Well, the confirmation vote on Michael Drescher came out as I expected — with barely enough support from Democrats to drag his nomination across the finish line. Congrats, Vermont! One of Trump’s willing instruments now has a lifetime appointment on your state Supreme Court.

The vote was 15-15, with two Democrats joining all 13 Republicans in support and Lt. Gov. John Rodgers breaking the tie in Drescher’s favor. It could have been different if David Zuckerman still wielded the gavel, but you know what they say about spilled milk.

It also would have been different if Bennington County didn’t have such a rich tradition of electing centrist Democrats with renegade tendencies. Because the two votes that enabled Drescher’s elevation came from Bennington’s two senators, Seth Bongartz and Rob Plunkett. Ahh, reminds me of the bad old days when the scent of Campho-Phenique hung heavy over the Senate’s chambers and the county was represented by Bob Hartwell and Dick Sears.

Seven Days’ Kevin McCallum got a mealy-mouthed explanation from Bongartz, which credited Drescher for not going all the way with the Nuremberg routine. McCallum, paraphrasing Bongartz:

Drescher actually worked to get one high-profile detainee, Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk, released from Louisiana prison after a Vermont judge ordered it, Bongartz noted.

Wow. Profiles in courage! Drescher worked to get Öztürk released AFTER A JUDGE ORDERED IT. In other words, he did his damn job.

Also, Bongartz appears not to believe in the Senate’s advise-and-consent role on gubernatorial appointments: “We do not get to substitute our judgement for that of the Governor,” he said. Well, jeez, Senator, why does our state constitution require the Senate’s approval at all?

Plunkett, according to Vermont Public’s Peter Hirschfeld, painted himself as an intended member of the Resistance who planned to vote “No” on Drescher until a long conversation with the nominee convinced him to abandon whatever principles originally motivated him. Plunkett bought the argument that if one guard at Auschwitz had refused to follow orders, another would have taken his place Drescher had taken a principled stand against Trump’s immigration regime, he would have been replaced by someone worse.

Okay, I guess. But when Drescher used his official capacity to defend the detention of Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi, he was doing exactly what the worst possible Trump toady would have done. Except more competently, in all likelihood.

So thanks a lot, Bennington County. Your tradition of electing blue-dog Democrats continues. (Pour one out for state Rep. Will Greer, who once depicted hotels and motels used to house homeless folks as hotbeds of “criminal activity” and “mass drug distribution” in official remarks on the House floor. A gentle heart beats in that breast.)

In truth, though, I suspect that Senate leadership would have found a way to engineer Drescher’s confirmation no matter what. If they’d needed one more Democratic vote, I think they would have found it.

As evidence, I cite a passage from the Senate journal. After Christina Nolan’s nomination sailed through (relatively speaking; seven Democrats voted against her) and Drescher was next on the agenda, Senate Majority Leader Kesha Ram Hinsdale requested (and was granted) a recess.

Things that make you go hmm.

Why a recess? I wasn’t present in whatever formerly smoke-filled room Senate leadership retired to, but I can only think of one reason: Leadership wanted to count the votes one last time and be sure of the outcome.

Because as past legislative leaders have told me, you never hold a vote until you know the outcome. And despite various Democrats’ opposition, real or performative, I don’t think that leadership wanted Drescher to go down. If nothing else, it would have poisoned the well with Gov. Phil Scott. In this post-2024 election world, with a rather precarious Senate majority, leadership is anxious not to pick fights with the governor.

Speaking of whom, here’s a thought experiment. In my Drescher post, I noted that it was unusual for Scott to nominate two people with known Republican ties to the Supreme Court. Ya think he would have dared to do that if he wasn’t emboldened by his party’s 2024 victories? Ya think Drescher would have stood a snowball’s chance if he faced a Senate with 20-plus Democratic members?

I think ya know what I think.

Anyway, congratulations to our new Supreme Court justice. Let’s hope he’s more independent and insightful as a judge than he was as a prosecutor.