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My name is Mark Coester.
Some of you know me; some of you don’t. I want to address the recent controversy stirred by the Politico “left-wing rag” hit piece targeting the Young Republicans and Vermont’s leadership, allegedly going after Samuel Douglas.
First, I have been familiar with Telegram since 2020, using it and expanding my presence there. As a Republican, I noticed significant censorship on Facebook in 2020, as well as on what was then Twitter, YouTube, and Google. We did what we could to bypass this and use free speech platforms. While it may not seem like many, a fair estimate is that 30,000 Vermonters use or have used Telegram. Numerous people in the GOP, even those in their 80s, have been using Telegram for some time.
Yes, I have participated in chats. Some channels have a main channel and a behind-the-scenes chat accessible through two portals. From the main channel, a user cannot see what’s in the back chat, which is usually overseen by admins or moderators.
I have created channels and served as an admin on others, alongside as many as 15 other admins. It can be chaotic. Eventually, one learns about spam, bots, and nefarious actors. Group chats can often become honeypots or traps for propaganda. They are typically free speech spaces, though some have stricter rules than others.
Automated post deletions, adding, and removing posts can complicate things. Factually, if you reply to a post high up in the chat, your reply appears at the bottom, which could be 100 or even 1,000 posts later. One would need to scroll back to see what’s in between. For example, I’m looking now at channel logs: one channel out of 50 or more has 26,953 posts I haven’t viewed, another has 2,110 unviewed, and another has 27,721 I haven’t bothered to look at. Truthfully, I don’t have the time. Here’s an example from “The Vigilant Fox”: 3,422 posts not viewed. The last one has a title, “Liberal influencer claims political violence ‘overwhelmingly comes from the right.’” It includes a 1:45-minute video and some text, discussing a town hall at the Kennedy Center. @AndrewKolvet replied to that statement.
My point is, I skipped 3,421 posts to look at the last one. I’ve been doing this for years. Unless it’s my job as an admin, I don’t review every post. As an admin, I took my role seriously, deleting spam, bots, or other garbage that violated the rules and occasionally responding to questions if I thought I could help.
In 2022, one of our channels was attacked by 2,500 bots and spam per week ahead of the election. I found a Telegram tool that kept it 95% cleaner and passed it to the channel owner, solving the problem.
Let it be clear: I am not Samuel Douglas’s close friend. We barely know each other, having worked on one committee together, and I’ve seen him at events. We are separated by distance and age.
I’ve seen what the so-called VT GOP leadership has done in some knee-jerk reaction. God can attest I’m no perfect soul, but I find it completely appalling that young Sam, whose wife has either recently given birth or soon will, has been trashed so thoroughly for things that are so simple . How do you ever expect to keep young families in Vermont ? Lord have mercy, you’re all outrageous. I could curse a blue streak at the political posturing and claims of “Vermont values.”
When not one of you can condemn Antifa, BLM , the Muslim brotherhood or even state publicly that there are only 2 genders.
Each of you must look in the mirror every day, unless you’re all “unwashed.” For a party that would cannibalize its youth, you should either repent or face the consequences of bending the knee to the radical left, as Nancy Pelosi did in the House Chambers in 2020.
As for me, I will die on my feet fighting for the Constitution and what’s right. Be aware: the youth will not look kindly on any of the “alleged” leaders who threw Sam under the bus in the blink of an eye. Every Republican leader should apologize for losing touch with God and compassion.
Look to Socrates for philosophy, not the linear mob mentality of the far-left radicals.
God bless you all, and I’ll cuss you no more today.
The author is a Westminster resident, logger, and 2024 and 2026 candidate for U.S. Congress.
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Categories: Commentary
Thankyou Mark, spot on.
Yes …. Thank you Mark!! Very Well Said!!
Thank you for the education about Chats too. Context and details are necessary for understanding. We are all imperfect human beings and if we will each look in the mirror to see our own mistakes, flaws and regrets for loosely spoken words, we would not be so quick to rush to judgement and condemnation.
Several Elected Leftists/Dems call Republicans and those who believe in Law and Order vile names all day long. They malign and condemn our U.S. President and other people groups such as Jews, Christians and the whole White Race. Is anyone condemning them and asking for their resignations?
It used to be that breaking the Law was seen as crossing the line and unacceptable for Elected Officials. Now that is also pushed aside depending on “who” it is that is breaking the Law. VT Governor Scott should look at and assess himself to answer for his administration’s failures of violating Federal Immigration Laws on an ongoing basis. All while he passes along the costs to Vermont Taxpayers.
Governor Scott and those who joined him to quickly condemn VT Senator Douglass before getting facts and understanding, owe him an apology. In the meantime, as a Member of the Vermont Republican Party, I want to apologize to you Senator Douglass for the wrong actions of those who call themselves Vermont Republicans. DON”T QUIT!! Apologize if necessary and Move On!!
Mark, You’ve got my vote on this alone. I’ve called for Politico to release the full leaked chat logs.
It has come to my attention, due to filed federal court affidavidts from SBA General Counsel Advisor Michael Bartels, this entire release is the result of an exortion scheme engineered by U.S State Department Staffer Gavin Wax. The heavily edited released information may be doctored or altered and should not be impacting Vermont in this way.
Kevin can you send me information about that? very interesting
Apparently, Sam Douglass has not publicly admitted to nor denied making the specific statement attributed to him in the leaked Telegram chats, where he responded to a discussion about a mutual acquaintance with the racist stereotype, “She just didn’t bathe often.” According to reports from Politico, VTDigger, and other sources published around October 14-16, 2025, Douglass has not issued any public statement addressing the remarks or the broader controversy surrounding the leaked chats. Unlike other chat participants, such as Peter Giunta, who acknowledged and apologized for the offensive language while questioning the context, Douglass has remained silent and has not confirmed or disputed the authenticity of the remarks attributed to him. As of October 16, 2025, there is no record of Douglass admitting to or addressing the alleged statement.
According to VT Digger; He (Douglas) added that his comment highlighted in the Politico story “was not a generalization and doesn’t represent my views or character.”
Unless Mr. Douglas takes a stand to definitively defend himself, his silence will be seen as implied consent… the proverbial non-denial denial.
On the other hand, if Politico has indeed misrepresented this issue – another $15 million defamation lawsuit (e.g., ABC v. Trump) will be in order and Sam Douglas will ultimately benefit from the exposure.
In the final analysis, none of this is ‘very interesting’ until it’s verified, and Sam Douglas should act on the truth of the matter that, apparently, he and a few others already know.
With all due respect, Mark, Sam Douglas didn’t just fail to read the thousands of remarks on this nationally carried platform. Sam Douglas responded to one line of discussing a mutual acquaintance who had dated an Indian woman described as “very obese,” another participant (identified as Giunta) clarified that the woman “was not Indian.” Douglass replied: “She just didn’t bathe often.” This remark perpetuated a derogatory racial stereotype about hygiene and South Asian people, fitting into the chat’s broader pattern of offensive exchanges.
And no, it’s not that all politicians are angels either. Far from it. Imagine the uproar and equivocation that would have resulted from President LBJ’s widespread use of slurs about black Americans after the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act if there was an internet at the time. And speaking of internet casualties, consider Joe Biden’s 2008 remark’s about Barack Obama, not to mention now President DJT’s 2005 conversation about women with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush.
If only as much attention was assigned to those who pass healthcare, education, and energy management laws in seeming obscurity, laws that financially benefit themselves and their special interest enablers to the detriment of those they say they’re trying to help and at the expense of taxpayers.
Sam Douglas should take the high road and resign. Let him learn from his careless judgment and, perhaps, return to the fray after another inevitable faux pas takes center stage in front of an electorate with a clearly questionable attention span.
Jay;
While we agree on many things, here I will only say that if you play in their sandbox, they win.
HRC used the Billy Bean tape to DISTRACT from the real damage that would have accrued from the Wikileaks release.
Now the same machine is using this ginned up outrage to DISTRACT from their myriad failures and the Trump administration’s spectacular successes.
What if he was just being accurate? You know it’s racist and colonial oppression to suggest showering every day is normal? That’s western oppression of ideals and leading to climate disaster, this is their position for real.
Taking a shower every day is not colonial oppression and not going to be the ruin of our planet, think what you want.
People of different countries, within the same country smell differently, due to hygiene, due to what they eat, due to their activities, that’s a fact. Go on an airplane, in a locker room, bus, at work, some people stink of too much cologne!
Went to battery park years ago to play saxophone at the band stand with my great uncle, smelled of urine, much of Burlington smells of urine. Am I racist? Am I oppressing the homeless? Am I just accurate in describing this smell of urine? You decide, cancel me!
Sounds like a misuse of pronouns. If he said ‘they don’t ….
Will the U. S. Government stay shut down for 33 days like the Charlie Kirk bull sh..???? Comment from Richard Day.
Oh dear! Shame on me. As a teenager, I laugh at such a thing. (Tongue in cheek😒)
https://youtu.be/QZ1Z5TIx4wI
Thank you Mr Coester that is
it exactly .
How many people think that Gov. Scott will apologize to Sen. Douglas for calling him a “vile, bigoted, racist antisemite?
Looks like a hit job from the left in my book!!
Keep up the Great fight and hard work true American Patriots and I say TRUE!!
NOT WOKE, LIKE MANY!!
Like allways that Vermonter!!
Thank you Mark.
Mark is exposing what is a rift in the Republican party between those of us that believe in our institutions, follow Phil Scott, and see the other side as misguided but still our neighbors. The other side, the MAGA wing, believes in chaos, stands for nothing, and falls for anything. If the MAGA wing wins, then say goodbye to any representation in Vermont outside of a few enclaves.
What was really exposed is that the Democrat Party has been co-opted by Communists that now run the party and our state and are trying to dismantle our Constitution, unless of course when they quote it to suit them. The Phil Scott party is what the Democrat used to be, soft, and that’s how they got taken over by the AOCs and the Bernies What Mark is exposing is how MAGA is Making America Great Again by enforcing laws already passed and following our Constitution. Thank You Mark.
THIS IS THE DEMOCRATS current “Call-everyone-a-racist! ” ATTACK. This “news attack” is all over the USA on many other candidates- this is not real and we must support Brianna and Sam Douglass!
I know Sam well enough to know this is not him. Mark makes the point very well. Too quick to judge and condemn.
Thank you Mark…
I am deeply disappointed by the Vermont GOP’s call for Sam Douglas to resign. His comment about someone rarely showering is not racist; it’s simply an observation. As Republicans, we need to show more backbone. This is a crucial moment for the GOP to demonstrate its commitment to young people and African Americans, yet they choose to attack someone with the potential to engage many young individuals in our party.
The VT GOP has sent a clear message that young conservative voices can’t afford to make mistakes without facing immediate condemnation. Meanwhile, Democrats are allowed to make extreme statements, including calls for violence against conservatives, without facing the same scrutiny. I find myself missing Charlie Kirk, who would have stood by Sam Douglas and criticized the VT GOP for its inconsistent standards.
I support Donald Trump because he speaks the truth and doesn’t worry about the opinions of the media, which he knows is often misleading. The Vermont GOP needs to refocus on why it struggles to attract young voters and why more African Americans aren’t getting involved in the party. This situation with Sam Douglas highlights a significant communication issue that keeps the VT GOP disconnected from those who truly matter.
Thank you! I am 100% in agreement. These young men were thrown to the wolves by those that should be their mentors.