Vermont's Rashomon Republicans

OR:
Parts of the same elephant?
The room Vermont’s top Republicans recently met in might not have been filled with smoke but it invites that image. A “handful” of Vermont Republicans gathered in a closed door meeting to chart strategy for the 2012 state elections. The handful of eight included chairwoman Pat McDonald ,executive director Tayt Brooks , State Sen. Randy Brock , Auditor Tom Salmon, Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott , Mark Snelling and by phone former Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie.
There seemed according to different reports to be two tracks of interpretations coming from the meeting. One shared by Chairwoman McDonald who said afterward

“No one claimed a particular race. McDonald said the goal was to get these high-profile candidates to discuss their own plans, and use their star power to recruit additional candidates” and “A primary in some cases is a good thing,” and similarly Sen. Randy Brock felt “…it was essentially a meeting to talk about 2012, but no decisions were reached”

Do they realize Tom penciled in his dance card?
Auditor Tom Salmon has a unique view. According to Fair Game,Salmon felt the meeting was what he expected and this included what he called “Filling the dance card in light pencil.” This sounds suspiciously like he has claimed a particular dance eh, race, if only in “light pencil” or maybe it’s some kind of personal style instant runoff voting for all the offices in his mind.

Regarding a primary, Salmon wrote assuredly on his Facebook page recently

Prediction: There will not be 5 ambitious politicians tripping over each other to "be Governor." This state is way out of balance and restoring it is our first priority.

Recently on VPR retired professor Eric Davis offered the view that Salmon was the one to watch because. Once Salmon makes up his mind then other Republicans who have statewide ambitions they can decide if they're going to run for any statewide offices themselves. Waiting for Salmon; an interesting twist for the post Douglas / Dubie Vermont Republican party.

Are Vermont Republicans worried about Tom Salmon?

Only a few days before the March 5th date Vermont State Auditor Tom Salmon set to announce his plan to run against Senator Sanders some Vermont Republicans are fishing for other candidates .
The Times Argus David Delecore reports

According to Barre Mayor Tom Lauzon, officials in the Vermont Republican Party have suggested he consider running for governor or the U.S. Senate next year, and he hasn’t closed the door on either possibility.
“The answer is: ‘Yes, I am considering it,’” he said Monday when asked about the possibility he might run as a Republican alternative to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Lauzon says he is considering the governor’s race too but makes it clear the senate is his choice. “The Senate race attracts me because people say it can’t be won and I think it can,” he said. After mentioning the obligatory soul searching ritual he set a date of June 1st for his decision.

From the sidelines but also in the mix Salmon might want to note the significance of new VPR commentator former Gov. Jim Douglas’ choice of the national deficit for his debut topic. He addresses the national budget, his association with the Domenici-Rivlin Commission from the Bipartisan Policy Center and speaks of the need for leadership on this issue in the senate. Naturally he reminds us of his leadership here in Vermont on this very issue. Always sentimental Douglas shares his thoughts about first seeing his granddaughter in her crib Welcome to the world, I said; your share of the Federal debt is $50,000.

Too much Salmon or arrested development?

Republican Vermont State Auditor Tom Salmon has called a Friday press conference according to The Rutland Herald reporter's blog Vermont View .
After his recent interview on VPR's Vermont Edition with Jane Lindeholm and airing his "fiddler's fart" comment perhaps he hopes to strike another note at this press opportunity,or just clear the air.

His press release notes that he "respectfully invites all perfect and imperfect people" to the presser.
No note on what the presser is about, but a wild guess is that it might involve Salmon's DUI arrest last week.

In the spirt of the invitation here are two helpful quotes from my favorite self help writer
The easiest way to save face is to keep the lower half shut.

Even a fish wouldn't get into trouble if he kept his mouth shut. ~Author Unknown

Also posted at Green Mountain Daily

Salmon, Moose tied

Vermont State Auditor of Accounts Tom Salmon recently bolted the Democratic Party and joined the ranks of Vermont Republican Party. Salmon son of a former Democratic governor made his jump over a week ago.

How big a slash did the Salmon switching partys story make?
Moose, 7
Salmon, 7

A search of Vermont's Times-Argus newspaper shows that Pete the Moose and Tom the Republican are tied for the number of stories about them in the last 14 days. Pete the Moose, the tamed moose(raised in captivity and unable to get along with his fellow moose ) you may recall lives in violation of state regulations on captive hunting preserve
The latest stories today? A back grounder piece on Vermont party switching in general and news that the moose now has a lawyer representing him.