Dearie me. I seem to have triggered a bit of a firestorm in Vermont political circles with last week’s piece about Hank Poitras, the foul-mouthed videographer, podcaster, and (shamefully) chair of the Windham County Republican Committee. (I’d referred to him as chair of the Brattleboro party committee, per The Brattleboro Reformer, but apparently he’s a bigger fish than that.) Poitras is pictured here in one of his own videos, thrusting middle fingers skyward and shouting “Fuck all you liberal motherfuckers!” just like a good Phil Scott Republican. (I think that’s how the governor kicks off his weekly press conferences, but I could be mistaken.)

My post, which featured some of Poitras’ more loathsome on-the-record comments, caused consternation in VTGOP circles and prompted Vermont Public’s Peter Hirschfeld and Lola Duffort (wow, team effort) to produce a very good piece about The Artist Who Styles Himself As “Planet Hank.”

Poitras was scheduled to share a stage with VTGOP chair Paul Dame and Barre Republican Rep. Michael Boutin last Friday evening. After media inquiries, Boutin sought to remove Poitras from the program and then withdraw from the event before changing his mind following “prayer and counsel,” according to Boutin’s Facebook page, where you can watch his brief address to the smallish crowd.

It also seems to have scared Dame away from a personal appearance. He begged off at a very late stage, citing “unexpected family obligations,” and sent along a video message instead. Probably had to walk the dog or summat.

I have to tell you, this is one of the proudest moments of my decade-plus as a Vermont Political Observer.

I’ve been trying to hold the VTGOP’s feet to the fire about extremism in its ranks for years, and the problem has only gotten worse. Quite a few town, city and county committees are dominated by ultraconservatives. For at least the last three election cycles, the Republican ticket has been littered with nutbags seeking responsible offices. The 2024 anti-tax wave floated many of those characters into office; they now make up a decent percentage of the Republican caucuses in the House and Senate.

Exactly what percentage we don’t know, because Vermont Public’s piece is the first to raise “questions about who gains power in a Vermont Republican Party that says it is trying to distance itself from the extremists within its ranks.” Our news media has collectively ignored this issue, at least until now.

It’s kinda hard to plausibly “distance itself” from candidates on its own ticket, who have often gotten endorsements and direct assistance from our allegedly “moderate” governor. He’s fine making common cause with the Sam Douglasses and Rob Norths and Russ Ingallses and Mike Tagliavias of the world as long as it keeps Democrats from holding supermajorities.

The history of political figures making non-apology “apologies” is long and depressing, but Poitras may have hit the bottom of this particular chili pot. Vermont Public quotes him thusly:

I apologize for what I said, to people who were offended by what I said, for any mistakes that I’ve ever made in the world, for any harm that I’ve ever done to anybody, for anything that I do in the future. I apologize in advance for it.

Yeah, he might as well have flipped a double bird while he spewed that shit. The high point was the standard “to people who were offended” language that puts the onus on those who saw his remarks as offensive or hurtful or simply beyond the pale in a polite society. It got progressively worse from there. We now await his apology for his apology.

Scott spokesperson Amanda Wheeler went all Susan Collins, saying Poitras’ remarks were “disappointing to hear.” But neither the governor nor party chair Dame have called for his removal as Windham County chair. Probably because the Windham party, like many others, is dominated by people who think Poitras is just peachy keen.

The person who shines in the Vermont Public story is Senate Minority Leader Scott Beck, who blamed “our current president” for engaging in and enabling “that type of behavior,” and said people who behave like that “can’t be part of what we’re trying to do.” Mr. Beck is a very conservative fellow, but he does have scruples and a conscience.

It is to be hoped that Vermont Public’s piece is the first of many to report on extremists within Republican ranks. The proof is out there. It isn’t hard to find. Editors and reporters merely have to decide that it’s worth the effort. It clearly is, because the electorate needs to know what kind of people are running for office disguised as “common sense” Phil Scott fiscal conservatives.

The best I can say for Poitras is that he doesn’t hide his true nature. He wallows in his own filth. And now the world knows what kind of people the Vermont Republican Party is willing to put up with.