It's Independents Day!

No, that's not a typo although I make my fair share. Sometimes it takes years to notice and correct them but the point here is to mention a few, if not all, of the independents running for congressional, statewide and legislative offices in the 2012 election cycle.

First though, as many of the regular readers of this blog know, I've been poking fun at the wouldbe "Senator" Robert "Needed Killin' " Wagner's boast that he had 6 people lined up to run for the Vermont Senate (although he could only name 5) and that he was seeking 24 more to replace the whole Senate with secessionists for the past year. Wagner never got around to naming his sixth person but he has spent a lot of bandwidth spouting off about topics where he clearly has nailed down the fringe position, such as his Marxist-Lenist-Stalinist-lite economic pablum called Georgism. But more on that at another time.

The Vermont Secretary of State's Office has just released its draft list of independent candidates here containing the typical 30+ names of many well intended sorts who'd like to make a difference but who are for the most part clueless as to how to go about doing so. True, there's the occasional political tiger like Bernie Sanders but he's very much the exception to the rule.

This year's slate contains a mother and son congressional duo; a few candidates seeking multiple seats, one of whom favors acronym encrusted solutions while another claims disability from an STD; others are bona fide independents who have contributed to their community and serve in the legislature; and then there are others who'd just like to get to play politician too but haven't figured out the system is geared to Duverger's Law.

"In political science, Duverger's law is a principle which asserts that a plurality rule election system tends to favor a two-party system."

The only secesher that I can find thus far in addition to Wagner is his pal Peter Moss. I've gone over the Secretary of State's draft list here and can't seem to find the three other names that Wagner had listed for the past year as being part of his "The Vermont 30" scheme - the murderously anti-Semitic Dennis Morrisseau, the very angry Peter Garritano

"My name is Peter Garritano. I am constanly pissed off but don't show it. I bite my tongue quite often and vent by writing and screaming at other drivers while alone in my car..."

Source

and the nobody Michael Patno who is a longtime pal of the baas of the Second Vermont Republic, the Dixie singin' Thomas H. Naylor.

From Wagner's website:

I'd thought that I'd be spending the next four months introducing Vermonters to "The 30" secesher wannabes with facts that they'd rather Vermonters not know about them but I guess that's not to be. Looks like I'm left with one befuddled old man and Wagner's raging id - he's announced that he's targeting Addison County's senator who has an impressive personal history of contributing to her community and county, Claire Ayer (D-Weybridge) with what he's promised will be one of the most negative campaigns in recent memory. It'll do.

Meanwhile, in another matter related to Wagner's conflicting positions, there's been no word yet about whether Wagner will be returning the $288.30 Federal subsidy he received while flying out of the airport in Rutland, VT, which is exactly the kind of subsidy that he "is strongly opposed to" and has argued harms Vermonters that I revealed he'd hypocritically availed himself of (as in sticking his snout in the federal money trough) here. Wagner must publicly give back that Federal subsidy money or he'll be exposed for the hypocritical fraud that many of us Vermonters know him to be.

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