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This was not justice.
by Rob Roper
Senator Sam Douglass was in a group chat of Young Republicans where some people did say some truly disgusting things. There were undeniably antisemitic and anti-black racist terms used, and comments made. This came to light in an article by the hard-left, deeply partisan site, Politico, based on leaked transcripts. The Politico article was posted at 1:15 pm on October 14th. When Governor Scott got wind of it, he immediately – within hours if not minutes of the story’s release at, issued a press release:
The hateful statements made in this group chat are disgusting and unacceptable. The vile, racist, bigoted, and antisemitic dialogue that has been reported is deeply disturbing. There is simply no excuse for it. Those involved should resign from their roles immediately and leave the Republican party – including Vermont State Senator Sam Douglass.
Senate and House Republican leadership immediately followed suit. All calling on him to resign his seat. All shredding this young man’s character and branding him with the labels of “racist, bigot, antisemite.” (A day later the Republican Party Executive Committee did as well.) So, by 6:04 pm, less than five hours after the story broke, Vermont Public was able to go to press with their own hit piece, “Republican state senator faces calls to resign after posting racist messages in group chat.”
Here’s the problem: Sam Douglass didn’t say (or type) anything racist, antisemitic, or bigoted in the leaked transcript. Sam’s single offense – in reportedly 2900 pages of back and forth between fifteen people – was to comment at some point that the former girlfriend of a colleague “just didn’t bathe often.” Insensitive? Yes. Vile? Seems a stretch. Racist, bigoted, antisemitic? Not even close.
In the four hours and fifty-one minutes between the Politico story breaking and the Vermont Public article, during which the Governor’s office and the Republican leadership were able to coordinate messaging and put out statements condemning Senator Douglass in the most vicious terms and calling on him to resign, none of them actually bothered to connect with Senator Douglass. There was no serious attempt to hear his side of the story, let alone give him a chance to tell it.
The next morning, less than twenty hours after the story broke, Senate Minority Leader, Scott Beck (R-Caledonia) was on WVMT’s Morning Drive program discussing the issue and publicly calling for the senator’s resignation, where he admitted that he had not spoken to Douglass nor was he aware of anyone else who had, though he said he did “reach out.” Asked if any of Douglass’ constituents had contacted Beck asking for Douglass to resign, Beck said, “No, not one.” Beck also confessed, “I have never heard this side of him [Douglass] at all.”
So to recap: Without talking to Senator Douglass, despite the allegations being made in a partisan magazine known for doing hit pieces on Republicans, despite the allegations not jibing with his personal experience knowing and serving with Senator Douglass, with no outcry from Douglass’ constituents, and without taking the time to understand the actual make-up and context of the chat (much of how Beck and the Governor described who was in the chat, what was said, and Douglass’ role in it was, upon review, distorted and/or factually incorrect), the entire Republican leadership team decided to destroy this young man’s life.
They tossed him over the side with a bucket of chum to be the subject of a hostile media feeding frenzy, while handing over his head to Democrats so they could stick it on a proverbial pike and gleefully dance around the state. This was not an act of high principle. It was weak and cowardly.
Douglass, in a private on-line conversation, remarked unfavorably upon someone’s personal hygiene practices. It wasn’t nice. Scott, Beck, and later the Republican Party’s Executive Committee, branded this young father of a new baby who worked as hard as anyone to build the Vermont Republican Party and by all accounts served his constituents well, with the most abhorrent terms one can be branded with in today’s society. They destroyed his political career, cost him his job and his ability to financially support his family, and made him a social outcast because that was politically easier than taking a little time to gather the facts and insisting upon a measure of fairness and justice. Where lies the greater moral failing?
This is not to give Sam Douglass a free pass. There were some downright awful things said by others in this group. (Some comments were blatantly taken out of context and sensationalized by Politico, et al. The headliner “I love Hitler” quote, for example, was clearly a sarcastic reference to how the left portrays conservatives, not an expression of genuine affection by the author for the Nazi leader or his policies.)
It’s fair to expect the Senator to explain why he didn’t leave the group when other members were using the N-word and questioning the honesty of Jews. It’s fair to question his judgment in not doing so, keeping in mind that Douglass was elected to represent the Vermont Young Republicans nationally, and leaving this chatroom could in some ways be considered a dereliction of that duty. It may be that some form of reprimand by his colleagues was warranted. It’s possible more information comes out in the future. But the high-tech lynching that took place — in less than five hours — was a punishment that in no way, shape or form fit the crime. It was a crime in and of itself.
Rob Roper is a freelance writer who has been involved with Vermont politics and policy for over 20 years. This article reprinted with permission from Behind the Lines: Rob Roper on Vermont Politics, robertroper.substack.com
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Categories: Commentary
Scott Beck is an embarrassment and a cowardly display of rushing to judgment along with our (Republican?) Governor.
This appears to be the start of a much larger plan, this past weekend the Left started to go after VP Vance, accusing him, without proof and with denials from his wife, that he abuses her. They are also going after a few GOP Congressmen
Then let’s learn from this lynching and pay more attention to challenge it the next time they throw something like this at us.
We fire state troopers for singing rap songs off duty, and everybody thinks that’s ok.
We fire principals of schools because while they state support of the Marxist organization BLM, they think rioting and looting and burning might not endear others to their cause.
We take the full state power and authority against a person with a gun club on his property, yet criminals deal drugs, crime and murder across our state and are immediately let out of arrest with cashless bail and restorative justice.
We are a state that mandates experimental drugs on our citizens.
We are a completely Astro turfed society.
We are owned by lobbyists and NGOs.
This is what is under the hood of Montpelier.
This is all ok under a Scott administration.
Mob mentality is never a good thing
Mob mentality… You mean the Democracy the Left is always afraid of losing.
Scott knows where his bread is buttered. RINO
To the Douglass family. Head West now and vacate the V.S.R. Idaho, Montana, and the Dakota’s would be a good choice.
The south is also great, leave the snow shovel in VT. I winters in Alabama between Pensacola and Mobile. Life is easier and laid back. Great things and places to partake in. and the Blue Angles Navy Flying Team is home in Pensacola, see them for free. Alabama has a lot of industry and opportunities and great fishing. Been doing this since 2001. And it’s only 1500 miles south. Mileage isn’t bad to visit VT if necessary. Am In the Central Time Zone, see the TV shows earlier, they are in Eastern Zone. Many parts of the country are easy to reach, can be west of San Antonio or Oklahoma City in a day. Put Vermont in your rear view mirror. Good luck with whatever. Many people have left VT. and taxes are low.
Why leave Vermont when you can still be a member of the cave monkey club and be popular with the funny folks. Comment from Richard Day.
Hurt the GOP????? They have self inflicted most of the cudgel scars that are over time now beginning to show. How would the Governor or any Legislator like to be treated the way Douglass was??? There is something more to this than what we have heard or read, and it needs to come out. So what did “Me Too” Dame have in the fire for irons?
A political career has been ruined in the GOP, a promising one at that, until a few days ago.
Kangaroo Court!
Go West young family.
Idaho not too shabby but if you can hold out I am pretty sure the political landscape in VT will change dramatically sooner then you think.
I agree with Rob Roper. Sen. Douglas’s punishment is the crime. What happened to freedom of speech? What Happened to innocent until proven guilty? How could Gov. Scott determine in less than 5 hours that politico had all the facts. Why was he so quick to condemn Sen .Douglas? Why did the republican committee jump on the tar and feather band wagon and join the lynch mob? Do they know something I don’t know that would justify this? What happened to Sen Douglas was wrong. He was not given justice. Gov. Scott and the republican committee have ruined a man’s life . How can they sleep at night? I have lost all respect for the gov. and the republican committee. What they did was wrong.
Since when did Vermont become 1692 Salem, Massachusetts?
Sam Douglas should have gotten a break. Knee-jerk reactions are unreliable most of the time. I’ll join the “Keep your seat, Sam” campaign.
We should put our frustration at how Trump is going to give handouts to the american people, much like a socialist country. Trump hates america continues with this quote: “We are a rich country again. We’ll start paying off debt. We’ll probably make a distribution out of some of the tariff money. Going to make a distribution, over the next fairly short period of time, to the people, because we took in so much money from the tariffs. From the European Union $650 billion. Japan $550 billion. South Korea $350 billion.”
The deranged, biden-style nonsense continues from dear king trump. First, he taxes americans through tariffs. Then he says other countries paid the tax. Then he says he’ll pay down the debt! AND he’ll distribute money to struggling citizens and farmers in our country. When will republicans wake up that he is not thinking well. Republicans were so quick to point out every biden misstep. Why so mum now?
Remember the process is the punishment.
As Paul Bean wrote, the VTGOP is nothing bunch a bunch of weenies.
How do young Republicans or even young Democrats learn of such terms and/or behaviors? Somewhere, somehow, someone uttered the terms and set forth the conditioning and programming. It works both ways and society’s ills get exposed constantly – it just depends who get’s chastised and punished for mimicking what others say and do without any consequences whatsoever. Hypocrisy and plausible deniability reigns supreme. The hiercrachy has spoken and ruled, now shut up and go away. This is the new world order – they pick the winners and the losers.
………” Hypocrisy and plausible deniability reigns supreme.”……..no doubt… Deceit is also at a all time high…
Before act 250, Vermont was affordable and growing, a paradise, and wonderful place to live and raise a family. Act 250 killed affordable housing but not housing for the out of state wealthy. Act 250 was one of those great ideas on PAPER, but a HUGE disaster in practice. No one has had spine enough to tell the king he has no clothes.
Well stated Mr.Roper…
Guilty by association. He should have known better!! Glad he was held accountable and stepped aside.
And this is why I Do Not support Vermonts GOP. If I was to do that; I may as well be called a liberal democrat.
Hasn’t the Vt Dailey Chronical and the people making comments wrung out this topic enough? Find something else and move on. Sooner forgotten the better.