by Gerald Malloy
I love Vermont and, frankly, all Vermonters have a critical decision to make: move forward or continue struggling. Will Vermonters consider, objectively, the candidates, the state of Vermont, and the opportunity in front of them? Vermont’s future is on the line.
We’ve seen 12 vetoes from our Governor overridden by the supermajority in 13 months. The banner on my socialist opponent’s X/Twitter account reads “the struggle continues”. Please think about that. Vermont is unaffordable, unsafe, and a place to leave – I’ve met 50,000 Vermonters, that’s reality in Vermont now. Struggling. And getting worse.
Those overrides delivered the 14% average property tax and many more burdens, like the estimated $17 billion taxpayer bill for Act 18, an additional carbon tax of $3.20/gallon, and lawsuits. My opponent has been a MOC 34 years. He has delivered little except false promises; self-fulfilling ‘the struggle continues’.
Vermont is in a fentanyl/crime crisis. All of Vermont. Please ask yourself what has the current administration, your Congressional delegation, or your supermajority state Legislature done about it? The answer is not good; enabling, supporting, ignoring. Remember when you looked forward to going to Burlington? Rutland, Brattleboro, Bennington, St Johnsbury, Springfield, on and on, are in trouble.
Every day I meet Vermonters 18-50 that are moving to NH, Tennessee, Texas, or Florida. Exodus, an ominous sign for Vermont’s future. Older Vermonters are truly struggling – yet Congress keeps running up the $35,000,000,000,000 debt, more than 120% of GDP, and Social Security becomes more insolvent. Vermont is not business friendly. To change that will take elected reps with business/work experience, not career politicians.
Career politicians have led us to this state. It’s not working for Vermont. What will work is balance, experience producing results, listening, and common sense solutions like the GET REAL platform.
We’ve seen the truth come out, the misleading, about President Biden’s capacities, back to the 2020 campaign and ‘the basement’. We have inflation from the 40-year high in 2022, it’s painful buying groceries. Wars now in Europe, the Middle East, and we’ve seen all 3 members of Vermont’s Congressional delegation skip the Israel PM’s recent visit, even with Americans held hostage 300 days by Hamas terrorists.
We’ve seen an assassination attempt. We saw a toning down of the angry rhetoric, but it has returned, on both sides – that is not productive and that surely is not Vermont.
Now is not the time to check out, put your head in the sand, or, as my Mom (RIP) used to say, cut your nose off to spite your face.
This past weekend I visited Cabot, Barre, Plainfield, and Ludlow. In Cabot I saw this glass and bought it as I took Latin and ‘carpe diem’ was my HS yearbook quote back in 1980.
Vermont does not have to struggle continuously. There’s an opportunity right in front of all Vermonters for themselves and the 14th star to shine bright. Seize the day.
The author is a Perkinsville resident and Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.