"Name calling" is an overused phrase in the world of politics. Right up there with "finger pointing."

Both these phrases tend to be used when a candidate is trying to avoid a legitimate criticism. And it always makes the person who says them seem childish, whiny and evasive. As in ~Boo hoo, I don’t think the voters like this kind of name calling and finger pointing… Sniff sniff.~

But, what happens when a campaign actually does engage in literal "name calling?" In that case, then, it’s really the name caller who’s being childish. And maybe just a wee bit nervous, perhaps?

Like Jim Douglas’ new ad, for instance.

The ad, which is conveniently not mentioned on Douglas’ site, begins…

Some people make a name for themselves, and they call Scudder Parker Mr. Property Tax.  Why?  Because Scudder Parker has backed higher property taxes – even taxes like Act 60, the property tax that turned Vermont families against each other, and drove families and jobs out of state.  Now Vermont taxpayers have something else to worry about – now Mr. Property Tax wants to be governor.

Mr. Property Tax… Ha ha, that’s funny.  Except that, according the VT GOP’s own web site, this oh so clever nickname comes from a single article in the Rutland Herald from… 18 years ago!

Now, I never claim to have a great grasp of Vermont’s political history and I have never been privy (until recently) to even the slightest bit of "insider" gossip. But, all I can glean from this is that the "they" who call Parker "Mr. Property Tax" are today’s Vermont Republican Party and a headline writer in the late 80s. Pretty hokey name calling, eh?

The ad doesn’t get better. It continues…

And he’s working on making a few new names for himself – how about Mr. Income Tax?  Mr. Payroll Tax?  He just told Vermont Public Radio he wants just that – higher payroll and income taxes.  He said under his plan "everybody pays."  And even with prices at the pump over three dollars, he’s ready to raise gas taxes.  Mr. Property Tax. Mr. Income Tax. Mr. Payroll Tax. Mr. Gas Tax.  There’s just one name Vermonter’s shouldn’t call Scudder Parker – and that is governor.

The source for most of the claims here seems to come from Parker’s March 28th appearance [mp3] on Switchboard (referred to on the VTGOP site here), where he said the following…

Kinzel: And the way that you see that people will pay for their coverage is through tax revenues?

Parker: It’s a mix of using Medicare, Medicaid, other revenue sources that we have now, co-pays, and a fair tax structure, which really the Senate plan last year tried to do.  I actually believe that the theme of the Senate bill - the House and Senate bill - which is everybody pays what they can and gets and has access to service - is the right theme for Vermont.  I think this would be a more efficient way of doing that.

So, it’s not that Parker’s going to make "everybody pay" like some kind of dark villain. He was simply saying that "everybody pays what they can."

And Parker continues on to criticize Douglas’ health care plan which would have placed extra burden on business owners (my emphasis)…

Kinzel: So perhaps people would have a payroll tax the way that Medicare is run?

Parker: That’s right.  Payroll - income; you could find a balance of those taxes.  But really it’s not new money, it’s talking about fairly allocating the contributions.  What we have now is a system - and governor Douglas actually proposed to aggravate that system - in which the employers who cover their employees would actually get an increased cost or an increased burden imposed on them and the folks who don’t don’t have to pay.  That is nonsensical, that does not make sense - it makes for competitive disadvantage.  It’s anti-business.

Who’s really supporting policies that will drive "jobs out of state?"

Of course this is the old Good Cop/Bad Cop routine that Douglas/Barnett have profited from through the previous election cycles. And it’s high time they get called on it, too.

See, there’s lots of evidence to suggest that Tarrant’s poor showing compared to Rainville in Tuesday’s primary was directly related to Tarrant’s dishonest ad campaigns which turned off lots of voters.

So the Douglas campaign better be careful.

People might start to catch on that, like in the old routine, the Good Cop is not really above the fray. He’s just playing a role.