The Golden Bubble. VTD/Josh Larkin
Editor’s note: Inside the Golden Bubble is an occasional column.
It was another hurry up and wait day at the Statehouse on Tuesday. Key lawmakers scurried from one committee room to another and then to the governor’s ceremonial office as part of the behind-the-scenes deal-making that typically goes on between the administration and the legislature this time of year. Meanwhile, members of the Golden Bubble’s ever-chattering classes (lobbyists, advocates, activists, reporters), waited patiently, for hours, for something to happen.
The nattering nabobs are describing the end of the session with adjectives that could — in the best light — be construed as back-handed compliments. Descriptives like “tedious” and “anticlimactic” are popping up in conversation about the last days — and maybe that’s a sign that not only is everyone more than ready to go home, but also that in the brave new world of the 2011-2012 biennium, opposition politics between Democrats and Republicans is not as much of a factor as in prior years.
The Democratic rank-and-file members are anxious to please their new governor, and though they’ve tweaked his major policy initiatives — budget, tax, health care, jobs and capital bills — they haven’t made a fuss about it. In fact, the pattern has been that there has often been a certain amount of inter-party embarrassment among members of the leadership and in committee when it has become clear that a line of questioning leads lawmakers down a path of inquiry that could make the administration uncomfortable. (The House and Senate leaders’ refusal to fold on either Catamount Health, the cigarette tax or the refusal to consider a dental tax are notable exceptions.)
Even on taxes — the biggest sticking point of the session — lawmakers and the governor haven’t been that far apart.
Given the difficulty of the matters before the Legislature this session — namely reform of the $5 billion health care system and resolution of the $176 million budget deficit — making the legislative process look easy is no mean feat.
Even so, everyone in the building still seems to be adjusting to the shift in political power. Even now, five months after Gov. Peter Shumlin and the Democrats swept the election, people seem to sense there is something missing, namely philosophical conflict. Last year, Gov. James Douglas, Smith and Shumlin who was then Senate President Pro Tem, were in tense negotiations over taxes right to the end of the session. This year the quibble over 20 cents on the cigarette tax hardly compares. Not surprisingly, the absence of political resistance from a powerful opposition (legislative Dems versus Republican governor) has left a vacuum now filled by personality fights between individuals, particularly in the Senate.
The chess board looks very different this year. The GOP has been turned out of power in the executive branch and the legislature. It has used symbolic gestures to score political points, as it lacks the sheer numbers to fight proposals in the House and Senate, particularly in a year when fiscally conservative Democrats sound like Republicans and Progressives sound like, well, Progressives. In general, Shumlin administration officials seem less devoted to committee sitting than their Douglas counterparts, but they are figuring out how to best persuade and pressure lawmakers, and they seem to be gaining ground. Lt. Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican and a regular at the governor’s cabinet meetings, could lead other GOPers in fights with the governor’s office, but seems to be inclined to leave well enough alone. Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell, D-Windsor, is managing the Senate more effectively now after a rough patch over the tax bill. House Speaker Shap Smith, in his third year as leader, has maintained tight control over the House.
Shumlin knows the chess board well and will most likely take the queen with little protest from the others.
In the remaining days, be prepared for less brinksmanship, more conciliation, plenty of pre-press conference secrecy and a timely adjournment.
