by Paul Dame
The Horse Hair Worm is a fascinating creature. It’s a small parasite, just a few inches long that attaches to its host not only to gain its own benefit directly from the host but also takes control of the host’s body to move it into a position more favorable to its own interest.
In many ways this is exactly what Progressives have done to the Democrat Party. Given the results of the primary where the farthest left candidate in every race won, it seems their mission has been nearly accomplished. There is no longer any room for Democrats who want to think for themselves, or take a more centrist tack. We have been watching this play out over the years in the House when Democrat leadership has aggressively pushed out independent thinking women like Linda Joy Sullivan and Cynthia Browning. Even this past year Thomas Bock of Springfield committed the crime of listening to his constituents when they asked him not to raise the price of home heating fuel, and for his disobedience to the Party he was brought to the speaker’s office several times. And now he is gone.
“There is no longer any room for Democrats who want to think for themselves, or take a more centrist tack.”
– Paul Dame, VT GOP Chair
This is proof that the Progressive Democrats in Montpelier do not share the Vermont values of independent thought and a diversity of perspectives. They instead are focused on uniformity on every significant issue, and put sufficient pressure on their members to make sure they play ball or go home.
There used to be room in the Democrat Party for people like President Kennedy, or Bill Maher. But that party doesn’t exist anymore because the Progressives have found a functional host by infiltrating the Democrats. Tomorrow I’ll be on VPR along with representatives from the other two major parties, and I challenge anyone to identify one difference between the Progressives and the Democrats.
As Progressives push the Democrat Party, and our country as a whole, farther and farther to the left the old Democrats are either unable to stop it, or are willing accomplices. In Vermont Democrats are pushing way beyond the extremes to support complex new taxes on home heating fuel while in the middle of an affordability crisis, unregulated abortions up to the point of birth, and prescribing puberty blockers to children without parental consent. Is this what JFK would have fought for?
Democrats have failed to stop this Progressive Push and now voters must turn toward the Republican Party to bring our state back from the far extremes of the Progressive movement.
Vermont Republicans have always had and maintained their tradition for independent thinking because we believe that when we listen to people with different perspectives, we can make our policy better and stronger.
-Republicans believe that parents have incredibly important insights as to how their kids learn, what’s working, what isn’t and how we can reform the focus of our educational system.
-Republicans also thoughtfully defend the pocketbooks of Vermonters and were uniformly opposed to measures that make it more expensive to live here even before the Bidenflation crisis hit.
-Republicans believe one of the chief roles of government is to maintain public safety, so we are fighting for policies that support our police, first responders and members of the armed services who do their best to protect us everyday.
And while Republicans have been defending Vermonters on those issues, the Progressive Democrats have pushed us farther and farther into areas that serve their ideological interests. Meanwhile Republicans want to ensure that we protect public safety, parental rights and affordability in order to serve the people of Vermont.