Man, we could really use some Pat Leahy right about now.

Not that I have any beef with his decision to retire. It was the right thing to do. But Leahy was our D.C. wizard, our bureaucratic Batman, and now that he’s gone we seem to be struggling with, whaddya know, wielding influence on the federal level.

Leahy wasn’t the most progressive of figures. But his decades of seniority and his insider expertise meant that Vermont punched above its weight on governmental matters, especially when it came to money. I wouldn’t say we’ve got no clout in the post-Pat era, but we’ve got a lot less than we did when he was watching over Gotham.

Before the 2022 election, we had the president pro tem of the freakin’ Senate, plus a key leader of the House Democratic Caucus in Peter Welch. At a time when we were losing Leahy’s pull, Welch’s decision to run for Senate dealt us a double blow.

Now, Welch is a politician with a politician’s ego. It would have been awfully tough for him to turn down a career-capping promotion to the Senate and an exit from the barely controlled madness of the House. But he didn’t do Vermont any favors when he did so. At age 77, he won’t get the chance to reach the upper rungs of the senatorial ladder. And Bernie’s next term will almost certainly be his last, assuming he disposes of Scary Eagle Man in November. We’re gonna be charity cases in the Senate for years to come, and Becca Balint has just begun her ascent in the House. Plus, she’ll almost certainly run for the Senate at the first incumbent-free opportunity, putting us back at the bottom in the House.

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