As a Vermont Voter

Hello Dennis,

As a Vermont voter, I just wanted to write to lend my voice to the conversation regarding how our legislature will/should vote on the outcome of the recent gubernatorial race. Until I read the news 12-17-14, I had made my peace with the fact that Peter Shumlin would remain our governor. I did not vote for him, but he clearly won a plurality of the popular vote, and with a heavily democratic state government there was (and likely still is) little to no chance that he would not be confirmed by the general assembly. However, given the bombshell that was dropped on Vermonters this week, I feel compelled to speak up.

I don't care how the administration attempts to explain this away, I will never be convinced that, after four long years of research and planning, the exorbitant and insurmountable costs of single-payer healthcare and the taxes required to fund it were not know until a week ago. I am not that stupid and neither are the citizens of Vermont. I truly believe that the timing of this announcement was strategic deception to help mitigate any harm that might have been done to our governor's bid for re-election had this news been revealed before votes were cast. This is disgusting and manipulative political gamesmanship at its worst, and our state and it's citizens deserve better.

I did not vote for Scott Milne either (I supported Dan Feliciano), however I believe that Milne would have won a plurality, if not a majority, of the votes cast had the cost and subsequent abandonment of single-payer healthcare been disclosed before the election. Furthermore, Dan Feliciano's candidacy was primarily based on a steadfast opposition to single-payer healthcare. Had this issue been off the table, I would venture to guess that Dan would have likely rethought making a run for office without the nomination of the Vermont GOP. While one can only speculate as to how Feliciano supporters would have voted without Dan in the race, and it is likely his votes would have been split between Shumlin, Milne, and those who would have foregone casting a gubernatorial vote altogether (such as myself), historical trends in Libertarian voting habits suggest that far more of those votes would have gone to Milne than Shumlin.

Considering the apparent underhandedness of our presumed governor-elect, the likelihood that an honest disclosure of facts would have greatly impacted the outcome of the election, and the fact that a majority of Vermonters did not support our incumbent governor's bid for re-election, I would encourage you and your legislative peers to carefully consider voting for the candidate who carried a plurality in the majority of voting districts, won the majority of counties, and beat Shumlin in the popular vote for House districts, 53-51. As I have already said, I did not vote for Scott Milne (nor do I feel enthusiastic about him even today) and was resigned to Shumlin's impending re-election. But given recent events, I honestly believe that Scott Milne ought to be the recipient of support from our state's general assembly.

Thank you for taking the time to hear my concerns and opinions on this matter, and thank you for your continued service to our state.

Oh, and remember this?  http://vtdigger.org/2011/04/27/vt-senate-gives-final-nod-to-universal-health-care-bill-in-21-9-vote/

Best,

Joe McDonald