If You Want Renewable Energy, You Have No Business Voting for Phil Scott

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Last week, Gov. Phil Scott reached another landmark. Not in a good way, and not that anyone noticed. He vetoed two bills, S.230 and H.710. According to the Vermont State Archives, they were his 63rd and 64th vetoes*, which means he has issued more than three times as many vetoes as any other governor in the history of the state. (Howard Dean is in second place with a measly 21, and he was in office longer than Scott.) That fact should not be overlooked when this guy professes a devotion to working across the aisle and getting things done and (cough) not being a politician.

*As of this writing, VSARA lists 62 Scott veto messages but has not officially posted S.230 and H.710. Just in case anyone follows the link and tries to fact check.

This post concerns the latter veto, which borders on the inexplicable — even for a veto-crazy chief executive. The House passed H.710 on a lopsided 108-30 vote, and it was so uncontroversial in the Senate that no one asked for a roll call. It passed without a recorded vote.

You may recall H.710 from the outrageous objections made by Republican Sen. Steven Heffernan, Addison County’s extremist-in-moderate’s-clothing. Mind you, Heffernan wasn’t arguing against the bill; he merely wanted to postpone its effective date by two years so its potential impact could be studied further. His completely imaginary concern was that Vermont farmland was being gobbled up by giant solar arrays, and H.710 might accelerate that trend. Despite his objection, he didn’t offer a “No” vote, nor did he request a roll call.

His concern, as I reported earlier, exists solely in his own mind. The actual amount of farmland given over to solar is vanishingly small.

But wait. That thought, or something even more insidious, also exists in the mind of Phil Scott. Because he whipped out his veto pen and consigned H.710 to the dustbin of Stuff He Doesn’t Like.

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The Decline of a Once Great Radio Station Continues Apace

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Here’s a phrase that’s probably never been said before: “Soon we’ll be longing for the golden days of Guy Page.”

And here’s another: “Mary Beerworth is the sane person in this group.”

Allow me to explain. Guy Page of the conservative “news” site Vermont Daily Chronicle has announced the end of his association with WDEV Radio, where he had been holding down the 11:00 a.m. weekday slot with his call-in program “Hot Off the Press.” He is, in fact, taking his talents (such as they are) to WVMT Radio in Colchester, where he will host the 12:00 noon slot Monday through Friday.

That, in itself, wouldn’t induce me to write. What put this story over the top was the list of luminaries who will collectively occupy the timeslot forsaken by Mr. Page. All of them have made previous appearances in this space in notably dubious circumstances.

Oh man, you’d better be sitting down for this.

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The Rich Scent of Astroturf Descends Upon Our Verdant Landscape

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This, my friends, is what you get when you ask Canva’s AI illustration tool to render “Vermont landscape.” And it’s a great example of the stuff you see when you visit websites or social media feeds for conservative candidates or causes.There’s a lot of AI usage; there are also things like tech bros defending rural Vermont and sudden-onset farmers with possibly inoperative staycation programs. In short, there’s a hell of a lot of astroturf in the conservative ideosphere.

These groups and individuals allegedly believe that rural Vermont is a precious resource, central to our very identity, and the people who live there are the true, authentic Vermonters, not those miserable lefty masses huddled in our “urban” communities. And yet these people present themselves with an inauthentic feel that makes you wonder what the hell is going on.

With AI maybe it’s a rights issue, not wanting to pay for copyrighted photography. Or maybe it’s just too haaaaaaaaard to do a DuckDuckGo image search. Or possibly, spitballin’ here, these color-saturated simulacra reveal something about the fakeness of the message itself. Because the Golden Age of the “real Vermont” — you know, the time before the unkempt flatlander rabble of hippies and Bernie Sanders fans descended upon the Green Mountain State — never actually existed.

So, when Sen. Russ Ingalls’ The Vermont Party posts a(n AI image of a) lapel pin saying “Make Vermont Vermont Again,” what year or time period does he have in mind?

I’m guessing it’s before the construction of the interstate freeway system, the development ranked by longtime journalist Chris Graff as the most consequential in recent Vermont history*. Before the freeways came, Vermont was a sleepy backwater that was difficult to navigate, so hardly anybody bothered to try. The freeways made our state much more accessible, enabling the arrival of those damn hippies and progressive types who eventually staged a hostile takeover of Vermont’s social order. (Never forget, Romain Tenney died for your sins.)

*Census data confirms Graff’s hypothesis. Our population grew extremely slowly from 1900 to 1960. The freeways triggered three decades of double-digit growth, sending our population from 360,000 to 563,000.

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We’re About to Get a Good Read on How Crazy the Vermont Republican Party Is

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Sad to say, but we’ve arrived at the point where Scary Eagle Man is the only sensible choice.

That’s because Gerald Malloy is running for the Republican Congressional nomination against hyper-manly-man Mark Coester, seen here in an AI-generated video purportedly wagging his finger in U.S. Rep. Becca Balint’s face. I’d dare him to try that in real life. He’d find out just how scrappy that little dyke can be.

And if the Republican primary electorate chooses Coester over Malloy, then we’ll know for sure that Gov. Phil Scott’s version of Republicanism is well and truly dead. Because if there was any doubt about whether Coester is a certified far-right whack job [Narrator: “There wasn’t“], he removed it in one brief conversation with Seven Days’ Kevin McCallum.

In said conversation, he addressed McCallum as a “libtard fuck,” and later added this gem: “These commie fucks in Vermont pass whatever garbage fuckin’ laws they want to. They can do what and they can kiss my ass…”

As a loyal member of the Vermont Commie Fucks Club, let me say I am honored to be a target of Mr. Coester’s spittle-flecked outburst. (Disclosure: I’m just guessing about the spittle, but I think I’m on safe ground.)

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Russ Ingalls Is Launching… Something

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This Just In! From your friends at Vermont Daily Chronicle: State Sen. Russ Ingalls, a very conservative fellow from the Kingdom, is launching a… well, he calls it a party, but he insists it’s not a party at all. It’s just called a “party” to, you know, keep us all on our toes or summat.

This apparent contradiction forced the Republican-friendly Chronicle to post this quadruple backflip of clarification:


[Editor’s note: Previous VDC coverage, including an earlier edition of this new story, has included references to “a new party,” words Ingalls said he has not made in public or in private. He confirmed to VDC today that he is starting a platform, and that he never said he was starting a party. He did not say, when asked, if he plans for The Vermont Party to become a political party. As a result, for clarity’s sake, VDC has edited wording in this news story from ‘a new party’ to ‘The Vermont Party.’]

Gee, I dunno how the Chronicle learned of something called The Vermont Party and jumped to the conclusion that the venture was… a party. How presumptuous. How rude. How unfair to the good Senator.

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Rubbin’ One Out in Our Capital City

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There are many points of interest to this story, but if you’re going to take away one lesson, it should be about the importance of healthy local news media. Because if not for The Montpelier Bridge, the doughty nonprofit news organization, nobody in and around the city would know that a hinky-as-all-getout “health spa” seems to be operating right in the middle of downtown. In a building co-owned by a current candidate for state Senate, no less.

No, not in some half-empty strip mall on the outskirts or in a ramshackle building along a truck route. It’s in a prime storefront, just a couple of blocks away from the Statehouse. (Which makes me yearn for a look at the outfit’s client list, just to check for political types stuck in the nation’s smallest capital city for several months with plenty of spare time on their, or someone else’s, hands.)

Back in March, The Bridge first broke the story of the “Hawaiian Spa” and another dubious enterprise in a more downmarket address in Montpelier. In its most recent edition, the story was revisited and updated. Has anyone else followed suit? Not the local almost-daily Times Argus. Not Seven Days, which often strays down to central Vermont to cover state politics and local businesses. VTDigger, which frequently publishes content from The Bridge, has kept its hands off this hot potato.

If not for The Bridge, would anyone outside the local constabulary know? I don’t think so. And while there’s no absolute proof that the Hawaiian spa is selling massages with happy endings, its presence is surely a matter of public interest.

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More evidence That Our Machine Overlords are Not Quite Ready to Take Over the Planet

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There’s a video clip making the rounds. It’s from an AI-generated YouTube channel offering “news” about the wonderful world of pro wrestling. The machine narrator is uncannily making its way through the AI-written copy when it comes to the acronym “WWE,” kind of a fundamental item for a wrestling channel. It doesn’t know how to pronounce “WWE,” and falls into a doom loop. At first it’s repeating “Wu-Wu-Wu-Wu-Wu-Wu” over and over again. Then the voice takes on a tone of desperation, as if it knows it’s screwing up but can’t stop. Eventually the sound devolves into a bunch of truly disturbing chokes, splutters, and noises not found in nature. It’s entertaining until it gets really uncomfortable.

I thought of this while reading a recent offering from Compass Vermont, the presumably AI-generated Substack newsletter. I don’t spend much time on Compass because it is completely unreliable. Some stuff is fine, there’s even the occasional scoop. But a lot of it reveals a conservative bias. And worse, the site offers no transparency whatsoever about who’s writing, who’s editing, or any information at all about its internal processes. No staff are identified except for Tom Davis, Compass’ “founder.” His ongoing role is not described.

I can’t say for sure Compass is an AI product, but it sure displays the hallmarks. And the item in question, “Update: Late filings reduce Vermont’s 2027 committee chair turnover from 13 to 8,” shows what happens when AI takes a pratfall into the mud and can’t get up again.

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The Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Offers a Real Choice on Policy and Approach

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This is what I got when I asked Canva’s AI illustration generator to give me a picture of “donkeys debating,” in case you wondered whether AI is ready to manage human civilization on our behalf. (Behalves?)

Anyway, the subject for today’s sermon is the Democratic primary for governor, featuring two worthy but unconventional candidates: Economic policy analyst Amanda Janoo versus Aly Richards, best known as the former head of Let’s Grow Kids. One can only hope that the primary campaign will start attracting more than token attention, now that the legislative session is safely in the rear-view.

(Prime example of token attention: This WPTZ-TV whiz-banger from March 11 entitled “Vermont Gov. Phil Scott applauds Amanda Janoo for running for governor.” We’re so glad you approve, sir.)

If you’re of a mind to pay some attention, there’s no better place to begin than two recent editions of “802 News,” the podcast hosted by veteran journalist (a.k.a. Fellow Old Guy) Mark Johnson. He conducted in-depth interviews with both candidates, providing insight into the beliefs and personalities of the two contenders in a convenient two-part package. Listening to them gives you a clear picture of two candidates who promise very different approaches to the office.

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A Casual Comment Gets a Deeper Dive

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I realize there’s a “Day” for just about everything, just as the Catholics have a stunning collection of patron saints. But fact-checking? Now there’s a party. For those wishing to celebrate IFCD, it’s on April 2. You’ve got plenty of time for venue-shopping and caterer-hiring.

Anyway, in my post about the filing deadline, I offhandedly remarked on the difficulty of moving from President Pro Tem or Speaker to the governor’s office. Lately, every single House or Senate leader has been included on everyone’s short list for governor but none of ’em have gotten a sniff of the corner office. The soon-to-be-dearly-departed Phil Baruth and Jill Krowinski were once widely seen as chief executive timber; not now, and probably not ever again.

I stand by my comments about the political difficulties of leading a legislative majority: You’re responsible for herding the cats and engaging in The Art of the Possible, not establishing a strong personal image or agenda. Every Pro Tem and Speaker acquires baggage, often at a rapid clip. That’s why the longest-serving leader in Vermont history, Ralph Wright, managed “only” 10 years in the job. (In his memoir, he acknowledges that his power was pretty much gone by his final term.) Most leaders hit their sell-by dates after two or three terms. Many (including Wright himself) get 86’ed by their home voters, presumably for seeming too removed from their district’s interests.

Just to be clear, I’m talking about Speakers and Pro Tems advancing directly to the governorship. It rarely happens despite the high profile those offices confer. (House or Senate majority leaders, occupying the #2 post in each chamber, have been more successful, perhaps because they enjoy the advantages of networking and favor-trading without the burdens of being the leader.) But I’ve gotten some pushback from diligent readers who cited exceptions, so it seemed worthwhile to take a closer look at the question.

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So, Anything Happen While I Was Out?

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Well, today’s confluence of events — the Legislature desperately careening toward adjournment on the day of the filing deadline for major-party candidates — was inevitably going to produce a flurry of political happenings. Most, frankly, were no surprise. The major exception: House Speaker Jill Krowinski’s decision to bow out of the Legislature. More on that below, but let’s shoot through the rest of the headlines.

Phil Scott runs for a sixth term. Not a surprise at all. He’s got to be enjoying life more now than during the Democrats’ supermajority years, and he’s still got to see himself as the only person who can forestall Democratic hegemony. But if he wins and serves out his next term, he will set the all-time record for longest serving Vermont governor — displacing Howard Dean, whose record for vetoes was shattered by Scott long ago. And Scott has already surpassed Dean on one electoral score: Dean only ran for governor five times, and this is Scott’s sixth gubernatorial campaign. He’s already entered new territory on that score.

The prediction markets are finally warming a bit to #vtpoli, and becoming more on point. Kalshi’s “Vermont Governor Winner?” proposition has “Republican Party” at 86% and “Democratic Party” at only 7%, which seems about right. Wednesday morning, those odds were 73% Republican and 27% Democratic. One thing changed in the last 36 hours, and that was Scott formally announcing his candidacy. Also seems about right.

Pieciak declines. In other unsurprising news, Treasurer Mike Pieciak pissed on the dying embers of gubernatorial speculation by officially filing for re-election. His decision not to seek the corner office, he said, was due to a difficult past year in his personal life including the loss of both parents and separation from his husband. But it’s a disappointment for Democratic wishcasters who saw him as their best hope for beating the governor. (Despite his decision, Pieciak remains the second favorite on Kalshi to win the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, far behind Aly Richards and a skosh ahead of Amanda Janoo.)

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