by Guy Page
Both VT Chair Paul Dame and surprise House nominee Liam Madden explained their take on Madden’s decision to accept the GOP nomination, despite claiming before the election he wouldn’t.
The following is excerpted from comments made by VT GOP Chair Paul Dame, as published in True North Reports today.
“The fact that Liam entered the race as a Republican says something important. It says that even people who have a mix of conservative and liberal beliefs are more willing to work with Republicans because of our genuine commitment to openness, transparency and fairness. Democrats have routinely blocked out the people that don’t have party loyalty, or don’t follow the dictates of their leaders. See Bernie Sanders in the presidential race, or Cynthia Browning in the VT State House. Independents know that Republicans are open minded and independent thinkers.
“Liam is not a traditional Republican who came from inside the party apparatus, and won a multi-candidate race surprising many. You know who else did that? Donald Trump. A lifelong democrat donor, who previously ran as an Independent.
“Trump won his primary in VT with 30%, he had similar numbers in early primaries in other states. Many discounted him, but it’s undeniable that he activated a voter base that had not previously voted Republican. People came out and voted for Trump that had been ignored by the party establishment. One of the things I’m trying to evaluate is whether Liam is tapping into a voter base that had been ignored by everyone previously and may be harder to categorize as being right or left – depending on the issue. There are 10,000 Republicans in Vermont that think he is the best person to represent us. And while I suspect that there are few — perhaps no one in this room who voted for Liam — that indicates to me that about one third of Republican primary voters are not being represented by the people in this room. If we don’t know anyone who voted for the winner of our party’s primary — then it says that our circles are too small, and there are other Republicans out there that we need to meet, and listen and learn from. What would our party look like if these people came in and worked alongside us to defeat the Progressive agenda that is getting out of control?
“Liam received 10,701 votes from people who are Republican enough to go vote in the August primary and pull a Republican ballot despite an intense primary on the Democrat side. Liam’s number of votes is very close to Christina Nolan’s 10,825.
“I heard from others that we need to know that there are Republicans — real Republicans — out there in VT that have no connection to our current party structure. The same was true of all of us at one point. I think we have to consider whether Liam’s campaign has the potential to draw in some new people that have been on the sidelines.”
“I would like to explain my decision to keep the Republican nomination” – excerpted from a post Friday by Liam Madden on Ericka Redic’s Generally Irritable” Facebook page.
“Dear Ericka and Supporters of Ericka, I would like to explain my decision to keep the Republican nomination.
“Because I want to be an option for voters on the general election ballot, which was the entire purpose of my candidacy, I’ve decided to accept the Republican nomination. My entire life as a Vermont voter, I saw that Bernie Sanders participated in a party primary and declines the nomination to run as an independent in the general election. For nearly the entire election, I didn’t understand that the only reason Bernie can decline the Democratic party nomination and be an independent in the general was that he and the Democratic party had to agree ahead of time to not replace the spot on the ballot he was leaving open with another candidate. Upon learning this, I had reasonable doubts that the Republican party would want to leave the spot open if I declined the nomination.
“I obviously don’t want a three person race, that defeats the purpose of winning a primary.
“I also erroneously assumed that the winner of a primary automatically gets to be on the general election ballot, and if he/she and the party can agree to part ways mutually, then I would be able to be on a ballot as an independent without having to resubmit my 500 ballot signatures, or face a competitor I’ve already beat. (And why shouldn’t that be the case?)
“I want to emphasize that I made a mistake in my interpretation of election law, in assuming I could run as an independent if I won a primary and then declined the nomination. But I also have doubts that this mistake would have made a difference in outcome, because I would never have declined the nomination knowing that another candidate would be allowed to compete in the general after losing to me in the primary. Who among us would win an election just to allow the defeated competitor another chance?
“If the GOP wanted to keep the general ballot open, and the Secretary of State would allow me to run as an independent, that is exactly what I would want to do. I called the Secretary of State’s office, and they flatly denied that possibility.
“So here I am, an independent with a message that transcends parties, and I must use a party as a vehicle to deliver that message. If elected, I would govern as an independent and I would caucus with both parties cyclically or neither party to maintain my independence.
“Ericka Redic is making alot of comments that claim dishonesty instead of accepting the fact that I earnestly thought winning the primary entitled me to be on the general election ballot, and that party designation was there for me to choose or decline. I was wrong, bureaucratically, but not ethically. I was extremely up front with voters that I am an independent; and they chose my candidacy over hers. I think they chose me because they thought I would be a good representative, and the label was as unimportant to them as it is to me.
“I share values with Republicans. I believe in protecting the 2nd Amendment, enforcing strong borders, supporting our police, and championing small businesses. I stand on guard against the potential for the government to use fear narratives to weaponize health and environmental regulations to harm the freedom, openness and prosperity of our society. I do not think it is wise of Ericka to attempt to split the vote of people who share these values so that a Democrat can more easily waltz through the general election. If Ericka can’t beat me in a Republican Primary, we all know that she stands even less chance of winning in a general election with both me and the liberal darling Becca Balint. For all people who like and respect Ericka, as I do, I would urge her to understand that she is not being effective in helping uphold these shared values. She is an extremely bright and compassionate person who feels probably shocked, disappointed and angry. I am happy to talk to her publicly to be accountable for my mistake and to make clear that there are many ways I hope to work together to advance our shared values.
“Respect and gratitude, Liam”