Oh boy, Snarky Boy hates work. And I’m not talking about painting, either. I wish I were painting. Those were the good old days. I’d paint by day and come and kick your sorry asses around at night. No such luck now.
With a bum hand and newly acquired fear of all things sharp, I’ve now landed what most of you would consider a “real job.” And it sucks. The good news is that it involves writing mostly, with some research thrown in for good measure. The bad news is that it also involves an insane timeline, requiring all too much of Snarky Boy’s attention. But the best news is that it pays well. It would have to given the ownership of my mind that it requires. And Snarky Boy ain’t cheap.
But to hell with that gossip. Let’s talk politics. It’s certainly no surprise that the only real race for elected office this year involves the one where no incumbents or currently elected federal politicians are involved. Yep, that would be the race to fill Bernie’s seat being waged by the She-General Rainville and the Nerd Boy Welch.
The brainless partisans out there would have you believe that there is a good choice here. The good Republicans can’t stop slobbering on themselves for landing Rainville as a candidate under their umbrella and the good Democrats can’t stop slapping their own backs for getting behind such a “nice guy.”
But the truth is that they both kind of suck. Rainville simply can’t be trusted because she wasn’t even sure if she was a Republican as recently as last year and now she’s a gung-ho Republican. Worse, she still seems to think the Iraq war that she so proudly sent her charges to is a good idea. Fuck that.
Welch, on the other hand, is your typical mainstream Democrat who seemingly has his hand on the political weathervane more than his own beliefs and passions. He’ll bitch and moan about everything Republicans do AFTER it’s obvious that his polling data apparently confirm that what the Republicans did is, indeed, unpopular. Some leadership.
Like I said, the choice just sucks in this race. But it would be very hard to believe that Welch could blow it in an election year that should see widespread Democratic gains nationwide. And I think Welch got a huge electoral gift recently when Governor Douglas apparently lost his marbles and picked a fight with Vermont’s congressional delegation over federally-protected forestlands.
Douglas was obviously trying to throw a bone to his far-right supporters but quickly realized that that’s one flimsy branch to be hanging from. I mean, come on, have you ever heard the nutball at the Vermont Traditions Coalition, Steve McLeod, speak? Here’s a hint: He’s convinced that ATV riding is a long-standing Vermont tradition. Like I said, he’s a nutball.
But Douglas’ slip into the wacko never-never-land of right wing lunatics will certainly cost him some support come November, especially if Scudder Parker can figure out a way to coerce a camera or two to actually cover his campaign. And with the Douglas/Parker campaign tightening up a bit, that means shorter political coattails for Rainville to ride on. Thanks, Jim.
My prediction: Welch will win and we’ll all be bored with him.
