All posts by Sue Prent

About Sue Prent

Artist/Writer/Activist living in St. Albans, Vermont with my husband since 1983. I was born in Chicago; moved to Montreal in 1969; lived there and in Berlin, W. Germany until we finally settled in St. Albans.

Updated: Jim Condos backs Bernie…& it’s a Michigan blowout!

local/regional, National, , , ,

Following a shockingly unexpected victory for Bernie Sanders in the Michigan primary, these folks must feel especially good about their gutsy decision.

Vermont Secretary of State, Jim Condos, and Rep. Tim Jerman of Essex Junction have announced that, as superdelegates to the Democratic party convention, they will be joining Peter Welch in supporting Bernie Sanders’ bid to become President of the United States.  I completely overlooked the news that Democratic Party Chair, Dottie Deans, also threw her super support behind Bernie!  I must have been suffering from double-Dean vision.  Well done, Ms. Dean!

The pair waited until after Vermont’s voters had spoken in the primary to announce their choice because both felt it important to lend their weight to the choice of the people of Vermont.

Bernie Sanders, as we all know, walked away with all of the pledged delegates, when he scored more than 86 % of the popular vote in the Vermont primary.

It is unfortunate that Governor Shumlin and Senator Leahy could not wait to see what is the will of their constituents before throwing their own superdelegate support behind Hillary Clinton, who gained less than 13% of the popular vote. Howard Dean, who as a former Democratic Chairman also enjoys superdelegate status (and who once defeated Senator Sanders in a gubernatorial race) was another early Hillary supporter.

It would have been nice to see them also refrain from endorsement until after the people had spoken, but the Clintons represent a formidable bloc in the Democratic party, demanding and receiving loyalty based on their combined history of  electoral success; and nobody ever said that party politics were fair…or even particularly democratic.

Anyway, thank you Secretary Condos, Dottie Deans and Tim Jerman for resisting the siren’s song of power politics and instead remembering your own loyal constitutents.

Your contribution puts you on the right side of American history at what we can only hope will prove a pivotal moment.

Frankln County: Bernie decimates Hillary and GOP field

local/regional, National, , ,

The front page table in today’s St. Albans Messenger tells it all: Bernie Sanders is the best candidate the Democrats can field in the general election.

As one of the most conservative counties in Vermont, Franklin County is a pretty good place to consider in an up-close examination of the primary results.

According to today’s table, here is how things shook out:

Donald Trump got a total of 1,782 votes.

Hillary got a total of 888 votes in all municipalities, roughly half of Trump’s total.

Of the other Republicans, only Ted Cruz got less votes than Hillary, at 508.

Bernie got a total of 7,060 votes!!  That is six times Trump’s total.

Bernie got more votes than all of the others together!

When voters really get to know Bernie, they are overwhelmingly drawn to his message.  For months now, Bernie’s strength against all of the Republicans (and Hillary’s relative weakness) has consistently shown up in all the polls.

Primaries are relatively poor tests of ultimate match-ups.

As we discovered in 2008, the super delegates are party loyalists above all.  When they began to see the groundswell of support for Obama toward the end of the primary season, they didn’t hesitate to throw-over Hillary for Obama.   I have to believe that they will eventually come around to recognizing where their best hope of winning lies.

Otherwise, we are in deep doo-doo.

Bernie vs. Hillary: duelling meme’s in the dead of night

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Like many of our GMD readers, I was up late last night searching the intertubes for early
comments on Super Tuesday results.

If you are among our saner readers and simply went to bed, you might have missed a couple of contrasting blogposts that deserve greater attention.

The first, by Bernie supporter Cenk Uygur, appeared on HuffPost at 12:56 AM.

The piece focuses on a campaign narrative that I myself sensed was developing last night, but could not possibly have so well-articulated. It is well worth a read.

Hillary (predictably) won in all the deep southern states, but other than that, only Massachusetts went to her, and by the narrowest of margins.  Remember, despite all of her union endorsements, Hillary only scraped by in Nevada because the turnout was poor; and Iowa was a virtual tie.

This Tuesday, Bernie won in every state in which he actually spent some time letting people get to know him. The problem with Hillary’s southern wins is that in almost every case, Donald Trump outdrew her at the polls. . Those states aren’t even likely to be competitive; and when she lost to Bernie,  she lost big time.

In fact, in the states she won, Democratic turnout overall was down from the Obama years.

Her electoral delegate count looks impressive at this point, but so it did against Barack Obama.  The difference of course is that at this point in 2008, lots of super delegates were moving to Obama; but the super delegates are party loyalists like no others.  If they see that Hillary is not as likely as Bernie to win in the general, they will gradually begin to come around.

The second blogpost to consider is by Hillary supporter, Richard Wolffe, writing at 2:39 AM in the Guardian, presumably after reading Mr. Uygur’s earlier post.

I was not familiar with Mr. Wolffe’s reputation but was astonished by the ungracious tone. Mr. Wolffe seemed to have a major bug up his ass, making statements like

‘…it’s only a matter of time before Sanders stops perpetuating his own hoax and looks at the data of the delegate count.’

and

‘…“In Vermont,” Sanders explained, “billionaires don’t buy town meetings.” Well, they would be strange billionaires if they did.’

okay…

This is where all the dark energy goes in the really underground campaign…to seeding the ‘news’ shows, the blogosphere, Facebook and what-have-you with memes that favor your candidate. The Clinton’s are masters of that resource with an impressive network of seasoned operatives and powerful contacts.

What’s interesting is not so much the vitriolic and completely over-the-top attack Mr. Wolffe unleashes on Bernie, but the pushback in the comments section…all 3,282  of them!!   It’s a real reflection of those ‘unfavorable’ numbers we’ve seen for Clinton.

Somewhere in the first page of comments, I came across one that spelled out the connection of the writer to the Clinton campaign, something the casual reader wouldn’t know. Unlike Mr. Uygur, who wore his heart on his sleeve, Mr. Wolffe was not so transparent. Suddenly the angry tone of the article made perfect sense, and I read it in a new light.

Unfortunately, it would be a full time job spotting these things and where they come from.

Why more young people don’t vote.

National, Uncategorized, , , ,

Republicans, whose star seems to be on the wane, have been trying to suppress the vote of all but the narrow sector to whom their message still appeals.  Democrats, on the other hand, project a message of inclusion which should bring far more people into the process. Why is it not more successful?

Bernie Sanders’ support demographic is a particular challenge, being heavily weighted with new voters.

It annoys me when media types refer to young people as being ‘unreliable’ when it comes to voting. The implication is that they are a monolith with one defining characteristic: they are undependable.  That is so unfair.

In fact, younger voters tend to be far more mobile than their established elders…not because of any particular lack of reliability, but out of sheer necessity. They must move much more frequently simply to be in the vicinity of their schools and employment opportunities.

If they have already left school and have a job, they are probably renters. In the tight rental market young people on skimpy budgets often must move from one municipality to another nearby in order to pursue more affordable housing opportunities. Theirs is a constantly shifting environment of economic instability, something that the current voter registration practices do not recognize.

As teenagers, these good citizens registered to vote as soon as they were of legal age, and then life took over and set them on a dead run.  A couple of years go by, an important national primary or election looms; and thinking of themselves as already registered, a lot of busy young voters completely forget that, having moved once or twice in the interim, they are no longer qualified to vote without re-registering.

They show up at the polls on election day and are turned away, after which some simply abandon the democratic habit.

As of this writing, same day registration is available in only eight states. Vermont will soon join that number, but only in 2017.

Bummer.

This is another stupid flaw in the system that no doubt disenfranchises huge numbers of individuals who would otherwise be gladly participating in the process.

Why should national elections be subject to restrictive voting rules imposed by the individual states? Shouldn’t there be a national voter registry, accessible anywhere in the nation?

Like efforts by the Republicans to disenfranchise minority groups whom they view as unfriendly monoliths rather than individual constituents, the voter registration practices that make it difficult for students and people with no fixed address to participate in the process strongly favor the continuance of establishment politics over those of innovation and progressive

This does not serve the best interests of our democracy, nor does it bode well for our international competitiveness in the future..

Tulsi Gabbard: A new face for the future.

National, Uncategorized, ,

I’d just like to take a moment to celebrate Hawaii’s Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who is being hailed by the New York Times as “a new rising star in Democratic politics.”

As a vice-chair of the DNC, Gabbard has publicly criticized DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz over the dramatically poor debate scheduling that most took to favor the campaign of presumed nominee Hillary Clinton, by minimizing her exposure to debate scrutiny.

She has now gone one step further, resigning her position at the DNC in order to boldly endorse Bernie Sanders for President.

This gal has chutzpa, a commodity sadly lacking in the world of DC cronyism.

Ms. Gabbard explained her decision in a video on YouTube in which she said that, as a military veteran, she wanted the United States to avoid “interventionist wars of regime change.”

Her statement has extra gravitas, given that it comes from a seasoned veteran of foreign conflicts:

“As a veteran of two Middle East deployments, I know first hand the cost of war,” said Ms. Gabbard, one of the first female combat veterans to serve in Congress. “I know how important it is that our commander-in-chief has the sound judgment required to know when to use America’s military power and when not to use that power.

Once more, the island state of Hawaii, way out in the Pacific has put forth a leader for a new generation of Mainlanders. I look forward to following her future.Tulsi-gabbard-promoted-major

Update: It takes an extremist to endorse an extremist.

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Update: Well, it appears that our current Lieutenant Governor, Phil Scott, who currently  aspires to be the next Governor, has also endorsed Rubio, albeit not in so full-throated a manner as has his predecessor.  It sounds as iif he would prefer to maintain his protective cover, but this endorsement outs him as an extremist enabler at the very least.

So Brian Dubie endorses Marco Rubio for President?

Dubie endorses Rubio for Vermont’s presidential primary

Let’s see what that tells us about our own former Lieutenant Governor.

He didn’t endorse Kasich, who is still in the race. He didn’t simply abstain from an endorsement.  He went out of his way and endorsed Marco Rubio…the third most extreme conservative in the race…and I quote:

“I am pleased to announce my support for Sen. Marco Rubio,” Dubie said in a statement. “Sen. Rubio can win this election and put forward bold conservative ideas once in the White House that would ensure the American Dream is passed down to future generations. Sen. Marco Rubio is a strong conservative nominee who can win.”

How about them apples?

For all of his chameleon-like posturing as a moderate, Brian Dubie has just flown his true colors and they are screeching right-turn red.

Let’s see what Marco has espoused in the primary.

Exhibit A: Immigration?

Like the Donald, he’s “going to build a wall.” It will be 700 miles long and we’re going to have to pay for it.

Commenting on Meet the Press, and in complete denial of the fact that illegal immigration has been in sharp decline since 2005 he said

“We are worse off today than we were five years ago,” he told host Chuck Todd. “We have more illegal immigrants here.”

Exhibit B: Healthcare?

Rubio vows to repeal “Obamacare,” even though he and his family have chosen to enroll in the D.C. exchange, benefitting from the much greater subsidy available to members of Congress than that which is available to the general public. Nice.

Exhibit C: Minimum Wage?

Marco doesn’t believe there should be one. That’s right. In Marco’s perfect world (which, presumably, is Brian’s as well), trickle down economics from the tax breaks he wants to give to the rich will take care of all that. Just like it did in the reign of George II.

Exhibit D: LGBT Rights?

He’ll have no more of that! Marriage is between a man and a woman. Period. His words:

…he threatened to render the decision on gay marriage ineffectual by using his presidential powers to appoint only conservative justices to the bench who would supposedly interpret the ruling differently.

“Ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed,’ Rubio said Sunday.”

I guess that means interracial marriage will once more be in danger under a Rubio reign, too.  It’s good to be king.

How moderate is Dubie looking now?

Exhibits E & F: Women’s right to choose? Women’s right to affordable healthcare?

Rubio doesn’t recognize those rights…not even in the event of rape or incest.

Furthermore, he has vowed to defund Planned Parenthood, completely mischaracterizing the charitable women’s health service as being in the business of promoting abortion for profit.
Exhibit G: Freedom of religion?

Not so much for Muslims,.

Rubio has compared Muslims to Nazi’s and even suggested that mosques and other places where Muslims gather should be shut down.

I could go on, but you get the picture.

Brian Dubie endorses Marco Rubio’s brand of conservatism, which isn’t at all conservative in the usual sense of the word.

It is extreme and anyone who agrees with Mr. Rubio is an extremist.

Vermonters as a whole do not tend to be extremists so it is difficult to see what Mr. Dubie’s path to victory in the Governor’s race would have been, given that he so enthusiastically endorses the extreme views of someone like Marco Rubio.

Peter Welch stands with Bernie

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I, like many Vermonters, found Peter Shumlin’s and Pat Leahy’s extremely early endorsement of Hillary Clinton disappointing.

Coming as early as they did, those endorsements rang of quid pro quo for campaign support from the powerful Clinton bloc, or currying political favor with the presumptive nominee.

They also carried the distinct message, “ he’s not with us.”

To some this was an unnecessarily disloyal thing to do, since Bernie Sanders has, with few exceptions, pulled with the Democratic “team” since being sent to Congress, and more than given back to the others’ campaigns from his own well of regional popularity.

I immediately credited Peter Welch for shrewd independence and character under the circumstances.

His endorsement for Bernie coming now, at some distance from Shumlin’s and Leahy’s rush to declare, not only casts a positive light on Welch’s own greater discretion, but it gives him valuable cache amongst the groundswell of young voters who have been attracted to the race in support of Sanders.

Congratulations, Congressman Welch, and thank you for giving me another good reason to celebrate your service to your constituents.

Welcome back, Jon!

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Nothing could please me more than sharing this news: Jon Groveman, a dear friend to sustainability, is returning to the Vermont Natural Resource Council after serving as General Counsel for the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (since 2011), and as Chair of the Natural Resources Board (appointed in 2015.)

Jon will be the new Policy and Water Program Director at the VNRC, but the benefit of his experience and passion for the work will no doubt be felt throughout the organization.

Having served above and beyond the call as Water Program Director and General Counsel at the VNRC for a number of years, Jon accepted the appointment at ANR in order to see that agency into a new and more meaningful role under the stewardship of Secretary Deb Markowitz.

In the interim, VNRC has grown in size and influence with the commingling of its skills and resources with those of Vermont Conservation Voters to become the keystone of Vermont environmental policy and education that it is today. (Full disclosure: I am proud to currently serve on the board of the VCV.)

With Jon rejoining the ranks, we can look forward to a dynamic future of advocacy for sustainable living at the VNRC, that matches the demands of twenty-first century policy questions.

If all this ‘endorsement’ sounds unusually florid, even for me, it is because Jon was an influence on me at the dawn of my late-flowering grassroots involvement.

For more than ten years, as we, of the Northwest Citizens for Responsible Growth fought to save our local economy and prime agricultural soils from Walmart, Jon was our legal representative and so much more.

We have Jon and his family to thank for the time they sacrificed together so that all of the little legal battles on the way to the big one could be fought in turn. Some of those battles brought important victories for water protection that will benefit Franklin County despite the fact that we were ultimately unable to stop the store from being built.

In the interim won by Jon’s hard labor, market influences within Walmart and the economy as a whole have worked to minimize the store’s ultimate impact on the area. Unlike in Williston, the success of the Walmart application has not resulted in the explosion of secondary growth that was expected to follow.

At this writing, St. Albans’ Walmart (like the cheese) stands alone in the middle of a vast tract of undeveloped property with only a small credit union on the corner of the lot to keep it company.

As it turns out, this may be fortunate for St. Albans, since Walmart has recently announced closure of hundreds of stores and the lay-off of thousands of workers. Walmart is no longer the anchor store it once was, and the big box store is rapidly approaching the same fate as conventional department stores that went the way of the dinosaur.

Jon remains a hero to many friends in Franklin County.  As we look with foreboding to the critical significance of water issues in our future, we are comforted to know that Jon Groveman will be our champion in the courts and beyond.

Welcome home, Jon!

To Hillary: as if it matters

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Piece of advice, Hillary?

Lose the Silver Fox with his foot in his mouth.

Allowing Bill Clinton to lash himself to your campaign did you no favor in 2008. This year, its an even worse idea.

As everyone within shouting distance knows, I am a HUGE Bernie Sanders supporter.

Nevertheless, I recognize Hillary’s competence and experience. If, after a fair primary season, she is the nominee, I will support her.

That being said, I never liked Bill and am liking him less every time he opens his mouth.

What Hillary has to understand is that many Bernie supporters don’t dislike her; but this is despite her husband, who falls just a little to the left of George Bush in the greater scheme of things.  He does nothing to burnish her progressive credentials, if that’s as important to her as it seems to be.

Worse than Monica Lewinsky, he gave us NAFTA and “Don’t ask, don’t tell”…which probably was his personal motto.

Under Boyfriend Bill, the rich got still richer and the myth of American exceptionalism was on steroids.

If it’s all about summoning some sort of racial divide based on voting habits from twenty years ago, that seems more than a little demeaning to minority voters who are, after all, individuals  whose lives have been shaped, much like everyone else’s have, by events and emerging issues from the intervening years.

Please Hillary, PLEASE: send the big boy home.

He will be toxic for your campaign and, by extension, the whole Democratic party.

A Pox on Both Their Houses

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Now that Donald Trump‘s suit of alligator armor has suffered a rent in Iowa, I feel it is safe to say that on one thing we agree: Ted Cruz’s campaign is guilty of fraud.

No matter how you parse the story, Ted Cruz’s tightly run campaign dispersed a false story to Iowa Caucus goers, that Ben Carson was stepping down and his supporters should switch their vote to Cruz. The record of communications clearly demonstrates that this was an attempt to move voters over to Cruz by deliberate deception.

The Cruz campaign attempted to hand-off the blame to CNN. Fortunately, in this era of wall-to-wall records, it’s perfectly clear that the Cruz campaign took the legitimate story carried on CNN that Cruz was not flying to New Hampshire that night but rather to Florida “for a change of clothes,” and transformed it into a boldface lie.

That goes well beyond ‘dirty tricks,’ of which Donald Trump has no doubt played plenty.

Cruz has apologized to Ben Carson, and it is questionable how much of an effect the ruse had on the outcome; but defrauding voters is ‘voter fraud’…something which Republicans are always allegedly combatting in their efforts to suppress votes by minorities.

How is this kind of voter fraud consistent with Ted Cruz’s supercilious holier-than-thou Christian values?

Cruz’s surrogates are dismissing Donald Trump’s call for redress as the predictable whining of a sore loser. ‘True enough; but it’s not as simple as that.

What happened to that great Christian value of accepting responsibility for your actions? Apparently, if you have the credentials of a certified pious zealot, you are entitled to a ‘get-outta-hell’ card every now and again. Just say ‘sorry’ and you’re good to go.

I hope Trump does sue Cruz’s campaign. By all rights, he might just win that one…and he does love to win.