The UItimate Bipartisan?

Does this mean that we can now claim anything he votes for in Congress has bipartisan support?  ;)

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by: sicembears @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 18:33:44 PM UTC

Why again...

Can we not find a suitable challenger for the republican Governor of VT?  There is no excuse for letting any R skate in a state like VT, even if he does have very limited power with our huge majorities in the VT legislature.

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by: ChadInFL @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 18:48:27 PM UTC

Sometimes it's better to have a divided government.

A one party state ain't all that great. I mean, look at the stink hole that is Massachusetts. Billy Bulger and former Speaker Finneran both belong in jail.

Plus, Douglas is a moderate. His two major achievements last term included signing a bill to extend healthcare to children and strengthening laws against workplace sexual harassment.

He also vetoed a couple of new gun control measures but then again I'm probably among a minority of Dems to not support them.

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by: Tyler Oakley @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 19:03:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Your example doesn't make sense

From 1991-2006, Massachusetts had only Republican governors (Weld, Cellucci, Swift, Romney).  Bulger retired in 1996 from the Senate, after Weld appointed Bulger to be President of the University of Massachusetts.  Finneran became Speaker in 1996, and retired in 2004 to head the Biotechnology Counsel, and did plead guilty to criminal charges.  

I don't like either of them, but your idea that having a politician of the other party in an otherwise one-party state will somehow stop corruption is undermined by your example, not supported by it.  

In fact, Deval Patrick's done a lot more to shake up the government than the Republicans govs did, since they pretty much just tried to survive.  

John McCain: Healthcare for kids?  Not for a Bush-McCain America.

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by: bosdcla14 @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 21:09:14 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That health care bill is crap

He killed universal health care in VT (true UHC, unlike that horrible MA plan).

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by: adamterando @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 03:23:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

People like having a differently winged governer

That's why Massachusetts had Republican Govs for 16 years and Kansas and Wyoming have Democratic ones.  The whole balance of power thing...

28, Unenrolled, MA-08

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by: Marcus @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 19:05:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What if he loses?

What if he loses though?  Would Boehner demand that he join the Republican caucus?

"Keep the Faith"

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by: blue south @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 19:02:59 PM UTC

If it's like Massachusetts

He will just have one line on the ballot, but his party will be listed as "Democrat/Republican"

28, Unenrolled, MA-08

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by: Marcus @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 04:11:30 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Or what he nearly ties...

...would he demand a recount?

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by: tommyiaf @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 06:21:14 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

this is a little suprising

as the Republicans do have a healthy number of members in the state house 49R 93D and 8I

I guess they can sense the political winds are against them in Vermont

Male 21 Dem Ca's 1st  

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by: lordpet8 @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 20:06:13 PM UTC

Having less than One-Third is not healthy

If you count those 8 indies as Dems, which they basically are (progressives), we have a 2/3rds majority.  I'd hardly call that healthy by any stretch for the republicans.

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by: ChadInFL @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 20:12:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Healthy in the sense

of comparing their numbers to other legislatures in the Northeast:
MA 19R 140D 1I
RI 13R 60D 2I

But yes perhaps instead using healthy I should have said something to the matter of having enough seats to still have some say in the state house

Male 21 Dem Ca's 1st  

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by: lordpet8 @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 20:21:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

at least the I

in Massachusetts caucuses with Republicans, giving them twenty votes; or 1/8th of the General Assembly. But, MA, especially the legislature is like the south used to be, it's turned into a one party legislature; there are a lot of very conservative Democrats, many of whom are only Democrats because it is more useful for them to be in the majority party. Not to say that a strong majority of the chamber isn't liberal, but not nearly as deceptively large as though inflated numbers are.  

Call no man happy until he is dead-Aeschylus

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by: ArkDem the Ragin Cajin @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 20:36:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

thankfully

we did defeat a good deal on the conservative Dems in '04

Male 21 Dem Ca's 1st  

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by: lordpet8 @ Thu Sep 18, 2008 at 22:10:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I have a hunch about those one-party-dominated states

that there are quite a few Democrats in Massachusetts who may not be all that liberal but are just D's because it's more convenient, and same with Republican in Wyoming who may not be all that conservative but are just R's because it's more convenient.

party: Democratic, ideology: moderate, district: CT-01

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by: Glenn Magus Harvey @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 00:16:56 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I know it's the case in KS

There is a huge divide within the epublican party in that state between moderates and conservatives.  

Same is true in Alaska where moderate R's often work together with dems.

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by: ChadInFL @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 16:59:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That's exactly the case in RI

We may have a D-dominated leg., but all that means is that the battles come down to conservative dems vs. progressive dems.  Since RI (like MA) has so many staunch Catholics, there is a powerful group of Dems that prevents socially progressive policies (ie gay marriage) from going through.

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by: tommyiaf @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 01:01:06 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Why is it...

that Green Mountain Daily, the progressive Vermont blog, doesn't even have anything on this??  I'd figure they'd have the local flavor, but it's as if nothing even happened.  :-\

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by: BruinKid @ Fri Sep 19, 2008 at 02:07:45 AM UTC