The stupid… it burns.
The town fathers in Stamford, Vermont — population 824 — have had it up to here with Gov. Phil Scott’s dictatorial efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Mad as Hell, not gonna take it anymore.
So, by a vote of 3-2, the town Selectboard has “terminated” the governor’s public-health measures. Talk about the mouse that roared.
The majority’s action was inspired by none other than Vermont Republican Party vice-chair (and former candidate for attorney general, thank God she lost) Deborah Bucknam.
You heard right. A top official of Phil Scott’s own party is peddling this brand of intellectual snake oil. Maybe someone will ask him about this at his next coronavirus presser.
And look who showed up to push this nonsense: Kevin Hoyt, Bennington’s number-one conservative nutcase. In a Facebook post, he said the vote makes Stamford “One of the first conservative autonomous zones in the Nation.” Love the brazen self-aggrandizement there.
Stamford’s action came after Bucknam posted an essay on — wait for it — True North Reports, arguing that Scott’s action violates the state constitution. Trigger Warning: You Might Lose a Few Dozen IQ Points By Reading This.
Vermont Statute Section 13(3) of Title 20 provides that the governor “shall” declare the state of emergency terminated in a municipality when the “majority of the legislative body of a municipality affected no longer desires that the state of emergency continue within its jurisdiction.”
… The terms “shall” mean that the governor has no discretion in this matter. He must terminate the state of emergency in the municipality when the majority of the selectboard or other legislative body no longer “desires” to be under a state of emergency.
Sheesh.
This is the legal equivalent of proof-texting, in which Christian fundamentalists glom onto a single Bible passage, rip it totally out of context, and yell “The Bible Tells Me So” as if it’s an effective line of reasoning. Or good theology, which it’s not.
Of course, they ignore anything in the Bible that contradicts their assertion. As did Bucknam in this case. Scott’s chief counsel, Jaye Pershing Johnson, pointed to other passages that define the governor’s powers in such situations. Like this one:
“The towns and cities of the state and other agencies designated or appointed by the governor are authorized and empowered to make, amend and rescind such orders, rules, and regulations as may be necessary for emergency management purposes and to supplement the carrying out of the provisions of this chapter, but not inconsistent with any orders, rules or regulations promulgated by the governor or by any state agency exercising a power delegated to it by him or her.”
Seems clear. Also, as Sen. Dick Sears pointed out, Vermont is “a strict Dillon’s Rule state and not a home rule state.” Dillon’s Rule refers to a 19th Century judge’s decision which made it clear that local rule cannot supersede the authority of the state.
At least Bucknam has offered to represent the town pro bono in this clown car of a legal action, so the townsfolk don’t have to worry about the snowplows being mothballed midwinter for lack of funds.
The anti-maskers who swallowed Bucknam’s argument see themselves as the brave vanguard of a mass uprising against government overreach. In reality, they’re a handful of ignoramuses who’ll get laughed out of court just like Rudy Giuliani.
The Vermont Political Observer. 
Trigger Warning: No question about it. Vermonters don’t have any ‘local control’, no matter what supporters of the Stamford select board may think about controlling their own destiny. Just look at the public-school monopoly, Agency of Education, State Board of Education, and the teacher’s union. When they tell us about the importance of ‘local control’ over our children’s health and education, know that it’s all a myth… not only when it comes to what they may do, but how much money is taken from taxpayers to do it. From healthcare to education, thank you, Mr. Walters, for reminding Vermonters about the tyranny they face.
If you think this is tyranny, you have no idea what tyranny is.
Yes, we do know what tyranny is, and we know that it usually does not drop on a nation or a state or a people all at once like a big bomb. It creeps up on a people slowly, step by step. We are absolutely seeing those steps taking place in Vermont and in some parts of America. All you need to perceive this is some knowledge of past world history, as well as American history, which many Vermonters do possess. Also, we actually read BOOKS!
Indeed Kathryn, Mr. Walters omnicience is best described by C.S. Lewis
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be “cured” against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.”
You need a hobby, sir.
In the short term I have to agree with you John. The real tyranny is on the way with the GWSA whatever committee loaded with progressives. It will end up in the courts and the we’ll see how far it goes. In the long run Jay is correct. A fellow named Francisco Machado put it best when he wrote, “Progressives running my life annoy the hell out of me”. He was commenting on the “red tag on the fuel-oil tank fiasco”. It would seem to me that the defeat at the polls of such notables as Ashe, Mitzi, and Chestnut Tangerman might be some indication that change is coming. Oops, I forgot the Zuckerman. Just a matter of time before the tshtf.