“Vermont will still be beautiful in 100 years!” When I said that to  Bill Doyle, he responded with something like, “It’s because of the kind of people we have here.”

What Is the Vermont Way?

Tom Slayton explained it. “For the mostpart, when you deal with someone in Vermont, they are going to be straightforward, honest, and generally, a Vermonter will work with you.”

Is Governor Douglas Following the Vermont Way?

If he is, I do not see it.

What I see is a character aligned pretty much with the manner of former president GW Bush. I see stealthy operations, hidden as much as possible, with good sounding rhetoric out front. The rhetoric does not withstand the scrutiny of the common Vermont eye. It passes the test only of the ideologue, who justifies means with ends, and syncophants, who fail to heed the lessons on Nuremberg, where we were taught that our jobs do not justify our misdeeds. These are the people whose actions are justified by “their job, they are appointed by the governor.” It’s never their job to lie to the legislature. It’s never their job to deal in half truth and spin. If they worked in another state capital, maybe it would be their job, but not here in Vermont. I am one of the people who came to Vermont for the precise reason we are not like other states. We are recognized for this when we visit other places. People notice our simple honesty. Even Governor Douglas could be seen as a relatively simple, straightforward soul, when he was railroaded into his sudden visit with President Obama.

Back on the ground, here in Vermont, the difference between Governor Douglas’s rhetoric and reality is as stark as it was with the 2nd Bush administration. I see an executive who acts as if his power and responsibility extend beyond everyone else’s reasoning. His actions make perfect sense to him, and the sycophants surrounding him. His devil is in the details.

Example 1: one of the governor’s spokespeople told the Senate Appropriations Committee that his agency has absorbed previous position and budget cuts by offloading to DII (the state’s central IT unit). Sounds good, coming from someone wearing a suit more valuable than my car, very credible, except it’s not true. The cuts were absorbed by redistributing the work within the agency. The work taken on by DII has hardly affected the agency’s workload. When I told others in our agency what the spokesperson said about DII somehow reinforcing us, they looked at me like I had three heads. The spokesman made untrue statements to the legislature, and now is unavailable for comment. Not transparent. Not the Vermont way.

Example 2: Lots of cases like this one: cut positions that do not save the state money.

Her RIF’d Position’s Salary Is

Just 4% General Funds! Why The Cut?  

If there is a good reason, fine.  What is it?  What is the Governor too busy doing to answer this question?  

No answer. Not the Vermont way.