By Guy Page
The VT Republican State Party Committee Saturday adopted a Chittenden County Committee resolution to not financially support self-declared independent U.S. House candidate Liam Madden, who defeated two better-known Republicans in Tuesday’s primary.
Voters gave Madden a plurality victory of 35% of Republican voters. Ericka Bundy Redic and Anya Tynio gathered 27% and 23% respectively.
The state committee vote at Capital Plaza in Montpelier appeared to find insufficient the party executive committee’s recommendation to take no official party action on voters’ selection of Madden over better-known candidates Ericka Redic and Anya Tynio.
At the outset of Saturday’s gathering, state chair Paul Dame stated that the party was indeed in “uncharted territory.”
Before Tuesday’s election, Madden – a Bellows Falls resident, anti-war activist, solar developer, and avowed foe of the two-party system – had promised to decline the nomination if chosen. But on Thursday he pleaded ignorance about state law regarding independent candidates. He said he had believed the GOP nomination would remain vacant if he chose to run as an independent. Upon learning the GOP would run another candidate if he declined the nomination, he reluctantly accepted it.
In his opening remarks, Dame noted that perhaps primary voters saw something in Madden that others failed to see. He also noted that likeminded GOP candidates, unlike Democrat House candidates Kesha Ram and Becca Balint, didn’t join forces against a primary challenger. He added that as state chair, he has no plans to provide financial or manpower resources to Madden.
But state committee members wanted a non-support statement on the record. They adopted almost unanimously the following resolution passed by Burlingtonian Redic’s home committee, the Chittenden County Republican Party:
“Whereas 15(a) of the Vermont Republican Party Rules regarding ethical behavior states that: A member of the Republican State Committee shall: 1. Endeavor to protect and promote the best interests of the Vermont Republican Party; and, 2. Endeavor to protect against unethical practice or misrepresentation in matters to do with the Vermont Republican Party
“Whereas Liam Madden, the candidate who received the most votes in the Vermont Republican Primary on August 9 th , 2022, has stated publicly that he is not a Republican and would not caucus with the U.S. House of Representatives Republican Caucus; He has never publicly promised to vote for a Republican as Speaker of the House.
“Be it resolved that the Vermont Republican Committee shall not commit any resources, financial or otherwise, towards the election of Liam Madden to the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont.”
Redic will be on the November 8 general election ballot on the Libertarian Party ticket. For some Republican leaders, this is an opportunity to deliver on the wishes of the majority of GOP voters for a traditional Republican candidate.
It was clear at the VTGOP meeting this past weekend the intention of the VTGOP is to have one of the two Republican women represent the party in the fall election,” Lamoille County Republican Chair Tom McLinden of Stowe said in a letter sent last night. “If Republicans support Ericka en masse the election turns into a race with one Republican-backed candidate running against two Democrats: Liam Madden, and Becca Balint. This is a race Ericka can win, and Republicans can make it happen if they just get out of their own way and provide Ericka the support she needs to prevail.”
In a post Friday on Redic’s ‘Generally Irritable’ Facebook page, Madden sought to explain his reasoning for accepting the nomination: “My entire life as a Vermont voter, I saw that Bernie Sanders participated in a party primary and declines the nomination to run as an independent in the general election. For nearly the entire election, I didn’t understand that the only reason Bernie can decline the Democratic party nomination and be an independent in the general was that he and the Democratic party had to agree ahead of time to not replace the spot on the ballot he was leaving open with another candidate. Upon learning this, I had reasonable doubts that the Republican party would want to leave the spot open if I declined the nomination.
I obviously don’t want a three person race, that defeats the purpose of winning a primary.”
A more complete version of Madden’s statement can be seen here.
Redic said today Vermonters deserve a candidate who won’t violate campaign promises – as Madden did.
“I actually feel a great deal of pity for Liam,” Redic said in an email to Vermont Daily Chronicle this morning. “Like your typical progressive, he had what he believed was a good plan to help make the country better. However, because of his lack of planning and forethought, and because it is no longer politically advantageous, he is breaking his word to Vermonters and running as a Republican. Mr. Madden has become the very thing he claims he wants to fight in Washington. It’s easy to claim you have values when they are never tested.
“Vermonters deserve a politician with Integrity who is Accountable and Transparent. Luckily there is still one candidate in the race who vows to be that example in Washington. Go to RedicForCongress.com to learn more about my campaign, get signed up for the newsletter, and drop me a line to let us know how you can help with the campaign.”
Categories: politics
This will be my first vote for a Libertarian. Where can I pick up a Redic for Congress sign
Me too. I am with you. Redic tis the ticket.
Where are the documents that claim Madden was running on the republican ticket? Are his primary petitions available to show he had sufficient republican support to be placed on the republican ballot? If he was running as a republican, why was he listed as an independent on the ballot? Something stinks here. He should remove himself from the republican party primary and run as an independent in the general election. That would be the honest thing to do! I won’t hold my breath until he does. Just what we need, more dishonesty in our elections. This is what incompetence gets you.
When we were all thinking that the GOP was becoming a laughing stock for its Q-ANON, “It was Antifa on Jan 6th”, everyone takes top secret documents home with them extremism, along comes this.
It’s like watching a parody of a political party done by a combo of The Onion editors, Monty Python and Alfred E. Neuman all at once.
Comedy Gold….
THE VERMONT GOP NEED TO SEND LIAM
MADDEN PACKING PERIOD BYE-BYE!!
ITS BEYOND TIME TO WAKE UP PEOPLE!
BUT JUST MAYBE YOU WILL WAKE UP!!??
GOP DO SOMETHING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE!! WAKE UP!!
ITS TIME TO HOLD THE LINE AND NOT CROSS THE LINE PERIOD FOLKS!!
‘I don’t like the person that won, and I am smarter than the GOP electorate, so put my choice in instead.’ See, we have elections and the winner wins…
ERICKA!!YOU HAVE MY VOTE PERIOD!
I HOPE MORE FOLKS WAKE UP!!
The irony is Rich.
I was the Platform Committee member for Chittenden County. I introduced two different Amendments that would have prevented Madden from ever receiving any VTGOP financial support or endorsement.
It would also have given the VTGOP membership a method to remove all financial support and endorsement from Scott, Benning, Beck, Scheuermann, Walker, Leffler and Martin and every candidate that betrayed or would not accept the VTGOP Platform.
They are all transrepublicans that have betrayed the VTGOP Platform. Scott and Benning are all in for abortion anytime, anywhere by anyone. Benning voted for Prop 5 twice and in a forum at Rockingham said he will vote for Article 22.
Scott signed H57 which made abortion to the moment of Birth law in VT. Scott brags that he will vote for Article 22 in November. Gotta keep that 100% rating from planned parenthood intact.
All in direct conflict to the VTGOP Platform.
Dame and Tom Koch cheered the defeat of my Amendments. So did two thirds of the VTGOP membership that voted against my Amendments.
Dame and Koch are reaping what they sowed. They wanted a ” Big Tent ” of candidates. Madden crashed the party, making a fool of every Real Republican in VT.
I resigned my position as Platform Delegate shortly after they voted down my Amendment. And then I resigned from the Essex Republicans. Not because my Amendments were defeated, actually I introduced another Amendment on April 30th that did pass. That was for the VTGOP to support removing taxes on Military Pensions.
Benning voted against that during the Platform Committee meetings along with several other members of the committee.
Which was the reason I had to write an Amendment to bring to the membership.
I resigned because I refused to be associated with the VTGOP when they proved the Platform was meaningless. But I did work with Real Vermont Republicans all during this Spring and Summer. I worked with and fought for Gerald Malloy while the VTGOP told him they would not support or endorse him.
The destruction of the VTGOP, brought to you by Dame, Koch and those that don’t want to fight for Real Republicans. Until their candidates lose. Then they trip over themselves to latch onto a Real Republican.
In Ericka and Anya’s case too late.
But hey, they still have Scott and Benning. ( that Big Tent thing again. )
R is for Redic!!
be sure to spell the first name correctly……..its Eric and a ka………..Ericka!!
vote will not count if spelled incorrectly……
Ya can’t make this s…t up!!
Lets all focus on getting the right person the votes she needs………
all good questions Dano!
a lesson learned for next time for sure, and if can negate the R on him; do it
and promote all we can Ericka
No, I’m not a member of Vermont’s GOP who is grappling with the unexpected House race outcome. It doesn’t take a political science major to see that this primary win by Madden is more than a little hinky. Madden comes gliding in from left field (maybe literally), publicly states he is not a Republican, conducts a bare minimum of ‘meet and greet,’ and lo and behold, scores a curiously lopsided primary win. The ‘fix’ is in somewhere as yet undiscovered, but is crushingly obvious that it occurred. So no grappling necessary.
I have only one vote for this House seat, and I’ll be damned if I waste that vote on a fruit-loop shill like Madden.
Ms Redic will run for the House seat as a Libertarian and I will cheerfully vote for her.
And I am surely hoping that the rest of Vermont’s GOP will do likewise and give her a win…
I’m a Republican. I don’t vote for Libertarians. I guess Ericka Redic isn’t a Republican anymore. Maybe she never was.
Kevin, Ericka ran openly in the primary on two ballots — the R and the L. People do it all the time in Vermont because we have open primaries, a situation that the VT GOP hasn’t been willing to introduce legislation to stop for 25 years. It isn’t anything new. But now it bites them in the butt. In Vermont people run on both the D and the R ballots all the time, and win in both. Save your scorn for Liam Madden. He is the true sneak here. Ericka did what she did right out in the open. Thank goodness she did. That is the only reason she is still in the race. She honestly finished second. And I am a Republican. I usually don’t vote for Libertarians, but Ericka is a Republican Libertarian or a Libertarian Republican. Take your pick. Liam is neither. He is a self-proclaimed Independent who refuses to say he will even caucus with the Republicans in Congress if he is elected. Send him packing. Hold your nose if you must, but vote for Ericka. We had two good Republican women candidates for Congress, and Liam knocked both of them out with his stealthy campaign. Great. A man ruined our primary for two Vermont Republican women. Do not reward that man with your vote.
So since VT is an open primary state, they hand out 3 different primary ballots, the likelihood of D/P’s grabbing an R ballot and voting for Liam, just so Becca has an easy path instead of going up against a real R contender like Erica or Anya is increasing plausible.
I’m plugging my nose on this one..
There are things that stink about both of these candidates and I will not vote for either of them.
Richard, so do you plan to leave it blank or vote for Anya via a write – in? Don’t do anything that will help Liam win. Ericka ran openly on the R and the L ballots, and Liam ran as a Republican when he is NOT one. Ericka is. Liam is a Manchurian candidate. Ericka is not. We grassroots Republicans (especially the women) are very upset that a man who is not even a Republican stole this primary from our two legitimate female candidates. I hope you will not help him. His sneak campaign was made possible by Vermont’s open primaries legislation. That needs to change. If a person is really an Independent then run as one. That is the honest thing to do, Liam!
Unfortunately, when the supermajority controls the state legislature, and all statewide positions, they get to make the rules.
Somehow, we need to get conservatives out to vote so we can elect some people with common sense to our state legislature and congress and so that we get to make the rules. The we need to – take back Vermont so that we can Keep Vermont-Vermont!