Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Two More Notes on THE NUMBERS

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I spent several hours yesterday poring over the two new opinion polls about the top contests in Vermont. So of course I missed something very interesting, which was pointed out to me by my Hardwick Gazette colleague Paul Fixx. I’ll relate that tidbit, along with a harbinger of sudden activity by Vermont Democrats in apparent response to the polls.

The tidbit, or maybe that’s underselling it: Phil Scott is less popular among Vermont Republicans than Donald Trump. According to the Vermont Public survey, 69% of Republican voters approve of Trump’s job performance and 15% disapprove. The same figures for Scott: 58% approve, 20% disapprove.

Huh. Maybe campaign manager Dustin Degree should stop complaining about the UNH Survey Center oversampling Democrats. He’s got problems with his own people. (The UNH survey didn’t ask respondents for their view of Trump’s performance. Its only Trump-related inquiry was about his tariff war with Canada. Democrats and independents overwhelmingly disapproved, while a solid majority of Republicans approved. Sheeple, I tell ya.)

The Republican antipathy for Scott has, until now, been a minor annoyance, more than made up for by his popularity among centrists and moderate Democrats. But when Scott’s favorability is at a low point, he kinda needs the Republican base in his corner. Now, those anti-Scott Republicans aren’t going to vote for Amanda Janoo, but what if they stay home or leave the governor’s line blank on their ballots? The Republicans already face a sizeable enthusiasm gap this year; ambivalence toward Scott isn’t going to help. But it’s a fact of life for a party whose center of gravity is clearly to the right of its leader.

Second thing. I got a long email today from state Rep. Emilie Kornheiser of Brattleboro. Not personally; I’m just on her mailing list. But the content was striking. It was a full-throated endorsement of Janoo that trumpeted the poll results:

I honestly can’t see my way through another two years of Phil Scott. I have done my darnedest, and done well, to negotiate with him and around him… but we really can’t go on like this. We need a government that is earnestly trying to do better – to meet the moment and all that is needed.

And somehow, through the miracle of all of you, it seems possible that we could do better! It’s actually happening….polling showing Amanda is pulling ahead of Phil Scott!

Kornheiser called on her supporters to GET INVOLVED in the gubernatorial race, all caps hers. She touted a statewide organizing meeting via Zoom that’s happening Wednesday evening. And she promoted not one, not two, but three separate Janoo events next week in Brattleboro. Janoo herself will hold a fundraiser on October 6 followed by one of her town hall meetings. And the next night, Treasurer Mike Pieciak will get stuck in, hosting a fundraiser on behalf of Janoo and LG candidate Molly Gray. All three will be in attendance.

It’s great to see top Democrats finally getting behind their literal standard-bearer. I just hope it isn’t too little, too late. If Scott wins a close race, the Democrats will only have themselves to blame for squandering a moment in history when Scott’s standing finally began to fade and an upstart candidate found a way to engage the grass roots.

“Vermont Officials” Concerned About Trump Tariffs… But Where’s the Guy in Charge? (UPDATED With Due Credit to the Guy) (UPDATED AGAIN with another correction, I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue)

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Update! Apparently the governor’s office did issue a statement slamming the tariffs. How Digger ignored it, I have no idea.

Update to the update! I got the timing wrong on the Digger story’s publication and Scott issuing a statement. Details below.

Following Donald Trump’s precipitous announcement of 50% tariffs on a variety of Canadian goods, VTDigger reporter Theo Wells-Spackman was tasked with chronicling the potential economic harm to our state, which is heavily dependent on cross-border trade and tourism. In the process, he gathered reactions from various Vermont officials. He did a decent job of it, but there was one notable and unexplained absence from the piece.

I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count.

The officials who made appearances in the story included, in this order, state economist Tom Kavet (who called Trump’s move “pure stupidity”), Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Amy Magnus of Vermont-based customs broker A.N. Deringer (the tariffs are “downright shocking”), and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (Trump’s policy has “caused undeniable harm” and “economic chaos”).

A nice list. But who’s not there? Who’s conspicuous by their absence?

Why, our fearless, resolute Governor Phil Scott, that’s who. He was not quoted, nor was anyone from his administration. Wells-Spackman did not reveal whether he sought reaction from Scott or his minions. If he didn’t, well, that’s reportorial and editorial malpractice. The state’s top official should be heard from. If Wells-Spackman sought reaction and didn’t get any, that should have been reported in his article.

Either way, Phil Scott is conspicuous by his absence. And Digger might have let him off the hook for it.

Update. Apologies to the governor, and brickbats to VTDigger. Scott issued a full-throated statement yesterday afternoon at 1:00 slamming the Trump tariffs as “a bad idea” in bold font. This is all on Wells-Spackman, his editors, and Digger entire. His story was published at 6:21 p.m., more than five hours after the governor’s statement came out. Did they fail to notice? Did they somehow decide that the governor’s views weren’t relevant an article about “Vermont officials” reacting to the tariff announcement? It’s literally incredible.

The governor’s statement in full:

“My feelings on punitive tariffs imposed on Canada have not changed over the last two years and are simply a bad idea that will lead to increased costs on Vermonters. As I’ve said before, this added burden would create real challenges for our residents and businesses who are already facing economic headwinds. Canadians are our friendly neighbors and long‑time allies, and we should be working together to find solutions that strengthen the region, not further divide us. As I prepare to host the Premiers of Eastern Canadian Provinces in Vermont next month, my message is clear: we are good friends and partners, and I’m committed to strengthening our economic and cultural ties to benefit both sides of the border.”

Update to the update, and the updates are now longer than the original story. I got it wrong. The governor’s statement was issued the day after Digger published Wells-Spackman’s piece, not the same day. Careless error on my part, and I apologize. The story was published on 7/21, and Scott’s statrement came out midday on 7/22.

Which leaves me wondering about two things. First, did Wells-Spackman reach out to Scott’s office for comment? If not, why not? If so, why not include it in the story? And second, did Scott’s comms team cobble together a statement after Digger published? That’s a bit embarrassing.

And I hope this is the last time I have to revisit this cluster.

Oh, the Postality

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I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more desperate, pathetic hiring campaign than the one happening right now at the Montpelier post office. There are posters and flyers on every available wall, door, fixture, and column, plus a small stack on the service counter. The vast majority are black-and-white photocopies, so they’re obviously sparing every possible expense. There’s also one sad little bunch of slowly deflating helium balloons sitting off in a corner, communicating the exact opposite of gaiety and celebration.

It’s almost as if nobody with any options wants to work for a deeply troubled entity with terrible working conditions, a management focused entirely on cost-cutting, and a chief executive who just issued a warning that the enterprise is running out of money. All under a president who, at best, doesn’t give a damn, and at worst is actively undermining the operation in order to wreak havoc with mail-in balloting.

Yeah, if I were looking for work, I might opt for convenience store clerk (or trash hauler, see below) over mail carrier. Which is a damn shame, considering that the Postal Service used to be a haven of reliable, rewarding blue-collar employment.

The desperation of the hiring effort is reflected in the quality of service being delivered — or not being delivered — in my neck of the woods. The mail carrier on our route resigned about a month ago. On her last day, she told a neighbor that she’d been working 70 hours a week and couldn’t take it anymore. She also said there was no one in line to replace her, and we should expect to get deliveries once a week or so.

Neat. It wasn’t too many years ago that a USPS plan to end Saturday deliveries sparked so much outrage in Congress that it was quickly abandoned. Now, once a week? Maybe? Indefinitely? Forever? The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves?

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Phil Scott’s Conscience is Triggered by Two Senseless Government Murders. Not One. Two. (Updated)

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Gov. Phil Scott has belatedly rediscovered some of the political courage he occasionally displayed during Donald Trump’s first term but has kept well-hidden through Trump II: The Empire Strikes Back.

And all it took was two cold-blooded killings on the streets of Minneapolis by Trump’s masked and heavily armed thugs. Well, it also took critical statements from a number of other Republicans, up to and including Texas’ archconservative Gov. Greg Abbott. Scott was far from the first to tiptoe out on that limb.

Note that Scott didn’t say a word about the first killing, that of Renee Good more than two weeks ago. A second senseless murder, that of Alex Pretti, had to happen before the governor’s moral gag reflex was triggered.

So… congratulations?

For the past year-plus, Scott has minimized any public criticism of Trump’s many excesses. And in his budget address, he sent a not-terribly-subtle message to the rest of us to Please Shut the Hell Up About Trump:

…today, even the traditional funding we’ve come to expect from Washington is uncertain. And from what I’ve seen, no amount of political posturing or strongly worded statements will change that.

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Trump’s Canada Policy Has Had the Predictable Impact on Vermont Tourism

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Back at the beginning of this year, when Donald Trump was spouting his “51st State” nonsense and threatening a tariff war with Canada, there were concerns about the effect on Vermont’s tourism economy. Well, we’re almost a year into the second reign of King Manbaby, and the numbers show that Vermont has, in fact, suffered greatly from Trump’s cold war with our neighbors.

Canadian tourism is down. Way down.

Canadian credit card spending in Vermont is down even more.

This is only one of the many negative effects of Trump on Vermont. Tariffs have bedeviled many Vermont industries and businesses, and have hit housing construction especially There are real and potential losses in federal funding, including the rampant politicization of disaster recovery aid. There’s the chilling effect on migrant workers, which is putting a real hurt on our construction and agricultural sectors.

I can’t quantify those effects. But I’ve got a bunch of numbers regarding Canadian tourism. And man, do they ever make for some grim reading.

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Hey Look, Peter Welch Is a “Moderate,” Says So Right There

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The calculus may have changed given the Democratic sweep of Tuesday’s elections, but according to a story published Monday by The Hill, a group of “at least eight moderate Senate Democrats” has been meeting to discuss surrendering to Trump, oops, sorry, my mistake, “finding a deal to end the monthlong government shutdown.”

And one of the eight is our very own Sen. Peter Welch.

Feeling proud? I know you are. I can hardly wait for the Vermont Democratic Party convention on November 15, where I’m sure Welch will deliver a stem-winder of a speech about resisting Trump’s authoritarianism. He’s good at those.

Who knows, if enough Vermont Democrats learn of his complicity in this surrender attempt, maybe some will greet Welch with boos instead of cheers. A man can dream.

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Greetings From Elysium. How’s the Weather Down There?

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Recently I had the opportunity to sit in on an update and short-term forecast of the economy and the markets. It was an exercise in what they call “wealth management” — stewardship on behalf of the well-to-do. I did so as an investor with retirement funds in the markets, who’s been feeling a fair bit queasy about the chances that Donald Trump’s doggedly anarchic policies might cause everything financial to drop straight into the toilet.

Well, I have some very good news wrapped in a bad-news burrito.

The good news, from this analyst’s perch: The economy is doing pretty well, actually. It has weathered Trump’s reign of error because of some very strong fundamentals. Also because deregulation and tax cuts are business-friendly. By every measure, the outlook is positive.

In the aggregate, that is.

But within the aggregate, there are distinct winners and losers. I bet you can guess who falls into which category.

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Peter Welch Becomes the First Democratic Senator to Do a Certain Something… But It’s Not a Good Thing

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Earlier this week, for the first time in Donald Trump’s second term in office, a sitting Democratic U.S. Senator voted for one of Trump’s nominees for the judiciary.

And in case the headline and image didn’t give away the surprise, yes, it was our very own Sen. Peter Welch, who voted in favor of Kyle Dudek for a seat on the U.S. District Court in Florida.

Democrats have occasionally supported the odd Trump nominee, but never have any of ’em broken ranks on a judicial appointment. There’s a reason for that; Trump’s executive branch officials will be turfed out as soon as their boss leaves office, while federal judges are appointed for life. Dudek was born in 1985, which means he’s likely to serve for at least three decades.

The good senator’s explanation? “[Dudek] is the needle in the haystack—a competent nominee by the Trump administration,’ Welch told Bloomberg Law. When asked what led him to that conclusion, Welch told Bloomberg that “there was nothing specific about Dudek’s record” that led to his “Yes” vote.

Well, I’m glad we cleared that up.

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Russ Ingalls Can Do What He Wants With His Radio Stations, But He Doesn’t Have to Be an Asshole About It

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When state Sen. Russ Ingalls, a conservative Republican, bought a bunch of Northeast Kingdom radio stations earlier this year, he indulged in some high-toned blather about emphasizing local information and keeping politics out of the product.

Well, now we know how that turned out.

As VTDigger’s Shaun Robinson reports, Ingalls has raised some ire among liberal listeners by getting rid of newscasts from major network broadcasters and the Associated Press and replacing them with, you guessed it, Fox News.

And that’s the way our capitalist media system works, isn’t it? He who pays the piper calls the tune. Ingalls is well within his rights to air whatever kind of newscasts he wants. (Thanks, it must be said, to Ronald Reagan’s deep-sixing of the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcasters to fairly represent all points of view from the birth of electronic media until its repeal in 1987.)

Actually, when I first scanned the headline, I thought he’d replaced the stations’ entire programming with far-right conservative talk. He hasn’t. He’s decided to air Fox News in the brief window devoted to news at the top of each hour. Which usually amounts to no more than a couple minutes of news along with plenty of advertisements.

Point being, if you depend on commercial radio newscasts to keep you informed, it’s kind of like making Lunchables the foundation of your diet.

So I don’t have much of a beef with Ingalls’ decision. I do have trouble, and plenty of it, with his comments about the situation. Which reveal him to be a tunnel-visioned ideologue with no patience for criticism of himself, the country, or its current (you should pardon the expression) leadership. Not to mention his open contempt for constituents who disagree with him.

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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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