The Bitter End? 

Web Extra! Lots of Surprises in Vermont

At 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, with Republican Jim Douglas at his side, Democrat Doug Racine stepped before the microphones at the Statehouse and announced, "Jim's won the campaign and he will be Vermont's next governor."

Effectively tagged by the Douglas team as a flip-flopper for changing his stand on issues like the Circ Highway, Racine, in the end, was not a flipper. He was a straight arrow and he showed a lot of class.

"As I said many times in this campaign," said the Quiet Man, "the candidate who wins the most votes should be the winner of the race. And I will urge the legislature, even with its new numbers, which I find interesting, to do the right thing, respect the will of the voters and elect Jim Douglas governor of the State of Vermont on January 9."

Racine turned and shook hands with a glowing Slim Jim. With a lump in his throat and a tear in his eye, the Quiet Man lead the crowd in a round of applause for the winner.

Just three days earlier, in its Sunday edition, The Burlington Free Press poll showed Racine surging to a 10-point lead. In the end he lost by three points. Nice poll, eh?

Douglas garnered 45 percent of the vote to Racine's 42 percent. Independent Con Hogan pulled 10 percent. The conventional wisdom says Hogan drew equally from Republicans and Democrats. Even if King Con had disappeared, Jim Douglas still would have won.

No doubt, a few Democrats waking up Wednesday morning wished Mr. Racine would flip-flop just one more time. They dreamed of the Quiet Man standing before the cameras and declaring, "For the last nine months Mr. Douglas has accused me of being a flip-flopper. Well, he's right. I am. That's why I've changed my mind about promising to honor the will of the people and support the top vote-getter winning.

"As expected, neither Jim nor I got 50 percent. On January 9 the newly elected legislature will vote by secret ballot, both on this race and in the lieutenant governor's race. Peter Shumlin, as you know finished second to Brian Dubie.

"Mr. Douglas and Mr. Dubie refused to join Peter and I in our pledge to support the top vote-getter. They hoped a Republican-controlled legislature would allow them to steal the election. Well, guess what, folks?

"The new legislature will not be controlled by the Republicans. Who'd a-thunk it? We owe it to the voters to steal this one for the Racine-Shumlin team. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. I say, let's show a little respect for the Vermont Constitution and let the legislature do its duty!"

But the Quiet Man did not utter those words. Instead, with a quiver in his voice he thanked his campaign staff and said he was "proud of the campaign I waged."

You've got to be kidding, right?

Vermont Democrats just pulled off one of their greatest legislative victories in memory. They increased their hold on the Senate (as we predicted), and will hold a 19-11 advantage. Lt. Gov.-to-be Brian Doobie-Doo is in for a real "educational experience" presiding over that chamber.

Meanwhile, the House of Freed crumbled like a deck of cards. The latest totals show Speaker Walter Freed's 82-seat majority shrunk to 73. The Duke of Dorset's reign on the podium is in jeopardy.

The House Democratic leader, Rep. John Tracy, is poised to take Freed on in a race for Speaker of the House. He'll need 76 votes to succeed, and John-John can almost taste it. It looks like there will be 70 Democrats, four Progressives and three Independents sworn in in January. Two of the Independents, Rep. Jack Anderson of Woodstock and Rep. Darryl Pillsbury of Brattleboro, lean left.

The question is, how could the Democrats do so well in legislative races all over the state while Doug Racine drew just 42 percent of the vote?

Racine pulled it off by running a campaign that lacked a message. At least Jim Douglas had "It's time for a change." Racine basically said, "Vote for me, I'm a nice guy. I care."

The Richmond auto dealer sat back and chose to ride the demographic wave, relying on left-leaning Vermont to carry him to victory. But he never articulated to voters a clear reason why he should be the new leader of Vermont.

Now it appears likely he's done politically. Come 2004 others in his party will be ready to move up. State Sen. Peter Welch will likely be the new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He narrowly lost to Republican Gov. Dick Snelling in 1990. Peter's poised for a second chance.

And what about Peter Shumlin? He was snakebit by Progressive Anthony Pollina. As predicted, Shummy and Tony the Prog split the left, leaving the coast clear for Dubie, who won with just 41 percent. Shumlin got 32 percent and Pollina 25 percent.

Pollina has now accomplished what he failed to do in 2000 -- he took down a Democrat, allowing a right-wing Republican to win. He's right up there with Ralph Nader, so pure, so morally perfect, so progressive!

On election night Tony the Phony even stopped into Dubie's celebration to congratulate the winner. Dubie introduced him to the happy crowd and they all cheered. After all, without Pollina, they would not have been celebrating. The Republicans love Anthony Pollina.

Then there's Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle. Mayor Moonie endorsed Racine and Pollina. He even successfully pressured Pollina to run for Lite-Gov instead of governor in order to smooth the path for Racine. Clavelle had a bad night Tuesday.

And don't leave Congressman Bernie Sanders out of the gubernatorial picture. There's only one Bernie.

So what have we got?

We've got a new Republican governor that most people did not vote for. Jim Douglas faces a new legislature where the Democrats will ultimately call the shots. His only weapon will be his veto pen.

Winners & Losers -- Except for the top of the ticket, the Democrats are on a roll at the Statehouse. They finally found a candidate to knock off Addison County Republican Tom Bahre, whom they consider one the the best minds of the 12th century.