Friends in All the “Right” Places: On Welch, Pollina and The Kingdom
November 14, 2007
Well, well, well, I knew someone out there in Vermont’s dwindling media ranks would find the importance of Sunday’s “accountability session” with Congressman Peter Welch. But I was a little surprised at first by who it was: The Caledonian Record . Yep, as in: the right-wing Record. And after reading it a few times and thinking about it longer, it actually makes sense.
Vermont’s mainstream media establishment, especially the elected liberals’ favorite lapdog journalist, Peter Freyne, rushed to Welch’s defense after the intense meeting in which more than 100 Vermonters showed up to empower themselves and demand some accountability from our one and only member of the House of Representatives. Instead of focusing on the issues at hand – Welch funding the war while saying he’s opposed to it — most of them focused on the manners of the audience, the planning of the agenda and other such matters akin to rearranging the chairs on the sinking Titanic.
But the Caledonian Record got it. Taste this from the conclusion of the editorial in today’s edition of their paper:
Vermont has a U. S. congressman and two U.S. senators with lifetime jobs who will be reelected as long as they wish without even having to break a sweat. The blame for that sad state lies squarely with the Vermont voter who is too lazy to compare the candidate on the campaign trail with the candidate’s voting record once the election is over. Wouldn’t it be revolutionary if all Vermonters showed the tenacity and backbone of the folks who challenged Welch on Sunday and demanded he do what he said he would do? Wouldn’t it be revolutionary if conservatives, moderates and liberals all followed their example? Just imagine. Candidates having to make realistic campaign promises and then having to stick to them! What a concept.
Indeed. That was the vision of running the meeting the way we did.
And I can see the eyes rolling amongst the liberals out there. “Oh sure, The Record is saying that because they hate Welch,” you’re collectively saying. Sure, there’s probably plenty of the old neener-neener two-party nonsense in the mindset of the editorial writer – about as much as there is in the hardcore Dem Welch backers who’s party blindness refuses to let them be outraged by his funding of the war.
But before the party hacks either cheer or jeer over this, let’s dig a little deeper. As you’ll recall from Vermont’s Progressive Party, Anthony Pollina and Progs in general have been doing well in the traditionally conservative Northeast Kingdom that the Record services. Why? My guess is because of the sentiment expressed in this editorial: People from the left and the right are fed up with politics as usual and a growing percentage of the population is begging for some political truth. The neener-neener nonsense is, indeed, wearing thin, especially as so-called conservatives like Bush run up government spending and so-called liberals like Welch vote to condemn anti-war activism. You don’t have to have your bullshit detectors on very high to pick this up.
Pollina and the Progs are blowing it, of course, with the current game of footsie they’re playing with the Dems. People don’t like it when they’re seduced by rhetoric and then dunked into a sobering shower of “never mind” as political expediency trumps political principles.
Pollina has spent more than a decade talking the talk of standing outside of the “two-party establishment,” even taking on the popular Dean in an effort to prove his anti-establishment credentials. But now it’s one, big “never mind” that Pollina and the Progs are declaring as he readies the faithful for what he hopes will be a Dem/Prog run for governor. Principles? Forgetaboutthem, baby. Because this is about one guy winning.
But Pollina should be reminded of two words before he gets too far into this mess: Peter Clavelle. Yep, the fellow who tried the same thing and got his political ass handed to him. Why? Because people sniffed out the obvious principle problem inherent in years worth of bashing Dems and then a sudden (read: personally opportunistic) transformation. Sorry, but that creates a hell of a lot of electoral cognitive dissonance from the gitgo.
And Welch is facing the same problem. Welch ran and was elected on a record to “change the course” in Washington but, since being there, has all too often been voting in favor of the same old course. Welch to Vermonters: Never mind. Welch was always a moderate but ran as fire-breathing liberal, thus creating an expectation that he cannot and probably will not live up to. If you don’t believe me, take a look at this Welch advertisement from last year and pay close attention to the promise that he’d be “changing the course on Iraq” with a Democratic majority in Congress. It’s also fun to note the fuel prices in the ad: Gas at $2.34 and he promised to change that, too. Hmm, I guess at $3.05 it did change.
As we learned from the large and passionate turnout last Sunday, Vermonters are looking for some truth and consistency in their political leaders. The Record gets it. And growing numbers of Vermonters get it. But by the time the likes of Welch and the increasingly principle-less Progs get it, the party will be over – for them.
The voter’s message is really quite simple: Just give us some truth.
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6 Responses to “Friends in All the “Right” Places: On Welch, Pollina and The Kingdom”
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Although I agree with most of what you say, especially regarding Anthony and his antics, I think you’re overly harsh with Peter Freyne’s very brief report on the meeting.
No one, repeat ,no one has repeately written every week over and over against the war, blog after blog, as has Peter.
He’s been there, questioning the governor, and others.
You’ve got to give credit where credit is due.
Please note that I called Freyne the “elected liberals’ favorite lapdog.” He does little but roll over and have his belly scratched by the likes of Welch, Sanders and Leahy. Find me a column of his that actually takes one of these liberal angels to task. And you’re right, Freyne does go after Douglas all the time. In fact, I’d bet Freyne’s condemnation of Sunday’s meeting would have morphed into high praise had we been going after Douglas. Freyne needs to pester the liberals just like he pesters Douglas. But don’t hold your breath.
A good candidate for governor would be someone with a record of not flip-flopping on issues. Pollina ain’t got that record. Remember you told me in Oct. ‘01 that he said at the Prog Convention that Afganistan was not a Vermont Issue?
Oh yeah–I had a point. Must be reading too muchDem gibberish. (Time to put something truly tasteless on Daily Kos)
My point is: Any candidate for Governor running against Bush’s Boy Douglas had better be willing to come out against the War, Blackwater, corporate plunder, etc. And getting the Vt. Guard home.
Can’t see Pollina taking the high road on any of these important issues. He couldn’t even do it about the goddamn sheep.
Yes, I remember the Oct. ‘01 Prog Convention very well. It was obviously when the nation was in that post-9/11 haze and those of us with our thinking caps on knew Bush was aching for a war in response. Silly us, we thought we could find some refuge in the fledgling Progs, only to watch them coordinate a ruthless plan to quickly table a discussion on the upcoming wars. It was Bernie’s step-daughter, Carina Driscoll, who helped orchestrate it. Dumbfounded by it all, I approached Pollina to ask him what just happened. “It’s not a Vermont issue,” he told me. I wonder how that response would go over at Pvt. Adam Muller’s funeral this weekend?
I think the Progs seeking/accepting a Dem endorsement spells failure and I’ve heard Pollina say some pretty lame shit, too. ..polticans are all alike. But, the Progs claim to be the people’s party, so maybe, a people should oppose Pollina in a primary and/or run a candidate against Welsh? Hang ‘em High, Snarky boy!