Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, the Republican candidate for governor, released his long-awaited economic plan this week. It was the first time the public and press got a glimpse of Dubie’s stands on major policy issues.
Until now, Dubie’s campaign has kept the lieutenant governor’s policies under wraps, limited his participation in public forums to a single appearance and insulated the candidate from reporters’ questions.
Unlike the Democratic candidates, who return calls personally or give out their cell phone numbers to journalists, Dubie typically speaks to reporters through handlers.
So, on Monday, it was no surprise the press corps was anxious to ask the lieutenant governor about his economic plan. They were issued copies of the 26-page report, “Pure Vermont: Blueprint for Job Growth and Economic Expansion,” before he spoke to more than 100 business leaders gathered on the factory floor of Northern Power Systems in Barre.
Afterward, reporters were given 12 1/2 minutes to ask Dubie questions. His responses stuck to the script: repeating bullet points from his speech without explanation of how his proposal to limit “growth” of government by 2 percent per year, for a four-year period, would affect state programs, particularly education and health care. Nor would he explain how his tax cut plan, to begin in 2013, would affect low-income and middle-class Vermonters. When asked for more information, he continued to paint his proposal with broad strokes, repeatedly saying further details would be part of a “conversation” with the General Assembly.
Here’s a sampling from his exchange with reporters:
Terri Hallenbeck of The Burlington Free Press: We have a good sense of where the Legislature’s priorities are. You’ve hinted that we’re being too generous (with state benefits). Could you just give us a sense of where your priorities might be?
Dubie: I’ve said we can’t spend more than the underlying economy. Families can’t spend more than they take in. That’s what I’m saying here today. Gov. Howard Dean level-funded budgets. I’m proposing that we grow government at a rate less than we have grown in the last decade. It’s reasonable, it’s responsible. We’re going to have to have a conversation about what our priorities are as a state. I’ve provided a comprehensive plan today, and it will be a basis of that conversation. I’m suggesting what families have to do. Families can’t spend more than they make. That should be the basis of government over time. When I was a school board chair, I remember listening to Gov. Howard Dean talk about that all the time. Government can’t grow faster than the underlying economy; that’s what I’m proposing here today.
The “conversation” with reporters was cut short, even after reporters repeatedly asked for five more minutes of his time.
At first the excuse was that workers needed to get back on the factory floor. Reporters said they’d be happy to take the interview outside. At that point, Dubie didn’t exactly refuse – he looked to Kate Duffy, his communications director, and Corry Bliss, his campaign manager for a sign. Permission was denied.
Reporters asked for a second press conference and were told the candidate would be available for followup interviews on Tuesday. Dubie, however, didn’t take this reporter’s calls despite three Voice mail messages were left with Duffy and Bliss. Word arrived late in the day via e-mail from Duffy that Dubie would also not be accessible after his appearance on Wednesday at the Hardwick funeral of National Guard member Tristan Southworth, who died in combat in Afghanistan. (Duffy partially answered a tax policy question on Dubie’s behalf, via e-mail.)
If you’d like to see what questions reporters asked and how Dubie responded, check it out. It’s all on the following video clips, including the request for more time.