by Jim Sexton

A week ago I resigned from my position as Platform Delegate for the Chittenden County GOP. I have also resigned from the Essex Republicans.

I made this decision because of what I see as the commitment of the State GOP to remove Republican and Conservative values to be more inclusive of the liberal agenda.

The Mission statement from State GOP Chair Paul Dame has been that we need to make a bigger tent. State GOP Rules Chair Tom Koch has stated multiple times, we aren’t going to tell any candidate what they should think, say or do. We need more Republicans in the Statehouse.

More Republicans in the Statehouse would be a good thing. More people who self identify as Republican, then vote for and support the left / far left agenda has nothing to do with more Republicans in the Statehouse. Quite the opposite, it will bring in more people that will continue to remove Republican and Conservative Vermonters from the Statehouse.

I have made multiple efforts to have Phil Scott removed from the Republican Party, each time I was fought by the State GOP. You need a calculator to add up the number of times Scott has lied to and betrayed Republican and Conservative Vermonters.

His 100% rating from Planned Parenthood proves who he is, but there is so much more. From writing unconstitutional gun laws to unconstitutional mandates, to saying, “You Weren’t Essential.” (But planned parenthood, liquor stores and government were, because none of them missed a paycheck. )

Now he has trumped all of those with his support of Prop 5, now Article 22. Which he said he will vote for. So he supports making abortion anytime, anywhere by anyone part of our Constitution. (Look up H 57, the Bill he signed into Law which provides for abortion up to the moment of Birth.)

But Article 22 is far worse than an abortion bill, in fact the word abortion doesn’t appear in the language. Specifically left out to be far more inclusive of whatever a judge would decide – including providing the State the ability to chemically, physically and psychologically harm children, with no restrictions on age. It also provides for the State to criminalize any parent or health care worker that would fight to protect the child. And for the State to decide which elderly life has value and which doesn’t.

And Phil Scott is all in. He isn’t the only Republican, Senator Benning, Representatives Beck, Scheuermann, Walker, Leffler and Martin all voted to advance Prop 5 to the Ballot in November.

I have called for the State GOP to remove support or endorsement from these people. I wrote an Amendment to our State GOP Platform that would provide the members a means of removing support from any candidate who’s differences would deflect from advancing the principles that unite us as a party. This was voted down by a two to one margin at the Platform Committee meeting on April 30.

Paul Dame and Tom Koch are protecting these legislators who have violated the principles that unite us as a party. Their refusal to hold members to the State GOP Platform means the platform does not matter. Because if parts of it are meaningless, all of it is meaningless. It also means they support Article 22, because they support those that have voted for it.

The Democrats and liberals in the Statehouse have proven who they are. Why join them?

The author is a prolife 1A/2A activist, a former candidate for governor, and an Essex Junction resident.