TGIF Blogging: On the Dems, Symington’s “Vision-thing,” and a Story from the Woods

Well, it took all of about 12 hours for the Dems in Congress to do what they always do when the Bush regime shreds the Constitution: They called for an inquiry. Yeah, that’ll show ‘em. You know, kind of like how Vermont’s own Senator Patrick Leahy has Karl Rove quaking in his boots over his endless – and toothless – threats to subpoena him over the Justice Department’s “lawyer-gate.” Not. From what I can tell, Rove just shut the door on that yapping dog and has cheerfully moved on to rake in his millions in silly book deals.

An inquiry? Are you serious? The Bush team is turning this nation into a Banana Republic and, along the way, the Dems would like to ask a few questions. And I’m betting that if they even get the chance to ask the questions, it’ll sound something like this: “Excuse, me, sir, but are you sure you didn’t know anything about the [fill in the blank]?” And the follow-up will sound something like this: “Are you double certain you really, really didn’t know?”

By this time, the Republicans will start screaming about something frivolous like an advertisement by a lefty group and the whole nation will fall deep into a heated discussion about the ad, the ad-buyer’s behavior, and the like. And then Peter Welch and Leahy will proudly vote to condemn the ad – only because the Republicans made them.

Yeah, we see where this is going. Because we’ve seen it all before.

But, remember, the Dems who keep calling for one useless “inquiry” after another are the same folks who say that impeachment would be a “waste of time.” Instead of one very focused action that would aim to expose all the nonsense and truly assert its Constitutionally proscribed powers, these Dems will yip and yap and beg and whine and hope beyond hope that – in the end – they’ll get some of their questions answered. Could someone please inform them that they’re a separate – but equal! – branch of the U.S. government. And, while you’re at it, bring ‘em a few hundred spines.

Speaking of Unfocused Dems: Vermont’s Speaker of the House, Gaye Symington, a Dem, called reporters to her office yesterday to announce a whole new way of talking about business in Vermont. Wow. At first blush it looked like the Speaker was going to come out swinging and leave her usual meandering mush behind her. No such luck. Both at the little press event and in her “draft” written material, Symington showed all her – and her party’s – usual timidity by stating over and over again that her thoughts and plans really weren’t “finalized” yet. Well, Gaye, call us when you get it all worked out.

Here, for example, is how Gaye reaches out and grabs her audience with the beginning of her report:

Attached is a still-evolving outline of my vision for opportunities for economic development in Vermont. This outline is a work in progress that I am using to solicit input and to encourage others to think about Vermont’s economic development strategy.

Sorry, Gaye, but this whole thing reads like a really bad funding proposal. You’re just fishing. And that might work for your other job as a fundraiser for the Intervale but – ahem – you’re writing this as the Speaker of the House. And, in that capacity, people expect you to have a vision, not a “still-evolving outline of my vision.” I mean, who’s advising her on this stuff? We’re not talking about some obscure notion here, either. This is economic development, and you’re asking people to “think about it”? Yeah, Gaye, most of us think about it constantly – and we think about it very intensely when the bills need to be paid. Welcome to the discussion.

How about this, Gaye: Why don’t YOU think about it and then come out swinging with a plan? And perhaps some vision of your own too. Oh yeah, and we’d prefer if it was a focused vision rather than an evolving vision.

The more I think about it the more I think Symington just put her finger on the ills of the Democratic Party as a whole: Evolving Vision. It’s a problem. Worse, it’s embarrassing and destructive.

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Bobby Sand on the Mark Johnson Show: If you do nothing else to further your own political education this weekend, do this: Go to Mark Johnson’s website and download the podcast of his show today with Windham County State’s Attorney, Bobby Sand. It was/is an amazing hour or so of radio. Sand, of course, is the prosecutor who has been very vocal – and active – on the ridiculous nature of the drug laws in this state and nation.

The back and forth between Johnson and Sand was extraordinary, with Sand coming across as enormously thoughtful and articulate. He has, of course, been on the receiving end of Governor Douglas’ barbs and back-stabbings (instructing the state police to ignore Sand on future drug arrests in his jurisdiction). But Sand didn’t stoop to Douglas’ neener-neener level and, instead, just remained focused on the bizarre, hypocritical, destructive and Byzantine nature of our drug laws.

Shortly after Sand left the show, Douglas’ spokesperson, Jason Gibbs, called into the show and immediately contaminated a rather heady discussion into the same old neener-neener that has been spilling from the Douglas team on this issue. My favorite part was when Gibbs said that Douglas wouldn’t be willing to meet with Sand unless “he changed his stance” before the meeting. Huh? Yo Jason, the purpose of a meeting is to share information, listen to the other side and then decide how to proceed.

Sorry, but it just feels nothing short of childish for Douglas to publicly condemn a state prosecutor, instruct law enforcement officials to ignore him, and then refuse to even meet with the man. But I think I know why he’s doing it: Sand would run circles around him. The guy is bright, ethical, focused and tenacious. Hmm, can we get him to run for governor?

Just listen to the podcast. Congrats on a fine show (again), Mark.

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Encounter in the Woods: I’ll leave you with a little story from my day in the woods. I had my Belgian Big Jim out pulling firewood when I noticed he had his head up and was giving that snorting sound that usually indicates a deer, moose or other kind of animal is in the area. He’s funny that way. He weighs close to a ton but he’s scared to death of deer. Never mind that whenever he even sees them, they’re running away from him. It doesn’t matter. He’s just scared of them. So I deal with it, talk to him and refocus his attention back to the job at hand.

But his time I looked up and saw an orange hat in the distance. It was a muzzle-loader hunter on the prowl. I called out to him, hoping that he wasn’t mistaking Big Jim for the ultimate buck or something. He walked down, apologized for hunting there without permission and then looked down at the long chunk of the maple tree I was about to hook to Big Jim.

“That’s the hard way to get your firewood,” he said.

And then I looked up, nodded to his gun, and replied: “Yeah, and that’s the hard way to get your food.”