Congresswoman Balint has joined the ranks of the lukewarm leftists
by Kolby LaMarche
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of any individuals or organizations mentioned.
Last week, I embarked on a grand expedition to a bug-infested swamp – our glorious nation’s capital.
I was a delegate from Vermont to the Moral Poverty Action Congress of the Poor People’s Campaign (PPC), a non-partisan coalition. Though I enjoyed the enriching three-day convention, one particular incident stood out to me.
One of the more pivotal components of the convention’s program involved over 700 PPC members meeting with their respective congressional delegates.
For Vermonters in attendance that included meeting with Congresswoman Becca Balint (It’s worth noting, in case you haven’t heard it recently, that she holds the distinction of being the first woman and LGBTQ2S+++ individual elected to Congress from Vermont).
The meeting followed a simple format: VTPPC delegates had the opportunity to share their experiences, statistical data, and advocacy for the eradication of poverty in the U.S. Moreover, VTPPC delegates informed Balint about a resolution that would be introduced hours later, urging her to co-sponsor the resolution as a statement of her support. Certainly a progressive like Balint would lend her support to such a movement, right?
Alas, despite receiving a substantial packet of information for her staff to peruse, despite directly meeting with VTPPC members and even posing for a photograph with them, and despite being told about the forthcoming resolution, Balint’s professed solidarity waned. And her name remains absent from the list of co-sponsors even as of today.
Ash Hickey, a healthcare worker and VTPPC member who attended the meeting, wrote a letter to Balint after she realized the congresswoman never signed on to the resolution. Hickey wrote in part “I was disappointed to hear today that you were not on the list as one of the many representatives in support of our Resolution for the Poor People’s Campaign. I hoped and expected, because you were able to take time to snap a picture with us showing your support, and being the progressive candidate from Vermont, your name to have been on the list.”
But it wasn’t just Balint’s inaction that was frustrating. It was also her behavior.
Ronni Liddell, a community advocate, public speaker, and VTPPC member, recounted the meeting telling me, “I felt just as overlooked as I do when the Mayor of Burlington passes me on a pretty regular basis and has never once bothered to learn and remember my name. I honestly did not hold high hopes of being heard but I felt as if I was so beneath [Balint] in class and experience that she did not bother to relate to me as a human being.”
It seems Congresswoman Balint has joined the ranks of the lukewarm leftists who regrettably tarnish the image of progress and who make calling myself a leftist an even harder pill to swallow.
On another note, during my Hilton stay, Snapchat’s map feature kindly informed me that just a short elevator ride down and a casual amble through the revolving doors would grant me the privilege of standing where Ronald Reagan took a bullet. Tough luck to the Teflon president.
The author of Burning Sky, a weekly critique and commentary, is a Burlington native and former GOP, now leftist activist.