To the editor:
Politicians are applying to us for jobs. They are supposed to work on our behalf, either in Montpelier or Warshington.
During this mid-term cycle, I have written to many of the candidates, asking for more information on their positions. Most of them couldn’t be bothered replying. I have never gotten a reply from Becca Balint in all her time in office. I have to assume that it is her policy to never reply to constituents.
I emailed Myers Mermel because I was intrigued by his description of himself as a man of peace. No Reply. I wrote him a letter. No reply. I’ve written to Gerald Malloy. No reply. I wrote to Christina Nolan. No reply. I wrote to Ericka Redic. No reply.
Granted, I tend to ask tough questions and be challenging on issues that are important to me. Like who is considering whether or not our policy regarding Ukraine (dating back to the coup we engineered in 2014) is likely to push the planet into WWIII.
I got a single thoughtful reply, early on, from Sianay Chase Clifford, or someone connected with her campaign. I’ve had an ongoing respectful email conversation with Liam Madden. And Mark Coester offered to have lunch with me. And, while I liked him very much and, post-pandemic, am totally on board with and absolutely adamant about his main issue of medical freedom (mark4vermont.com), I have to say he quite cagily avoided answering most of my questions directly during a long lunch.
I don’t understand why a candidate would have a “Contact” button on a campaign website and totally blow off someone who seeks more information and clarification of positions. Someone remarked to me that a candidate should feel honored by anyone who is interested in their campaign. You would think…
But then, my experience with Bernie Sanders’ office is that English is the second or third language therein. There has been a huge problem in that office for years with reading comprehension, in my experience. Peter Welch strikes me as having nothing but scorn for constituents. And I’ve never understood just exactly what Patrick Leahy stands for. The anthrax letter sent to his office in 2001 cowed him forever, in my opinion.
Jacqueline Brook
Putney
Categories: Opinion
I have written so many of them and asked questions and only ONE responded to me. “THEY” forget who they work for!
You should stand behind your statement with your real name. 😉
I’ll answer this question as to why you’re getting blown off: Because democrat candidates are largely funded by out-of-state interests & donors and KNOW they are essentially a shoe-in for winning here in VT. Why SHOULD they respond to you? They simply don’t need to.
I sent a query to Kathleen James of Manchester several weeks ago through her legislative office website. I haven’t heard squat in response.
Remember the days when Governor Douglas was in office & when you phoned the governor’s office a human being actually picked up the call? Then, they proceeded to direct you to the individual or department where you could garner assistance & they requested that you contact them again if your issue was not resolved.
Apparently, Communism or Marxism doesn’t quite work this way, particularly if you are now an “enemy combatant” of the new “Liberal World Order” government as expressed by President Biden. We are not “one of them”. Thank God.
For a group of candidates who so “genuinely” believe in the forces of good that Communism or Marxism will bring forth to all – they sure don’t practice what they preach. Typical.
My experience has been similar although I must say I have had responses from Bernie and Welch. However, I’ve usually forgotten what I wrote to them about by the time I get a reply and have to dig into my files. And their answers are digitally generated form letters that have nothing to do with with the question. An email reply I received from Sen. Dick McCormack had a disrespectful personal insult aimed at me regarding my opinion. I’m an Independent and will no longer vote for anyone on the Dem ticket. It goes without saying McCormack is on my reject list.
With all due respect Cathy, what is an independent? Both parties have platforms and policies, voting for a candidate because you think that person is what you want is redundant. A candidate will most likely vote with the party they belong to because of loyalty to the cause and for support from the party for the candidates ideas to flow. I never understood independent, that means a person can’t decide which party to support. Reading the platform should give anyone an idea as to what party represents them. Independent candidates have to caucus with one party or the other. Independent candidate is a fallacy and a way for candidates to hide to get votes. After an election you know who they are by the party they caucus with. An example is Bernie who calls himself an independent but is always a faithful dem/prog vote. I’m not criticizing, just explaining what I see.
I can’t speak for any of the Republican candidates except that life on the campaign trail is incredibly busy. I’m a (R) candidate from Chittenden 23 in Essex, find that the only people who ask me specifics are when I go door to door (which I’m always happy to answer) OR on Facebook. In that latter case, they are usually trolling me and demand answers so as to criticize me. That said, Kathleen Gaffney above answered your question accurately: the Democrats don’t need to answer because they’re so confident that they’ll win AGAIN (they have had majority power in Montpelier for 48 years so their wish list always gets passed–which is ALWAYS to make us spend more $$$ or go further liberal). I can assure you that Republicans are ready to stand up for YOU, family, your freedom & are Constitution-loving Americans who are just as tired of the same ole policies as you are. We are FOR you and do not want to control you (as they say we do). Oh and while we’re here, check out an online a program called “Emerge Vermont”. It’s a class which teaches Democrat (only) women legislators how to think, act, talk and respond to Republicans and people to promote their agenda. It’s a training camp for liberals! Please vote Republican this November so we can finally implement some good change. Now if only the Federal Gov’t would help out but….oh but that’s controlled by Dems too!
Democrats prioritize virtue signaling over honest responses and candor. They have their talking points dictated to them and anyone who expresses ideas outside of that rigid orthodoxy is considered to be, as mentioned by another commenter, an “enemy combatant”. The clever ones have ways of changing the subject or giving a circular argument and the really clever ones make you feel guilty for even bringing up an issue.
When Bernie was first elected to Congress he made a remarkable statement about he dairy program. I called his office to inquire where he got that factoid. An earnest young man there said he’d try to find out. He stayed in touch for about 6 months and I finally said “suppose you just ask the Congressman where he got that fact”? About a week later he called me and reported “We have no idea where the Congressman got that fact.” I give the lad A for effort. Bernie, not so much.
it’s election season and suddenly (about June of this year) after hearing nothing, looonnnggg response time to emails or calls, we start getting “newsletters” from Sanders/Welch……..too late! voters are paying attention now like never before……our very lives depend on it now………