Tag Archives: Bernie Sanders

Bending the Knee Paid Immediate Dividends for the Governor… Not

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It was a little more than a week ago that Gov. Phil Scott held an unpublicized-until-after-the-fact meeting with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. The only notice anyone received of the event was a post on the governor’s Facebook page, which included a bunch of photos and a brief caption. Which is all we know about the meeting, since the press apparently got no advance notice.

But yeah, you might hope that Scott’s dignity would have at least bought him a little breathing room from the Trump administration’s savage and unconstitutional cuts in federal spending, especially where Zeldin himself is concerned.

I regret to inform you that any such hopes were completely unfounded.

The Scott-Zeldin confab was on Sunday, August 3. Well, four days later, on August 7, Zeldin delivered a swift kick in the nuts to our groveling governor: The Trump administration announced a clawback of $62.5 million in already-appropriated federal funds meant for Vermont’s Solar for All program, designed to help lower-income people access the benefits of solar power. (The cut was first reported by VTDigger, um, today.) It was part of a larger, nationwide cut in the program, but that’s one hell of a lot of money we’re not going to get, that won’t help a lot of lower-income people take advantage of the Green Revolution or build out our renewable infrastructure or reduce our dependence on out-of-state fossil fuel.

Accompanying the announcement was a cheery little video message from Zeldin himself, labeling Solar for All, a brainchlld of Vermont’s own Sen. Bernie Sanders, ” as a “grift” and a “boondoggle.”

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Please, Bernie, No

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Oh boy. According to The Hill, Sen. Bernie Sanders may be open to supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health & Human Services Secretary. Not that The Hill is the most reliable of outlets, but this is just alarming. If Bernie is, indeed, mulling a “yes” vote, he should stop it. Immediately.

As the story tells it, Sanders and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman could vote “yes” on RFK’s nomination because of “shared critiques on heavy corporate influence over food and a desire to promote a less chemical-laden country.”

The story relies heavily on anonymous sources, and not many of ’em at that. There’s a single unnamed “source close to [Sanders’] office,” whatever the hell that means. And that source didn’t go much beyond asserting that Sanders “will use the opportunity [of hte confirmation hearing] to point out the shortcomings of the industrial food system, supply chains, etc.” That’s a far cry from actually voting “yes” on Kennedy.

There is one quote from a named source. Progressive activist Nina Turner went on the record, offering “my sense” that Sanders and Fetterman would support Kennedy.

Please, God, no. Don’t do it, Bernie.

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Zuckerman’s End?

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Barring an extremely unlikely vote in the Legislature, we may have seen the last of David Zuckerman on our political stage. Maybe not; he’s only 53 years old, a full generation younger than the guy we just elevated to the White House (and 30 years younger than our senior U.S. Senator). But if we are seeing the end of the Zuckerman experience, it’ll go down as one of the more curious public careers of our time. He is one of the most loved and hated politicians in Vermont.

Zuckerman was 25 years old when he was first elected to the Legislature in 1997. He’s been in office ever since, except for a two-year hiatus from 2021-23. He won 12 consecutive elections, a streak only broken when he took on the undefeated Phil Scott. You don’t compile a record like Zuckerman’s without smarts and talent, which he has in abundance, but there’s also a bit of tone-deafness about him. The latest indicator of this is his dalliance with Ian Diamondstone’s demand that the Legislature return him to office. He doesn’t seem to get that the longer this goes on, the sourer will be the end of his tenure.

Throughout the Phil Scott era, Zuckerman has been the most successful Democratic* politician this side of the Congressional delegation — and yet, many in the Vermont Democratic Party have ached to be rid of him. He’s the most high profile Progressive figure of his day and he has a formidable donor base, but he just got beat by a guy who didn’t even start campaigning until July. He is seen by many as a champion of progressive causes generally and women’s rights specifically, but others see him as untrustworthy if not a little bit squicky.

*Yes, I know he’s a Prog, but he was on the Democratic ticket. We’ll get to that.

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Tunbridge Ain’t What It Used to Be, Apparently

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So the Tunbridge Fair — err, the Tunbridge World’s Fair — happened last week. And as is its tradition, WDEV Radio broadcast live from the Fair’s gazebo and conducted debates for the top statewide offices. It’s been an early and quasi-obligatory stop on the campaign trail for many a year.

Well, WDEV was there, but many top politicians were no-shows. Gov. Phil Scott, for instance. Also U.S. Rep. Becca Balint and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. The only actual debate featured the two candidates for lieutenant governor, incumbent Progressive/Democrat David Zuckerman and Republican John Rodgers. (It was reportedly a spirited affair; you can listen here. The LG debate is in the second hour of the show.)

Otherwise, empty chairs abounded. Instead of debates, we got long interviews with the candidates who bothered to attend.

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Bernie Does the Business

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I tell you, Bernie Sanders may not be running as a Democrat, but at the DNC this week he played the loyal party soldier to the hilt. In his Tuesday speech, he devoted about half his 12 minutes to praising the Biden-Harris administration, quickly ran through his Greatest Hits (to a lukewarm reaction from the crowd, more on that later), and called for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East without mentioning Israel, Gaza, or Netanyahu, or uttering a single word of criticism for American policy.

But the biggest tell of all: After his customary slams at “the billionaire class,” his calls to “get big money out of our political process” and his bemoaning of “billionaires in both parties” being “able to buy elections, including primary elections,” Bernie was followed to the stage by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is not only a billionaire, but looks like what a 6-year-old thinks a billionaire looks like. I mean, just add a top hat, vest, and gold pocket watch, and he’d look right at home in a Thomas Nast cartoon. Take away the hair and you’ve literally got the Marvel supervillain Kingpin.

And for what must have been the first time ever at a Democratic convention, Pritzker got applause by boasting of being “an actual billionaire.” You want to talk big money buying elections, Bernie? Pritzker bought himself the top job in Illinois by pouring $323 million into his two campaigns for governor.

The speakers list at major party conventions is a carefully curated thing, calculated to send messages and evoke feelings and impressions in the audience. They knew exactly what they were doing when they put Pritzker after Sanders. Hell, Bernie knew exactly what he was doing when he slammed billionaires buying elections — and Pritzker knew what he was doing when he implicitly dismissed Bernie’s rhetoric.

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Man Who Claims to Be Above Politics Does Overtly Political Thing

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It may have adhered, by the tiniest hair on its chinny chin chin, to the letter of tradition, but it absolutely blasted the spirit of tradition right to the moon.

I speak of Gov. Phil Scott’s decision to appoint a Democrat to the seat formerly held by the chair of the House Progressive Caucus. The Progs are furious, and they have every right to be.

Scott’s flimsy rationale is that Emma Mulvaney-Stanak ran for House in 2022 as both a Prog and a Dem. Okay, sure, but c’mon now. Mulvaney-Stanak’s political identification is clearly Progressive. She served on Burlington City Council as a Prog. (For a time, she was the only Prog on City Council.) She ran for mayor of Burlington as a Prog. She served for four years as chair of the Vermont Progressive Party, for Pete’s sake.

I don’t care if she ran for House that one time in the Democratic primary. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak is a Progressive through and through, and her replacement in the House should have been a Prog.

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Not With a Bang, But a Whimper

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Vermont’s longest-running Cold War ended this week, with Seven Days waving the white flag and surrendering to Sen. Bernie Sanders.

It had been nine long years since Bernie had deigned to speak with Vermont’s leading weekly newspaper. The streak ended this week, with Seven Days accepting what was presumably a limited sit-down dedicated to one of the senator’s favorite issues, the plight of America’s senior citizens.

Ultimately it means little to nothing, but it made me a little sad. Way back in December 2017 when I helmed the gone-but-not-forgotten Fair Game column, I covered one of the great events of the Burlington social/political calendar: the late Tony Pomerleau’s annual Christmas shindig. It was a blatant exercise in noblesse oblige, with Pomerleau footing the bill for a big dinner and holiday gifts for selected members of the Queen City’s neediest. And every top-rank political type felt obliged to kiss Pomerleau’s ring, including America’s most notorious Democratic Socialist.

Bernie and Tony had a longstanding relationship, going back to the former’s first days as mayor of Burlington. Sanders had just won a shock victory in 1981, but he didn’t let it go to his head (at least not immediately). He realized he needed to find common ground with The Great and Good of Burlington, including its leading real estate mogul. The unlikely pair did indeed figure out how to work together, which helped get Sanders’ mayoralty off the ground and set the stage for his very successful political career.

Okay, I’m making a short story long. Point being, I wanted to get a quote or two from Sanders about this Odd Couple partnership. That was all. I approached him before the event, when he was glad-handing his way around the room. He seemed amenable at first, but that changed when I mentioned the magic words “Seven Days.” He said “Not right now” and turned away. He could have added “And not ever, either,” but it went without saying. At the time, Bernie held a grudge against Seven Days because it dared to cover some of his rare missteps. I was just caught in the crossfire.

As I walked up to him I started recording on my phone, and captured the entire 10-second exchange. I’ve saved it ever since for sentimental reasons, which is why I can quote it back to you now.

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You Should Think of “Protect the Most Vulnerable” as a Purely Aspirational Statement

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The available evidence points to one dispiriting conclusion: We are about to experience another substantial wave of Covid-19. Both state and federal data (the two are drawn from different testing regimens) show that our wastewater is full of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control says that nationally, wastewater levels are Very High, and the worst levels in the country are in the Northeast. Case counts in Vermont, although still classified as “Low” by the state Health Department, are on the rise. Nationally, according to the CDC, Covid-related emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths are all heading upward.

Dr. Michael Hoerger of the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative is projecting that “Nearly one in three Americans will get infected during the peak two months of this winter surge. That’s 105 million infections & more than five million resulting Long Covid cases.” The PMC says we could be headed into the second highest peak for Covid transmission ever. Including those times when we avoided exposure as much as possible and wore masks whenever we ventured outside.

Yeah, well, I’m sure it’ll be just fine. At least that seems to be the foundation of Gov. Phil Scott’s post-pandemic policy. Because his administration isn’t doing a damn thing about it. Not even to “protect the most vulnerable,” which he says is one of the three pillars of his governorship.

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The Death of Nuts-and-Bolts Political Reporting

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My previous post concerning the party reorganization process could have been written a couple weeks earlier. That’s when the information became available. I just plain didn’t get around to it immediately because (1) other stuff got in the way and (2) I was pretty confident that no other media outlet would bother with it.

And I was right. Nobody in Vermont covered it. In fact, nobody in Vermont is covering the nuts-and-bolts of politics anymore. Party reorgs, hirings, departures, leadership changes, party finances: they’re off the agenda. No one routinely (well, really, ever) attends state party committee meetings, conventions, or big fundraising events.

You also see a lot less reporting on individual politicians’ campaign finances. Filing deadlines used to be big occasions. Back when reports were filed in person, political reporters would gather at the Secretary of State’s office to grab the reports and file stories. Everything’s digital now, so all you have to do is open up the SoS campaign finance website and hit “refresh.”

It’s a lot easier. And yet, little to no attention is paid.

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Scary Bird Man Returns to Clutter Our Rights-of-Way, Haunt Our Children’s Dreams, and Suffer Another Lopsided Defeat

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Gerald Malloy, fresh off his razor-thin defeat at the hands of Peter Welch in 2022, is ready for another go. Having lost to Welch by a mere [checks notes] FORTY PERCENTAGE POINTS, Malloy thinks he can do far better against [checks notes again] the most popular Vermont politician of our century, Bernie Sanders.

Yep, Scary Bird Man is running for Senate. Again. Optimistic or deluded? You make the call.

I hope you’re ready for a return of the most bizarre yard signs in Vermont history: an eagle staring you directly in the eye, accompanied by the cryptic legend “Deploy Malloy.” You know, the signs described by VTDigger as “simple yet arguably menacing”? Now available in a wide variety of merch, including some high-test nightmare fuel for the kiddies.

Yikes.

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