Oh no, he’s back! Like the telemarketer who calls at dinnertime, Rob Roper is coming back for more abuse. It doesn’t matter to him that the last time he called he was all but pummeled into a state of political embarrassment because, dear readers, Roper’s kind of partisanship knows no shame – or boundaries.
Roper, of course, is the chairman of the Vermont Republican Party, a job that requires him to do the bidding of the state’s top elected Republican, Governor Jim Douglas – even if it means making a complete ass of himself. That way, you see, Douglas gets to continue with his “aw-shucks” shrugs and smirks while Roper rapid-fires the spittle of absurd partisanship, hoping that something – anything! — will stick before he starts the process over again the next day.
Recently, of course, Roper donned his Kaptain Kook outfit and huffed and puffed about the regulatory infractions at the Burlington-based Intervale’s compost facility. Of course, Roper and his puppeteer, Douglas, could care a less about the liquid run-off at the Intervale. As I wrote about earlier this week, what’s got these two shiny Republicans all atwitter is the fact that two of their political rivals have connections with the Intervale. House Speaker Gaye Symington is the fund-raiser for the Intervale and Prog Representative Dave Zuckerman farms there. Welcome to the kindergarten world of “gotcha!” politics.
The word on the street was that Roper and Douglas would probably tippy-toe away from this story after the blowback got a little hot for them. Most media outlets in Vermont, for example, either shrugged or laughed at their partisan yapping, noting the obvious stretch in logic required to smear Symington and Zuckerman for the oozing compost.
End of story, right? Wrong. Because Douglas has apparently wound up his little attack dog to come back for more on this story. In today’s Times Argus, Roper pens a long editorial that basically serves to pick the political scab. The piece (“Did Symington Gain Special Treatment For Intervale?”) reads like a rather breathless and desperate second attempt to make sense out of a story that just doesn’t make sense.
Consider, for example, Roper’s tortured reasoning:
First, Speaker Symington’s job at Intervale Center is not just fund raising. Her job also entails completing annual report and and “being a public voice for the nonprofit Intervale Center.
Roper’s source for the Symington job description? The Associated Press. But let’s forget about that and, instead, continue down the long and winding road of Roper logic.
Since Symington is the Intervale’s “public voice,” Roper argues, she should be held responsible for anything and everything that goes on at the entire center. Never mind that they have an executive director and a board of directors – not to mention a director of the compost division (who got fired). Is it snack time in partisan kindergarten yet?
But, again, let’s try to stay on this swerving Roper logic train. Because guess who else has “public voice” in his job description? Yep, Mr. Roper – as in the “public voice” for Vermont’s Republican Party. And – oh my goodness – his website shows a direct link and affiliation with the National Republican Party. So, Mr. Public Voice, you gonna own up to some of the stuff happening in your house of cards? Torture? Illegal wars? And how did you not know about that Senator Craig foot tapping, my friend?
The Times Argus got it right: This whole thing is “silly.” Please, Mr. Governor, will you shorten the leash on your attack dog. He’s scaring the children.
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