One of the more interesting performers in the state legislature this year has been Windham Senator Peter Galbraith. It was widely noted that the former UN diplomat turned Vermont State Senator is following a unique path that appears to irk many fellow Senators.
And this past week according to VtBuzz
Sen. Peter Galbraith, who has made himself ever-more unpopular with his colleagues, continued on that path Friday.
Galbraith deliberately dragged out the discussion on campaign finance reform by quizzing a fellow Senator at length about minute details of a pending bill. A desperate attempt to halt Galbraith’s mini filibuster was made by Senator Phillip “Phil” Baruth who attempted to enlist Mason’s legislative procedural rules on tedious speechifying as a means of shutting off the verbiage. Senate President Lt. Governor Phil Scott ruled against Baruth. That was in character: the Republican Lite Guv always keeps an eye out for any possibility of minimizing regulation; he probably feared creating a burdensome regulatory precedent that might stifle future tedium.
At the close of the hectic week I am not sure where Galbraith’s one-man legislative grand finale places him on the list of winners and losers. But the long-winded Senator’s antics got me thinking less might be more.
Galbraith haiku? Yes I think it can be done in three lines (take your pick). And happily it is too short to ever be tedious.
Galbraith admonished.
Mason’s rules not precedent:
Galbraith on and on.
And:
Baruth, he rose, read
Mason’s rules – not precedent
Great Scott tedious.
Have so much money
that you must listen to me
And do what I say.
The other day on VPR they quoted Dick McCormack essentially calling Galbraith a terrorist. On Thursday John Dillon reported that McCormack said:
http://digital.vpr.net/post/af…
I heard one commenter last year observe, after one of Galbraith’s time-wasting antics, that he had made twenty-nine enemies, which is exactly the same number he had before he started.
few people who are right all the time take the time to read anything that may give them a clue that there watch is off most of the time. However, maybe with the stories hitting the air of his “look at me” behavior constantly impacting great legislation in the Senate, maybe voters will start to take the time to notice.