Since the primary, I have been largely silent about the upcoming election. That is mostly because I am fed up with the way things are going in both parties and I am lukewarm at best about most of the candidates, except those I outright don’t like.
There are things that need saying, though, especially since the rhetoric out there is getting quite heated.
Here are a couple of tid-bits for today:
The Vermont Lieutenant Governor’s Race
The Dunne camp has adopted a strategy of insisting that the lieutenant governor’s job be full-time. He argues that the pay is quite nice – $61,000 – and merits full-time attention. Dubie counters that he is giving it his full attention. He only flies (his other job) one weekend a month when the legislature is in session, which incidentally is not on weekends.
Okay, a couple of things here.
1. The lieutenant governor does not do much other than cast an occasional tie-breaking vote in a chamber of the legislature that only meets four days a week for around five months of the year. It is part time. So, either Dunne is itching to expand the power of the lieutenant governor to a level never before seen in Vermont, or he is just desperate for a campaign strategy.
2. If Dunne does get elected (which is not likely), when he occupies the lieutenant governor’s office full-time, exercising new powers never before held by a lt. gov., how long do you think it will be before he is requesting full-time pay for all his work?
The US House Race
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has been running an ad for US House candidate Peter Welch. The voice-over claims that electing Welch will help the Democrats gain control of Congress, which in turn will lead to a new direction in healthcare, energy policy, and Iraq.
Every time I see that commercial, I cannot help but wonder, what are the Democrats going to do to fix Iraq? Their plan is to get the troops out of there. That might help our troops, but it is not going to fix Iraq. Yeah, sure, the majority of Americans can go back to their business and pretend that Iraq is all fine and dandy, while the people who trusted us are slaughtered, just like after the Gulf War, but that does not mean Iraq is really fixed.
I am not suggesting that the Republicans are going to do a better job, although I could easily make that argument. What I am saying is that the Democrats are full of it when they say that they are going to fix Iraq. They are not.
Useful Links
Lt. Governor Race:
Brian Dubie (Republican)
Matt Dunne (Democrat)
Marvin Malek (Progressive)
US House Race:
Martha Rainville (Republican)
Peter Welch (Democrat)
October 18th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
Hey, $61,000 is a full-time salary. It’s certainly more money than I’m making, and I work way more than “full-time.”
October 18th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
I agree… I don’t care whether it represents an expansion of the LT. Gov’s power, for 61k he ought to be able to find something to do for 40+ hours a week… Aren’t there floors that need sweeping or anything??
(Please note: I am clearly envious of anyone who works less than me and makes more (nearly 3 times more)… I never claimed to be immune from superficial capitalist emotions)
October 19th, 2006 at 4:48 am
*When Dubie’s not in the office, sometimes he’s on trade junkets for Vermont. Dunne is making quite a name for himself in this race, but I think Dubie will win.
*You can easily make the argument Republicans are going to do a better job in Iraq? Better than who? The Republicans?
*Of course the Democrats are not going to fix Iraq. Nobody is. The only person that might have any chance at all is Saddam Hussein. Bush Destroyed that poor country because he’s a coke-head psycho and we let him. The best thing we can do now is friggin’ cut and run. Yeah, I said it.
October 20th, 2006 at 1:53 pm
The Lt. Gov’s office has always been considered a part-time gig. You guys are looking at the pay in terms of what average folks make. In terms of what a politician makes, it is a part-time salary.
It’s really a moot point, since Dubie does put in more time than Dunne wants people to believe.
Lamoillistan, it’s not capitalist to envy what someone else makes. A capitalists response would be to go out and make more money yourself. (Or see who you can rip off to make more for yourself?)
Geeze, you guys. My job is 24-7 and I don’t get paid anything!
October 21st, 2006 at 10:55 pm
Ahhh… It is entirely capitalist envy… I have enough, and yet I want more… He has three times the comsumptive power of my entire household (and that’s before you take into account his other salary)… I want to consume at the rate that the Dubster consumes…
Sarcasm aside, and we’re off the topic of Brian Dubie here and on to basic economic morality, I think that there is such a thing as “capitalist greed” (I made that phrase up as I wrote it, so there is probably a more apt term out there)… Consuming vastly more resources than you need while others (here or elsewhere) go without what they need is immoral… It’s a moral dillema that I feel every day and I only make about a third of Dubie’s 60k part-time salary… Which is why I get a bit sarcastic…
And, 60k is not a part-time salary in VT politics… We have a part time legislature that makes about what I make… $600 a week when they’re working, zip when they’re not… THAT’s a part time salary… The Lt. Gov’s salary is cake, especially for a job that is certainly less demanding and less work than that of even the laziest state rep…