By Guy Page
A Progressive legislator and a free-market columnist disagree over whether the legislator was misquoted in his remarks about a controversial tax increase on the Floor of the House.
On Wednesday, VDC received the following email from Rep. Brian Cina (D/P – Burlington).
“I would appreciate it if you corrected your publication, acknowledged that you made a mistake, and quoted me properly. Your publication continues to do this to me. Do you follow standards of professional journalism?”
The quote in question was first in Rob Roper’s Substack column and then March 29 in VDC, in a commentary titled: “Democrats say, “Read My Lips: Yes! New taxes!” Republicans say, GET REAL!.” Roper quotes Cina speaking on the March 26 House floor debate of H.721 (pg. 878), which expands Medicaid eligibility by raising the corporate income tax:
“Read my lips: Yes! New taxes!”
In his April 3 email to VDC, Cina wrote, “Here is what I said: “Madam Speaker: Read my lips, yes, new taxes on corporations, so that Vermont can take this important step forward toward guaranteeing the human right of health care to all Vermonters.” He then offered a rewrite of Roper’s paragraph.
VDC asked Roper to respond to Cina’s criticism. In brief, Roper said his column referenced the context of the vote on raising corporate taxes. Furthermore: “I stand by my conclusion that the spirit of your words transcends that single issue and encapsulates the attitude — and the voting record — of you and your colleagues this biennium.”
His entire response to Cina, openly cc’d to VDC, appears below:
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the note.
Here’s what the article I wrote says…
on the floor of the House following a vote to make Vermont the state with the highest corporate taxes in the nation, Progressive Democrat Brian Cina of Burlington took up the microphone and told Vermonters, “Read my lips: Yes! New taxes!” Cina’s — what should we call it? Attitude?… Promise?… Threat? — is characteristic of the Dem/Prog supermajority under the Golden Dome. He/they mean it!
It’s not just the corporate tax they’re jacking up, it’s the 20 percent property tax increase they just slammed us with, the new $100 million payroll tax that kicks in in July, the 20 percent hike in DMV fees that started in January, the 70 cent per gallon home heating carbon tax that’s coming after 2025, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. They’re also looking at sales tax increases and/or expansions, a tax on internet software, a sweetened beverage tax, a Clean Transportation carbon tax on gas and diesel to go along with the Clean Heat carbon tax, the Renewable Energy Standard bill that just passed the House will add as much as a billion to our electric bills, an income tax surcharge that would give Vermont one of the highest marginal income tax rate in the country while kicking in at one of the lowest income thresholds….
So, I did put your quote in the correct context of a vote for an increase in the corporate tax. I stand by my conclusion that the spirit of your words transcends that single issue and encapsulates the attitude — and the voting record — of you and your colleagues this biennium. If if erred in that you, in fact, have not voted for a significant number of bills that significantly increase taxes, fees, and regulatory costs for Vermonters, I’ll happily write a correction. But, you’ll have to show me where I’m wrong here.
Thanks again for reaching out. For what it’s worth, I appreciated your comments and vote on S.18.
Respectfully, Rob
Cina’s comment has elicited significant comment on VDC. New columnist Michael Stack (“When the Taxpayer Just Stops Paying”, April 2) said Cina’s comment is a real-life example of the adage, “belligerence is the truest sign of lack of ability.”
To his credit, Cina – an outspoken, flamboyant figure in the State House, sponsor or co-sponsor of 175 bills and resolutions this session, and an early leader in the need for state-level understanding of Artificial Intelligence – responds to many of his emails, even those from critics. A longtime VDC reader emailed him on the morning of April 3:
“Good evening, Mr. Read My Lips Yes New Taxes!, Thank you for your comment, and sarcasm duly noted. If I were a member of a body delivering the highest education cost in the nation, replete with such abysmal results, I do not think I would be quite as arrogant as you. Unfortunately, I have noticed that those least prepared for legislative duty seem to be most interested in it.”
During the afternoon, Cina replied:
“Ha ha so funny.”
The exchange occurred this week as the assistant majority leader Jana Brown (D-Richmond) mailed to VDC and other news outlets a string of commentaries defending the supermajority’s votes on housing, Act 250, the budget, and climate change. Two (by Reps. Marc Mihaly and Larry Satcowitz) have already been published by VDC and a third will be published soon. This is the first House majority initiative directed to VDC in its seven years of publication.
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