Angelo Lynn's blog
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson nailed it on the head last Friday when he wrote of the current political mood to toss out Democrats and put Republicans back into control of Congress that “this isn’t an ‘electoral wave,’ it’s a temper tantrum.”
When Barack Obama ran for president in 2008, he pledged to end the war in Iraq responsibly, if elected. Tuesday night, the young president — who, in his first two years in office, has also faced an economic crisis not seen since the Great Depression and has had to work mightily to restore the nation’s financial industry and auto industry, as well as making significant steps to reforming health care — declared America’s military action in Iraq officially over.
And, as an opponent of the Iraq invasion from the start, he was gracious in his comments.
Tuesday’s Democratic primary race for governor goes into the history books as one of the most competitive and closest with five excellent candidates — four of whom had near-equal support across all sectors of the state. With Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin leading Sen. Doug Racine by just 182 votes at 25 percent of the vote total, and Sec. of State Deb.
Tomorrow is Vermont’s all-important primary. Four of the state’s elected offices have competitive primaries; there are competitive races among Republicans for the right to challenge U.S. Sen. Patrick Leady and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch; and we have a competitive write-in race for one of Addison County’s senate seats among Democrats. (See story, Page 1.)
Next Tuesday is one of the most important primary elections in Vermont’s recent history. Of the six state offices, four have competitive races. Five Democrats are vying for the right to confront Republican Brian Dubie in gubernatorial race. Two Democrats and two Republicans are in a party run-off in the lieutenant governor’s race and the secretary of state race; two Democrats are vying for the state auditor of accounts position to confront Republican incumbent Tom Salmon. Add to that a competitive three-way race among Republicans for the congressional seat held by Democrat incumbent Rep.
What do the times require?
What critical crossroads loom that Vermont must not miss in the upcoming decade?
Which gubernatorial candidate will best be able to meet the demands required to lead the state forward?
The District Environmental Commission’s quick denial of an Act 250 permit for the proposed Lathrop gravel pit near downtown Bristol laid out the basic issues in clear detail, but seemingly with the assumption that an appeal was likely. That’s just being smart. Appeals often follow on the heels of such a significant denial. After all, the applicants have been battling with citizen-opponents for going on seven years, and it’s hard for the losing side to simply admit all that effort was for naught.
In Vermont’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, the challenge voters face is two-fold: determining which candidate can best fulfill one’s own political priorities and goals, and determining which candidate has the best chance of beating Republican Brian Dubie.
