Tag Archives: The Montpelier Happy Hour

It’s Gettin’ Late Early Out There

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While I was preparing (an overly grandiose term for my process, TBH) for the latest edition of the “Montpelier Happy Hour” podcast with Your Host Olga Peters*, something struck me that shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. Well, two things:

*Audio version available here.

  1. In a normal year, the Legislature would be steaming full-speed toward adjournment or would have already adjourned, but we seem to be nowhere near a conclusion.
  2. The filing deadline for major-party candidates in the August primary and November election is less than a month away.

If there was ever a year that could put a stake in the heart of Vermont’s beloved but fictional separation between legislating season and political season, well, 2026 is it. Last year, thanks mainly to Gov. Phil Scott’s bullheaded insistence on Act 73, the Legislature didn’t adjourn until mid-June. We seem to be headed toward a repeat performance this year, given the facts that (1) the House just passed H.931, its version of the Act 73 sequel, (2) the Senate has barely begun its process, (3) the Senate is likely to tear up the House bill and rewrite it from scratch, (4) the governor has already promised to veto the House version if it did somehow get through the Senate, and (5) ain’t nobody seems to have the slightest idea what kind of bill could survive the process while maybe not entirely triggering a revolt among the voting public.

Oh, and the governor is also threatening to lock the doors from the outside if he doesn’t get an amended version of Act 181 that’s to his liking. Also the budget, a not uncommon bone of contention between the branches. And he’s likely to veto another bill or six, just for shits and giggles.

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The Incredible Lightness of Phil Scott

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A couple days after our uneventful primary, I roused myself from my Covid-induced stupor long enough to make a guest appearance on The Montpelier Happy Hour*, a weekly podcast co-hosted by journalist/broadcaster Olga Peters and Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, who was fresh off her pasting of a centrist primary challenger. Kornheiser said something that stuck with me. (Which is not unusual.)

* Video here, podcast here.

While campaigning, she asked constituents about their views of Gov. Phil Scott. She was looking for insight into the central mystery of today’s Vermont politics: Why do so many people happily vote for the Republican governor and otherwise elect Democrats up and down the ticket?

The most common response she got: Scott’s calm, reassuring leadership during the Covid epidemic. They still appreciate his even-handed approach, especially in comparison to the nutbag in the White House who talked of injecting bleach and sticking lightbulbs up your fundament. People presumably believe Scott would do the same thing in the next crisis, and that’s comforting.

But here’s the problem. When the times call for a steady hand on the tiller, Scott is that steady hand. When the times call for decisive leadership, Scott is that steady hand.

Vermont faces an array of challenges and crises. He’s been Vermont’s chief executive for seven and a half years now. I dare you to name a single major issue that’s improved substantially since Scott became governor. Instead, we have a perpetual standoff with the Legislature, which is trying to pry the tiller away from his steady hand. He offers much more resistance than direction.

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