Road trip! Today I attended an afternoon rally outside the Veterans Administration Medical Center in White River Junction. About 100 people gathered outside the gates; you’re seeing about two-thirds of ’em in this picture. Some were across the road from the entrance, including me.
The planned decimation of the VA system is one of the more shameful acts of Cadet Bone Spurs, and that’s saying quite a lot. He may fetishize the military, he may propose a massive increase in Defense Department spending, but he wants to slash health care for our veterans? And he’s installed a former Congressman as head of the VA who can’t seem to talk his way out of a paper bag when it comes to defending the cuts. The primary purpose of today’s rally was to show support for VAMC workers, who are facing about a 20% chance of losing their jobs. And those still employed will be forced to work that much harder to try to make up for the staff cutbacks.
The VA system is a promise we make to those who put their lives on the line in our defense. Whether the conflicts they served in were principled or predatory, we should not fail to do whatever is necessary to care for the well-being of our veterans.
Charity Clark is in a unique position. At a time when our democracy and our system of government are under threat from The World’s Biggest Golf Cheat, she is Vermont’s chief legal advocate. More so than, say, our other Democratic statewides, she has the authority to take action. And the responsibility.
So far, she has followed the Bill Sorrell playbook: Signing on to 13 lawsuits against the Trump administration filed by coalitions of Democratic attorneys general. She also gave a nice speech at Saturday’s lawyers’ rally in Burlington. (In which she oddly referred to the rule of law and the separation of powers as “kind of one of our major brands” as if the Constitution is a consumer product.) That’s all fine, but it’s kind of the least she could do.
Stepping forward on her own would take some courage, but would also be the smartest political move she could make. Setting aside right and wrong for just a moment and focusing on the politics, which is after all the remit of this popstand, Clark is one of a number of top-tier Democrats presumed to be angling for higher office. But she appears to lag behind Treasurer Mike Pieciak (but then, don’t we all?) in terms of profile, connections, and fundraising prowess. If she wants to run for governor or the next Congressional opening, she’ll need to raise her public profile and differentiate herself from a potential swarm of primary candidates.
The best way for her to do that — and also, ahem, do the right thing — is to find ways to lead the fight against Trump. Even purely symbolic moves would help.
Today I wrote an email to U.S. Rep. Becca Balint thanking her for introducing a bill to protect the health care rights of transgender people. She introduced the Transgender Health Care Access Act a while ago and it’s not going to get anywhere in a Republican Congress, but her public advocacy is important — and encouraging — when trans folk are under attack from their own damn government. And it’s important to let our elected representatives know when they’re fighting the good fight.
Gov. Phil Scott continues to urge Vermonters to take a chill pill and ignore the bull rampaging through the china shop. He tells us to stop focusing on “the rhetoric in D.C.” — without identifying the source of the rhetoric. He did so once again last week in an interview with Vermont Public’s Michaela Lefrak which was faithfully, painfully, completely transcribed on VP’s website. Feast your eyes on this cornucopia of good talkin’.
Well, what— again, we have to wait for whatever the action is he takes against us here in the state, and react to that. And I, I think we have been doing that, but, but for all of us to fall into that trap, I think, is, would be unfortunate and it takes away from all the problems that exist here in Vermont today, that we’re not doing because we’re focusing on the rhetoric that he, he wants to stir up, and I don’t believe we can live in chaos for the next three and a half years. They just have too much to do, too much to accomplish right here in Vermont.
Winston Churchill would be proud.
Anyway, the governor couldn’t be wronger about this. First of all, we’re going to be living “in chaos for the next three and a half years” no matter what. Donald Trump is going to keep waving all the red flags and eroding our democracy and our federal government even if we take Scott’s advice and whistle resolutely past the graveyard.
Trump is a bully. He backtracks when confronted, and then seeks the soft spots in our defenses. It’s exhausting and yes, it takes a lot of time, but we don’t have the luxury of sitting back and waiting for rhetoric to turn into reality. Just ask immigrants, refugees, and transgender folk if they’re feeling secure these days.
Even when it’s nothing more than “rhetoric,” it creates tremendous uncertainty across the board. As Public Service Commissioner Kerrick Johnson told a legislative committee in February, “It changes daily in terms of the program. It changes daily in terms of the program and the people we’re required to work with. It changes daily in terms of the interpretation of the language and what’s being sent.” How the hell can the state do its job in that environment?
But c’mon, it’s gone far beyond mere rhetoric in more ways than I can count. Still, I’ll give it a try. What follows is a list of specific actions taken by the Trump administration that have already had a measurable impact on Vermont and Vermonters. I dare the governor look over this list and gabble placidly about “rhetoric.”
Today I signed up (via LeanLeft Vermont) to write postcards to voters in Virginia, which will have state elections this fall. This involved buying postcards, since they want a unified look to the campaign. They cost about 55 cents apiece and look like this:
LeanLeft Vermont is promoting actions in states holding elections this year, including Virginia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The most productive way to convince Republicans to back off is beating them at the polls, and the sooner the better.
Well hey now, got us a bumper crop of content worth your time without mentioning the big ol’ manbaby in the White House. Yes, It Can Happen! And we’ll begin with not one, but two stories from VTDigger. It’s hard to imagine where we’d be without Digger, what with the decimation of the rest of our news media. So let’s celebrate the things Digger does well and encourage them to do more.
Official misconduct in the Fern Feather case. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I want to shine a spotlight on Peter D’Auria’s deep dive into the prosecution of Seth Brunell for the murder of Fern Feather — a prosecution that ended with a defendant-friendly plea bargain triggered by police misconduct. D’Auria’s story chronicles all the ways in which this case was mishandled by police and prosecutors. You come away from it feeling mad as hell, and wondering if Feather’s gender identity played any role in how authorities screwed this thing up six ways from Sunday.
Exiting prison is a “bureaucratic morass.” In an example of the routine Statehouse coverage that no other media outlet provides, Digger’s Ethan Weinstein reported on a role-playing simulation of the process of exiting prison and re-entering society. The system “forces individuals to jump through hoops that many of us in this room would struggle through,” said none other than Corrections Commissioner Nicholas Deml, the person in charge of administering the system. I saw no other reports on this simulation which, in a just world, ought to trigger a thorough overhaul of a system that surely must contribute to high recidivism rates. Probably could also apply to social service programs designed without any input from those who have to jump through an obstacle course’s worth of officially-designed hoops to receive the help they need. “Lived experience,” anyone?
Today the Loyal Spouse and I took a road trip to Woodstock, where a small but dedicated group gathers along Route 4 every day to protest what one homemade sign described as “The Turd Reich.” (We were carrying a “Tyranny Shall Not Prevail” flag from Flags for Good.) They started doing this early in our new national nightmare and they’re planning a bigger rally on May 17 to mark their 100th day of protest.
There were about 20 or so people on hand. One of the organizers said they manage to get at least 10 or so people out there each day, which is impressive. There was plenty of enthusiasm from passing motorists, and only one dissenter who gave us the “thumbs down.” It was a bit of a drive, but it was nice to connect with like-minded folks from another part of Vermont.
Today I signed up for Lean Left Vermont‘s email list. The organizational structure of the anti-Trump movement is trying to catch up with (and channel appropriately) all the righteous anger that’s out there. At this point I’m not sure which groups are going to become effective and which will not, so I’m signing up with multiple ones. It means more emails in my inbox, but that’s way down on my list of concerns these days.
At yesterday’s May Day rally, I stopped by Montpelier Strong Indivisible’s table. And today I signed on to their email list so I’ll be informed of local opportunities to make a difference.
The Vermont Political Observer. 