The fine fellow above, pictured with a fish he caught last year on Shadow Lake, is former state senator John Rodgers, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. I know about the fish because it’s featured in one of a series of low-budget official campaign videos in which Rodgers is interviewed by one Rick Lafayette, a.k.a. the lead singer of Kikker, a Vermont metal cover band. Yeah, this guy:
Hey, I didn’t even wait to start digressing this time, I did it right off the top.
Anyway, Rodgers is running against Progressive/Democratic incumbent David Zuckerman. As most of you know, in Vermont we elect the governor and LG separately. And throughout Phil Scott’s seven-plus years in the corner office, a Republican has never been lieutenant governor. This doesn’t matter at all because the LG has no actual, uh, power or authority — except for one big thing, which ought to keep Scott and his allies awake at night.
The LG is in the line of succession. If something were to happen to the govrnor, then good ol’ Progressive Farmer Dave would succeed him. You’d think, then, that Scott would be going all-out to make sure Zuckerman is out of the way. You know, secure the Phil Scott political legacy.
Is he? Not that anyone can tell.
After the August primary, in which a handful of centrist “Democrats” lost their well-funded bids to unseat Democratic incumbents, Scott campaign manager Jason Maulucci said “We’re going to pound the pavement” on behalf of Republican candidates all the way to November.
It’s been a month. I’ve seen no pavement-pounding, no joint visits to key districts, no invitations for Republican hopefuls to visit the governor’s office, no coordinated campaign ads or mailers or drop cards or buttons or bumper stickers or anything tangible in support of the VTGOP ticket.
In fact, the Phil Scott for Governor website lists no upcoming events at all.
Even worse, the website apparently hasn’t been updated since the year 2020. The most recent item on its “News” page is Scott’s victory speech after winning his third term as governor in November of that year. The newest listing on its sad “Events” page is an October 2020 “Forum on Leadership, Civility and Unity” featuring Scott and fellow endangered-species Republicans Charlie Baker and Larry Hogan. (The listing invites people to watch the forum’s livestream at, and I quote here, “phillscott.org/live.” Yup, “phillscott” with two L’s.)
Sorry, but the digressions almost write themselves.
Perhaps they’ve been too busy pounding the pavement, or pounding something anyway, to update the website.
Okay, to the point. Why doesn’t Scott make a real effort to elect John Rodgers? If not for the sake of a conservative hand wielding the Senate gavel, then to secure the line of succession. Does Scott care if he’s replaced by Vermont’s best-known Progressive? The guy who ran for governor in 2020 on a platform that included universal health care, a $15 per hour minimum wage, free college tuition for all Vermonters, and strong action against climate change? He sure doesn’t seem to care.
Scott has the political and financial capital to make a difference in the LG race. Rodgers needs a boost if he’s going to compete with Zuckerman’s broad name recognition and undefeated record in statewide races except when he challenged Scott himself back in 2020.
If Scott’s too busy to “pound the pavement” alongside Rodgers, then why not pay for a statewide mailer featuring the two of them as governing partners fighting those damn spendthrift Democrats? Heck, put ’em in Batman and Robin outfits. (Except I’m pretty sure Rodgers is taller than Scott, so maybe that wouldn’t be a good look.)
This is another case, as with my suggestions for organizing a political action committee or using his spare campaign cash to promote Republican legislative candidates, where this is such a good idea I’d be afraid to suggest it except I know there’s no way in Hell that the governor would actually adopt it. After all, he had a perfectly good running mate in 2022 in then-Senate minority leader Joe Benning, a lifelong Republican stalwart. Scott didn’t do any of this on Benning’s behalf. Why would he do any more for John Rodgers?
Especially since he’s spending so much time on all that pavement pounding.
The Vermont Political Observer. 
A nit with a pick here … the “centrists” all won. How do we know this? Because these folks moved an active pro-environment agenda in the face of large scale push back from monied interests and Gov Scott.
Despite all that, people are being sent back to continue the work that is desired and demanded by the great center. It was the radicals who insisted that Scott should be given solid veto authority that lost to a centrist … every single one of them.
I don’t understand why otherwise sensible voters keep sending Governor “What would you suppose I should do?” Scott back to our gubernatorial office, but if it’s still about 6 months in 2020 – let’s move on please.
Wherever John Rodgers may end up (probably back on his tractor, cultivating weed), there are a couple interesting/amusing pieces Erica Heilman did with him on her Rumble Strip podcast, rumblestripvermont.com.
Nice fish, though.
(I wonder if Joe Benning hasn’t sworn off Phil Scott as well as the VTGOP irregulars for good.)
What makes you wonder that?
Why was I wondering?
1) After watching your thoughtful and collegial legislative activities during your time in the Senate which I found to be resolutely bipartisan, either by elective affinity or necessity (or either, at different times);
2) noting how you exemplified your Republican sensibilities in a way reflective of some of the best of Vermont representation during our lives — Aiken, Snelling, Jeffords, Doyle (well, neither of us were around for Aiken, but you get the point);
3) observing the remarkable internecine cannibalism of the VTGOP over the last eight years as it coagulated into a sloppy cult of personality, exemplified by the continuing fight between the Windsor County Republican Committee and a bunch of die-hard Trumpistes who attempted to overturn an election for leadership that didn’t turn out their way;
5) watching as that party cavalierly waived its own rule against supporting the nomination of any convicted felon;
6) the unsavory business of a Republican senator, in the company of a Republican representative, going on a “Proud to be White” tour through the NEK, and doxing a school teacher he accused of promulgating Critical Race Theory;
6) the inability of the VTGOP to put anything resembling an informed, knowledgeable slate of legislative candidates forward in any biannual election since the flap over Civil Unions;
7) the recent defection of major donors to Democratic primary candidates perceived as “moderate” in a hail mary attempt to put a dent in the super majority;
8) and noting the refusal of the Governor to take anything resembling a leadership role in bringing his party back to something resembling reality,
that’s why I was wondering.
Scott’s not going endorse any of the republicans in Vermont because they have all gone MAGA . He’s doing the best he can to distance himself from the crazies! Even Zuckerman is better than any of the MAGA shills here in Vermont.
This message is for v ialeggio. Unfortunately this platform will not let me respond directly to your comment, which was in response to my query.
I’d like to thank you for your kind words. I’ll admit to being befuddled with the current state of my party, which is a good part of the reason I’m taking a break from politics this election. During my time in the senate I always felt as if I was part of something much bigger than myself as I participated in trying to solve constituent issues. I detest politics as a blood sport, and I blame the extremists on both sides of the aisle for the resulting polarization of our country.
Perhaps, with the conclusion of this upcoming election, I’ll feel the pull again, but we’ll see. In the meantime, I am very appreciative of your observation of my performance. That is exactly the legacy I’d like to leave my children.