I thought I knew. But in 2004, the Democrats ran former Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle against Governor Douglas, and Clavelle was a Progressive. Maybe he still is. I don't know. In 2004 the Democrats didn't even bother to run anyone against Bernie Sanders in his U.S. Senate race. They essentially endorsed him. That makes me think that either the Democrats are really Progressives in disguise, or the Progressives are Democrats in disguise.
But now I'm really confused about what a Democrat is. John Dillon at Vermont Public Radio reported a few days ago that
one leading Democrat suggests that Republican state senator Vince Illuzzi should run for governor as an independent.
Who would that leading Democrat be?
Windham Democrat Peter Shumlin is his party's leader in the Senate. But Shumlin says the best candidate to take on Douglas could be a Republican: Essex-Orleans Senator Vince Illuzzi.
Senator Shumlin is quoted as saying
I think that if he ran as an independent, which is what he is, and the Democrats and Progressives can unify behind him, then he may well win the governorship.
So let me get this straight. The leader of the Democrats in the state Senate says that a long time Republican state Senator can put together a coalition of Democrats and Republicans, run as an independent and defeat a Republican governor.
Now that's thinking out of the box.
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