"Afterthoughts II: Thursday, August 13th"

The Brunswick paper is out with their coverage of last night's meeting, and it only adds to the luster of the entire process, while further describing how various councilors have distinguished themselves along the way.

I don't find much worthy of comment, other than this little gem:

Council vice chairman Benet Pols, who voted for Brown, refuted e-mail “rumors” circulating in the past week and said he was elected to make an informed decision. If constituents are “unsatisfied with me, they can throw me out — should I ever run again,” he said.

Previous councils often made decisions by “bloc voting,” Pols said, and a new “perhaps less conservative, more progressive” bloc has formed in this council, one to which he said he has been assigned.

I don't know where "center" is on Pols' scale of political inclinations, but I'm real sure it isn't where mine is. I'm reminded of Doug Rooks recent comment about Republicans shifting ever rightward under the Bush administration.

The word that's come to mind least often in thinking about the town council in my years of watching is "conservative." But it appears that the cognoscenti are sliding the entire spectrum westward as days pass. What used to pass for "moderate" is now considered "increasingly right leaning."

And to be considered moderate on the new scale, you have to be a cinch vote for big government liberal programs, even if it takes a visit to the White House to push you over. The proof is right here in Maine.