Gov. Peter Shumlin has appointed Neale Lunderville as the state's Irene Czar. VTD/Anne Galloway
If there were doubts about whether the Vermont GOP would refrain from partisan sniping after Gov. Peter Shumlin hired Republican stalwart Neale Lunderville as the state’s recovery czar, those questions can be safely put to rest.
On Friday, the Vermont GOP gleefully seized on Shumlin’s three and a half day break on the Columbus Day weekend as fodder for a nastygram. The governor was in Cape Breton from Thursday through Sunday afternoon (he returned to give opening remarks for the Grace Potter “Goodnight Irene” concert at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington).
Pat McDonald, party chair, quoted a statement the governor made on Sept. 5, just eight days after Tropical Storm Irene devastated central and southern Vermont. “I’m not going to rest, we’re not going to rest until we get the better of Irene and we put Vermont back to better than the way she found it.” (NECN, No Break From Flood Clean Up, 9/5/11)
Then McDonald chastised Shumlin for taking time off Oct. 7-10.
With Vermonters still working hard to put the pieces back together after Irene and with hundreds of state employees still not at work, Shumlin certainly isn’t living up to his promise.
Vermonters should not be surprised. Shumlin took no action within his own Administration when his Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Human Services (AHS) left Vermont for a protest in Washington DC with a Hurricane barreling towards Vermont. Weeks later, with hundreds of AHS employees out of work due to flooding at the Waterbury state office complex, sources say the Secretary of AHS took a two week vacation to France!
When Governor Shumlin should be encouraging people to vacation in Vermont, he has instead chosen to leave the state for his own vacation.
Vermonters can’t afford such a lack of leadership.
Shumlin is in the habit of working through most weekends, attending meet-and-greets around the state, and his post-Irene public schedule has been even more unrelenting than usual — he has, for example, visited some flood locations, including Moretown and Waterbury, three times since Irene.
Sue Allen, special assistant to the governor, said in an email, “This partisan political attack is shameful.”
The governor worked “26 straight days before taking a day off,” Allen wrote. “In the 43 days since Tropical Storm hit Vermont, the governor has taken a total of four days off, including yesterday and today,” she said.
Shumlin’s jaunt to Cape Breton was the third trip to his remote getaway in Port Hood since July. He was last in Canada with his daughters the last week in August – a few days before Tropical Storm Irene hit. There was also a July sojourn at the Cape Breton cottage. Shumlin vacationed in Dominica at the end of February.
Permalink |
This is the best the Vermont GOP can do or whine about these days!?
This from the party of Silent Cal and Abraham Lincoln? What would they have to say about such?
One would doubt they would be pleased, nor is it likely they have practiced partisan politics in this fashion during such a crisis in their own lifetimes.
It is time they put politics as well as muck raking behind them and putting the real needs of Vermonters to the forefront by truly working together in good faith in united fashion as a state instead of practicing what is nothing more than filthy partisan politics: i.e., It is time for much less talk and taking more action, helping those in need, sooner rather than later.
The Vermont GOP should leave the D.C. style politics and way of doing business down there and stop trying to bring it here, there is too much of it already taking place at the national level for us to manage to cope, let alone having to deal with it here and having this type of well-poisoning, partisan politics destroy how we do things within our state as well.
Governor Shumlin has been working real hard, even prior to when Tropical Storm Irene came through. If the Governor needs to take some time off after working so hard, let him have a much deserved break as well as time away and in this he can get back to work and be at his best when most needed.
Speaking of taking breaks and needing to get some sorely needed rest, it would appear it is about time the leadership of the Vermont GOP give it a break already and, then, take a good, lengthy rest themselves.
The rest of us could really use it as well.
Permalink |
Morgan, yeah this is definately not from the likes of Silent Cal or Honest Abe.
Gov Shum gets time off just like anyone else. A three day week end, wow, I’m sure he’s really living it up.
I think if the Vermont GOP tries too hard, sometimes it may back fire on them. Pat McDonald looks stupid here deliberately interpreting the governor’s use of the words “No rest” as literal.
Permalink |
I am a life time Vermont Republican. I did not vote for Governor Shumlin. This rant against him is embarassing and serves no purpose at all. Shame.
Permalink |
Teabagger, teabagger
What do you see?
An angry Vermont Republican
Looking at me
She’ll whine and cry
And hoot and howl
Poor lil’ Pat thinks everything
About Shumlin is foul
Permalink |
Because you are taking a break today,
PLEASE,
pretty please!
have a look at my citizen petition on the White House website;
and considering signing it online.
I was very surprised that the White House gave me the same petition link,
with only one case sensitive letter difference
(mine is upper case capitol P)
as another petition.
My petition is NOT
http://wh.gov/gp1
which infers that the President is a Hypocrite.
My petition is
http://wh.gov/gP1
with an upper case P;
asking for an End to Marijuana, marihuana, cannabis and hemp Prohibition.
My petition has three legal causes of action:
(1) Equal Treatment under the law to not be prosecuted and punished for substances which are as Equally as dangerous as other Legal substances;
(2) the marijuana laws which can send you to prison are mostly listed under Title 21 U.S.C. Food & Drugs, rather than Title 18 U.S.C. Crimes – so that is fraudulent concealment of material facts;
(3) the marijuana laws are spelled “marijuana” with a J in some of the laws,
and “marihuana” with an H in other laws,
so that if you are doing your legal research
you are not likely
to find all of the laws
which can put you in prison – and that is fraud in a fiduciary capacity of material facts
by the folks in Washington, D.C. who collect our tax dollars and then write laws that can put you in prison.
The Los Angeles Weekly made fun of my petition because they said it is too different than other marijuana petitions.
Well, what can I say, I’m a Vermonter!
Furthermore, other marijuana petitions at the White House are hardly citizen petitions.
The petition to Free Marc Emery is about a Canadian, Marc Emery, who sold marijuana seeds to 70,000 Americans over the internet and throught the U.S. Mail, and is in federal prison. He is not a citizen of the U.S.A.
The petition by NORML wants a “discussion” with the White House about marijuana, but aren’t they a well funded Political Action Committee and Lobbying group?
Please read and consider signing my CITZEN petition!
That is all I ask of Governor Peter Shumlin on his day off!
http://wh.gov/gP1
Cris Ericson, Chester, Vermont 05143
(802)875-4038
Permalink |
With this press release, Pat McDonald has demonstrated that the Vermont Republican Party lacks vision, ideas and competent leadership.
Permalink |
The GOP/TEA PARTY needs to CUT THE GOV some slack and keep its mouth shut! Enough of this non-sense!!! I am tired of hearing all this stuff . We dont need the Gridlock that Washington has! We all need to work together and Get along. Regarless of what party label we wear!!!!
Permalink |
Anne
You are a experienced journalist and I’m not. But I’m puzzled why this tripe from Pat McDonald warrants space on vtdigger. Even a lifelong Republican like Mr. Graves (to his credit) acknowledged that the press release is shameful.
I’m reminded of the old saw about trees falling in the woods. Must every pathetic utterance of Ms. McDonald get space on vtdigger?
I hope you will forgive me but I went through a campaign last year and offered numerous substantive press releases that received no attention whatsoever. So it pains me to see this trash get ink (virtual or otherwise).
Permalink |
I object to Hoffer’s disgraceful attacks on Pat McDonald. Hoffer is entitled to his predictable left wing opinions — which he expresses in innumerable blog posts on a daily basis — and McDonald (who has published a lot fewer lifetime words than Hoffer has) is entitled to her opinions also.
Ms. McDonald’s critique of Shumlin is absolutely, 100% no different from the partisan, anti-Republican, anti-McDonald garbage issued on a regular basis by the Vermont Democratic Party.
Hoffer uses words like “tripe,” “shameful,” “pathetic utterance,” and “trash” to describe Ms. McDonald and/or her press release. It is Hoffer who should be ashamed. Maybe this is why not all of his press releases got picked up.
Permalink |
“disgraceful attacks”
now that’s funny
btw – you said Ms. McDonald’s posts are “no different from the partisan, anti-Republican, anti-McDonald garbage issued on a regular basis by the Vermont Democratic Party.”
according to your logic, that would make them trash right?
Permalink |
Why do you find it “funny” that I label disgraceful your use of the terms “tripe,” “shameful,” “pathetic utterance,” and “trash” to refer to Ms. McDonald? It’s not “funny” at all. Instead of engaging in rhetorical stalling tactics like your 5:46 posting, maybe you should step back and acknowledge that your attack on Ms. McDonald was inappropriately venomous?
Permalink |
It should be obvious. Your response in support of Ms. McDonald’s press release is no less petty and superficial than the release itself.
Even Anne referred to it as “partisan sniping” and a “nastygram.” And your Republican colleague Mr. Graves called it “shameful.”
I’m all ears if the Republican Party wants to engage in a meaningful debate about public policy. This press release was not even close.
Permalink |
Why chide Shumlin for taking a break outside Vermont. He may have national ambitions.
The more out of state he is the better for Vermont
Permalink |
The simple fact is that Gov. Shumlin has been doing a pretty darn good job since he took office. His loyal opposition doesn’t have a lot to work with so they are left with attacking him for taking a weekend off.
Most Vermonters will see this for what it is; petty.
That Gov. Shumlin tapped Neale Lunderville, a person who some might have seen as Shumlin’s arch enemy, to serve as Czar for post-Irene, demonstrates that he, at least, is willing to put partisanship aside.
I know Neale and he’s a very competent individual. It was a good pick. There should have been a press release from the R-party commending Shumlin for this appointment, but I guess that’s too big a pill to swallow.
Permalink |
Gov. Shumlin certainly deserves the time off. And he is to be commended for apparently being the only governor in the U.S. to acknowledge the reality of global warming which is more evident in Vermont this year than ever with a series of events including the record hot weather we are now having in October. It would be nice however if he walked the talk and tried to reduce his own green house gas emissions by vacationing closer to home and driving around Vermont in the most fuel efficient car available rather than a gas guzzler. It is changes in our individual lifestyles and not government action that is going to have the biggest impact on reducing green house gas emissions. Have a staycation and bolster Vermont as well as reduce CO2 emissions!
Permalink |
George,
Acknowledging GW is one thing (easy), doing something economical and effective regarding CO2 reduction is another. The most economic AND CO2 effective would be to increase energy efficiency.
It would be much wiser and more economical to shift subsidies away from expensive renewables that produce just a little of variable, intermittent energy.
Those renewables would not be needed, if we use those funds for increased energy efficiency, because it provides the quickest and biggest “bang for the buck”, AND it is invisible, AND it does not destroy pristine ridge lines/upset mountain water runoffs, AND it would more effectively reduce CO2, AND we can do it without public resistance and controversy.
Permalink |
“This is the best the Vermont GOP can do or whine about these days.”
LOL. It does seem like Ms.McDonald is scratching for an issue anywhere and picking up on any petty thing she thinks that she can find. I bet if Dubie had been elected and went on a three-day breather after Irene, never mind the disaster in May, she would have been all cushy and warm about how hard he has worked. I agree with Mr. Graves’s assessment of this senseless rant.