their needed habitat. Shoot development and the fish will thrive.

There is a different opinion. Old-timers tell DPR that before roads and all, the streams and rivers left unchecked would meander. The gravel would form river kames as the river naturally moved away. Gravel was not carried great distances. With the channeling required so that roads would not wash out regularly, the gravel washed from the banks and stayed in the river beds and moving downstream carried by faster moving water.

Folks used to enter the streams at low water and remove the gravel for their driveways. Then regulators prohibited the removing the gravel. The gravel then continued downstream until it filled all the deep fish holes. With no deep cold water holes left, the trout could not survive. Well, trout death according to the old-timers.

WALDO IS A KEEPER

Okay, not really. National Journal took a look at the nation’s governors’ behavior. It is not just the recently departed Jim McGreevey, D-NJ, who paid for sexual favors with state funds, who stands out. He succeeded Donald DiFrancesco, R-NJ, who was canned after state contractors lined his pockets.

John Rowland, R-CT, had contractors install a hot tub for him and he landed, of course, in hot water. Former Governor Bill Janklow, R-SD, resigned after being convicted of vehicular manslaughter.

THERE’S MORE

Governor Paul Patton, D-KY, gearing up for a senate run faded into the sunset after using his office to obtain sexual favors. In West Virginia Bob Wise, D-WV, was caught in the eternal triangle with Tom Dooley looking down. In Maryland Parris Glendening, D-MD, dumped his wife for his girl friend creating a job opportunity for another alert damsel. He then put his “wife” into a $100,000 job handling appointments. Sexual allegations caught up with Governor Kirk Fordice, R-MS, when caught with a woman not his wife who later became his wife who later became a single woman.

AND MORE

Unfortunately, there is more. Governor George Ryan, R-IL, went down for bribes in exchange for truck licenses. Jane Swift, R-MA, “consumed with maternal guilt” used state helicopters to car pool and state employees for day care. Bye bye Jane. Judy Martz, R-MT, was caught covering up a DUI, death resulting. She decided not to seek reelection. Jim Tucker, D-AR and Bubba’s lieutenant governor, was convicted of fraud. Fife Symington, R-AZ, the governor “who got thirty months for shady real estate deal”, rounds out the slippery slimy corps of ex-governors.

That represents twenty-five percent of our state executives acting badly. Makes Waldo’s transgressions seem tame by comparison.

THE MORALITY PLAY

Folks were all a twitter to learn that some voters were concerned about morals. Quickly those voters were pegged as homophobic, religious rednecks. Maybe there was a connection between all these governors behaving badly and people wishing that our public servants hold themselves to a higher standard; and in President Bush they saw someone who was holding himself to that standard.

BASEBALL, APPLE PIE, AND MOTHERHOOD

Speaking of morals, what a shame the sham that baseball has become. Shoeless Joe Jackson eighty-five years ago was a piker compared to the cheating that has been the norm. Cheating by steroids separates baseball from apple pie and motherhood.

The owners, the players, the media and the fans knew that the game was corked but the game would not fix itself. In the history of baseball, only seventeen players have hit more than fifty-six home runs, eleven of them between 1997 and 2001, the Clinton years. Any fool could look at the before and after pictures of the sluggers and see something strange had happened. Popeye was not doing spinach any longer.

Maybe the voters were right about morality in demanding a higher standard.

ON THE ROAD

Remember when Waldo was on the road 24/7 instead of doing the governing he was elected to do? Recall his retort? “I have the best staff in the world.”

Look now for any of that staff on his current team. Either they did not make the grade or they became bored with Dean’s ways.

RUSSIA RETURNS POWER TO CPSU

Because his government has failed in its promise to end the Chechnya problem in spite of having everything his way and well into his second term, President (loosely using the term) Putin needs the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to reestablish order.

“If only we could end any pretense at democracy, then I could end all the Chechnyian problems. Let’s end elections of governors. I will appoint them. Let’s restrict political parties. I will let you know what is good for you. Let’s end elections for members of the Duma. The parties I allow will appoint the legislators.”

FROM THE DUSTBIN OF HISTORY

Seen this movie before? The Communist Party of the Soviet Union? The party we all thought had been tossed into the dustbin of history?

Putin has subjugated the press. Putin axed, albeit not in Trotsky fashion, the head of Izvestia for printing a picture of the Beslam school massacre on the front page. The head of Forbes Magazine was gunned down leaving his office. Contract murders of press, politicians, and business folks go on with impunity. Corruption is endemic at every level of government: border guard, custom official, policeman or Kremlin hotshot.

BOMB THEM BACK TO THE STONEAGE

The little despot announced that to deal with the terrorist threat, Russian scientists are “developing nuclear missile systems of a type that no other nuclear state has, capable of slipping past an interception shield.” That will help the folks in Beslam.

ELECTIONS, WHAT ELECTIONS

Ukraine held an election. Putin campaigned for the sleazy guy. The eastern provinces, where Stalin had deported millions of Russians, voted early and often, putting up turnout rates well above one hundred percent. Better than Papa Joe could do, he only receive ninety-eight percent. Speaking to the choir, Putin said, “We just can’t keep having elections.” Got it.

HEADLINE NEWS

What is in a headline? Some short eye catching summary statement, a teaser maybe? Reading Vermont’s papers casts doubt on those assumptions. A Times Argus’ headline is, “Recount confirms 9-vote victory in House race.” Read on and you find that the first vote was a 14-vote victory. Recount confirmed the victory but not the margin.

Recall when as a child you diagramed sentences? No more. When asked by DPR, a teacher shrugged her shoulders, “Between making sure we all get along and teaching self esteem, there is not the time to do sentence diagramming.” The process now is passé, and headlines wobble.

HEADLINE NEWS TAKE 2

The Burlington Free Press had a Sunday feature article recently, Hard Choices. The sub head was “women priced out of health care.” The jump page headline was “insurance: middle aged women especially vulnerable.” Right, that made sense, yet the data in the article did not support the headline, not even close.

In the 18-29 age group, men without health insurance were greater than women by sixty percent. In age group 30-44, men without health insurance were greater than women by forty-five percent. In age group 45-64, men again were more vulnerable than women by eighteen percent. And in ages greater than 64, more men by a whopping two hundred and fifty percent were without health insurance than women.

HEADLINE NEWS TAKE 3

The Free Press rocked us again with the front page headline, “Iraqis call for delay in election.” Well, yes, that is technically correct, but a reading of the article reports that some of the Sunnis want a delay. They represent fifteen to twenty percent of the population.

ANCHORS AWAY

One with dignity and one with the anchor tightly tied to his neck: Brokaw and Rather. Who thinks that if Kerry had won the election, Dan Rather would have been dumped?

As CBS’ own Andy Rooney said, “I know a lot of you believe that most people in the news business are liberal. They were almost evenly divided this time. Half of them liked Senator Kerry; the other half hated President Bush."

VERMONT’S LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD

The Douglas folks just announced that Vermont’s unemployment rate is the nation’s lowest at 3.1 percent. Great news. Not fit for our papers though.

MAUREEN DOWD'S RUSSIAN HERALD

»» Paul----, Berlin: Finally, someone who tells it like it is in the media! Thank you! I am really surprised that the Herald/TimesArgus has any readers with its constant bashing of the President. Many of my friends know it is an ultra-liberal paper and they only buy it for the obituaries. Glad I have my computer and can read papers from all over the USA and the world without that type of reporting. No wonder they are /have expanded into the St. J. area. Maybe more and more folks from around here in Central Vt. are seeing "the light". Over the past few years, I was beginning to believe that Maureen Dowd was the new Editor!

ERRATA

»» Brian "20 electoral votes" Perera, Columbus, Ohio: I have read your newsletter for quite awhile. Always a good read....

Clark County Ohio is spelled "Clark," not "Clarke" as was in your latest missive. Nearby Greene County is the one with the extraneous silent "e." You are correct, though, in your assumption that Clark County voters were incensed about being told how to vote by foreigners. Check out the Dayton Daily News and the Cleveland Plain Dealer for some excellent responses sent by actual Clark County voters.

Keep up the muckraking.

»» Thom Serrani: "It was a miserable night...your editor stopped at Garlic John’s ... The neighboring conversation turned to politics and their local newspaper, the Russian Herald, aka Investia...."

Its Izvestia, not Investia. English translation: "News"

Keep up the good work.

OUR PREDICTIONS

»» Emilie Mattesich, Burlington: Dear Sir: You may have been wrong about the outcome of the presidential election, but you're very close to the mark on everything else.

Especially, thanks for your analyses of Europe. Lately European sport has been criticizing the U.S. Many Europeans have never really understood the gist of this country. It will be interesting to see how Europe handles the Moslem question. That's an issue that has been on the simmer in Europe since the 1960's and is about to boil over. Again, thanks.

»» Laura Brueckner, Waterbury Center: PLLLLLLLLLLease a liberal Yankee for President? [The democrats' candidate choice] guaranteed a victory for Bush!!! Give me a break!

VERMONT BLUES

»» Bill & Dinny Adamson, Charlotte: Vermont is one of only two states where President Bush's percentage of the vote this year did not increase over 2000. The other state was South Dakota, where Bush won by 22 points anyway. Why is Vermont the odd state? Do demographic trends explain this? There is anecdotal evidence that Vermonters continue to leave the state for less expensive, less taxing, warmer climates while Vermont's liberal reputation--enhanced by a screaming former governor--attracts more liberals. A recent letter to the Burlington Free Press came from a Virginian who claims she moved here in part because it is a blue state.

Where were the Bush/Cheney lawn signs this year? Fewer appeared than in 2000. Bush ads were broadcast on cable television, Fox 44, WCAX, and radio stations that reached audiences in New Hampshire. But other Vermont stations aired few if any Bush ads. Those dollars must have been spent in battleground states, and wisely so. But didn't the president poll over 50% here as late as early 2003? Why was Vermont conceded so early?

Vermont's overwhelmingly liberal dailies used their editorial voice to drive down the Bush vote. Viciously hateful leftist letter writers took partisan attack against our wartime president to unprecedented levels. The BFP, whose editorial voice admonished partisan bickerers in the 90's, saw fit to publish anti-Bush letters as a near majority of campaign letters. Pro-Kerry letters were as scarce as the details of that candidate's "plans." Pro-Bush letters were almost as scarce.

Another factor may be divisive in GOP politics. Gov. Douglas, chair of the President's Vermont reelection committee, pointed out his disagreements with Bush administration environmental policies in some of his campaign ads. This may have bumped Jim up, but what did it do for--or to--the president's vote? De-emphasizing GOP disagreements was the purpose of Ronald Reagan's "Eleventh Commandment." Featuring those distinctions in campaign ads was not helpful for Bush in Vermont.

Vermont voted Republican for president from 1856 until the 1964 LBJ landslide, and from 1968 until 1992. For the GOP to win again in an increasingly blue Vermont may not be realistic, but increasing the GOP presidential candidate's percentage of the 2008 vote will depend on the GOP avoiding some of the decisions made this year, and an increase may benefit GOP congressional candidates as well.

THEY LIKE US

»» Kimberly Holmes Lanier, Essex Jct.: I am so glad that you were wrong [in your prediction], but it was as hard call. Keep the real political news a-comin'.

»» Richard Bailey, Hyde Park: Keep up the good work. I enjoy reading your report.

STRAIGHT-A-PHOBES TAKE 2

"George Bush increased his vote in 2004 over 2000 by an average of 3.1 percent nationwide. . . . In the 11 states in which the gay marriage referendums were held, Bush increased his vote by less than he did in the 39 states that did not have the referendum. The great anti-gay surge was pure fiction."

--Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post

HEAR, HEAR, THE GANG’S ALL HERE

“Forget all this claptrap about the second Bush administration softening up and feeling the need for what is quaintly called ‘the support of its allies’.

“That is a confection of blather and wishful thinking conjured up by blithely arrogant Europeans and American Democrats in denial. George Bush has just got the mandate for pursuing his global policy on terrorism that he did not have in his first term: his position is stronger, not weaker.”

--Janet Daley, Daily Telegraph, 11/17/04

BY JOHN, HE’S GOT IT!

"By conventional standards, [John] Ashcroft was among the best attorney generals in American history. Violent crime dropped 27 percent on his watch, reaching a 30-year low. Federal gun crime prosecutions rose 75 percent, and gun crimes dropped -- something that should please liberals.

“By unconventional standards his service was heroic. There hasn't been a single terrorist attack since 9/11, despite all predictions by experts and efforts by terrorists to the contrary. Ashcroft was willing to take gross abuse to do what was necessary."

--Jonah Goldberg, [Quoted in The Federalist], November 17, 2004

TO KNOW HER, IS TO LOVE HER

"The more Maureen Loud (Dowd) goes on 'Meet the Press', the redder these states get. They do not need some high brow hussy from New York City explaining to them that they are idiots."

--Senator Zell Miller, D-Georgia, The Federalist, November 17, 2004

Responded Dowd, “I am a high brow hussy from Washington, DC.”

COAST TO COAST

"Of the 3,153 counties in this country, Mr. Bush carried 2,542, while his Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry, carried only 611."

--John McCaslin's "Inside the Beltway," 11/19/04

MOVING UP THE LEARNING CURVE

"The Netherlands has been too tolerant to intolerant people for too long. We should not import a retarded political Islamic society to our country. . . . If in a mosque there is recruitment for jihad, it's not a house of prayer, it's a house of war. If it's not a house of prayer, it should be closed down."

--Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, Associated Press, 11/19/04

PATRONIZING PEDANTIC PATTER

“The swift boat stuff doesn’t work. A negative campaign based on issues that people think are relevant does work.”

--Bob Schrum, Kerry campaign media guru, New Yorker, 9/20/04

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