Wow. What a week. You, dear readers, have sent this site’s stats through the roof, you’ve clogged my email box (vtsnarkyboy@yahoo.com) with tips and comments, and the tidal wave of snarkiness has flooded across the Vermont media and political landscape. Ah, feel the snarky love.
Instead of the prose you’ve come to expect here, I’m going to rinse my head out like a filthy washcloth and just spill forth with some randomness. Here ya’ go:
Little Jimmy Douglas Melts Down: You had to see this coming. Governor Howdy-Doodie has been on edge for months now. He did, after all, have to pretend he was someone else for an entire election season, hoping like hell that no one would remember that he was a huge Bush supporter – including the war fiasco – and an unabashed conservative Republican in an election year where those two words were akin to, well, asshole.
But he pulled it off. And who ever that guy was that he ran against certainly made it easy for Douglas to pull off his little switcheroo. Oh yeah, that was the liberal preacher guy, Scooter Parker. Or was it Scudder? Whatever. Let’s face it, there’s nothing more obnoxious than a liberal preacher. It’s what I’d call political correctness overload. And it’s pretty clear that’s what voters thought too.
Douglas’ post-election life hasn’t been a bowl of cherries, either. The man who ran on a platform of creating jobs and making Vermont more “affordable” got to see two major plants close since November and nearly ten million dollars of the state’s money go missing. Oops. And, trust me, for a governor who acts more like an accountant, that ain’t good news.
You could tell he was getting more and more on edge just by how high he pulls his pants. Don’t believe me? Look for yourselves. By the time he had his little temper tantrum at his weekly press conference yesterday, they were pulled nearly to his neck. For those of us “in the know,” we knew he was about to blow.
And he did. But let’s face it, it was the kind of blow-up you’d expect from a Middlebury-accountant kind of a guy. He basically just gritted his teeth, got red faced and a bit snotty. Come on, Guv, you can do better than that.
Hats off, however, to the Vermont media for pushing his buttons. It’s about fucking time. And a second hat tip to Ross Sneyd at the Associated Press for filing a full story on the gubernatorial meltdown and the subsequent apology. Good stuff – especially on the newly localized Times Argus front page.
Welch Watch: The heat is clearly being turned up on Peter “The Dick” Welch. The wave of snarkiness directed at the newly minted congressman has sent this Snarky Boy’s heart fluttering. Let’s face it, the guy’s just plain smarmy. And, for those of you who think good blogging means posting headlines like “Welch Off to Good Start,” please tell me ONE thing that Welch has done in his political life that has been risky and/or showed true passion. One thing. I’ll bet you can’t. The guy’s a political player. And he’s playing Vermonters like a fiddle right now, hoping we’ll forget his firebrand campaign rhetoric of only a few months ago while he plays footsie with the House leadership for the betterment of his career.
Luckily, there are a growing number of people out there who seem to remember that Welch ran on a platform to stick it to Bush, especially on the war. So they’re calling for folks to call Welch and demand that he get his ass in gear by signing onto the legislation that would put a quick end to the Iraq fiasco. J.D. over at Five Before Chaos is one blogger who’s been up to the task of practicing democracy. There’s also some talk afloat about some civil disobedience at the not-so-good congressman’s office if he continues to drag his feet on the issue we thought he was going to lead on. Stay tuned for news on that effort.
Global Warming Hot Air: I’m beginning to think Peter Shumlin hijacked the state legislature with his global warming focus just so he could tell people how he went hunting in a t-shirt this year. Tell me, how many times have you heard him say it? I know I’ve heard it about four times. And that’s four times too many, quite frankly. Earth to Peter: No one’s buying this good-old-boy bullshit. You’re a millionaire politician, not one of the boys. Now get over it and move on, please.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for doing something about global warming. The problem with the charade going down at the Statehouse is that it’s just that: a charade. Or, if you will: more hot air. And there’s not a chance in hell that Shumlin or anyone else under the golden dome will legislate the kinds of changes that are necessary to truly combat global warming. Sadly, Shumlin’s just doing what liberals do: talk about it to feel good about themselves for AT LEAST talking about it. And around and around they’ll go.
Again, the Snarky Boy will stand corrected when anyone out there can come forward with one piece of meaningful legislation that will come out of this global warming rhetoric-fest.
I’ve stumbled across one great voice of reason on this: Eric Rosenbloom from Hardwick. Known for his well-reasoned opposition to industrial wind power, Rosenbloom has been penning some fine jabs at the global warming hot air breathers. Here, for example, is a link to a nice verbal take down of Shumlin’s double speak on global warming. And while you’re at his site, take a look around and stew on his wind arguments. I think he’s onto to something.
Whew, We Made It: To Friday, that is. And in a matter of hours the Snarky Boy will morph into the wandering boy of the ever-growing nightlife scene in Montpelier. I’ve got scheduled stops planned for my usual haunts of Charlie O’s and Langdon Street Café. The music seems to be less than enticing tonight, but the pool playing should be good and the conversations constant. Perhaps I’ll see you there?
Until then, snark on.
