Can Phil Scott really not be defeated?
So goes the narrative that lots of people have had. I offer here some pointers toward a different narrative that I believe will lead to a very different conclusion, not to the current state of managed decline that Vermont can’t seem to navigate away from.
For all those Democrats and Independents who voted for Gov. Scott in past years, here’s a little heads-up.
1. C’mon … eight years running the state and, truly, almost nothing to show for it. Sure, he managed the pandemic well, but he still doesn’t know the much harder work of governing (vetoing lots of legislation by default is not good governing).
2. He didn’t want to run this time. It’s been widely covered that he did not want to run again, but relented to pressure. What does that say about him, and any possibility of anything different than more of the same negativity? It would be like having a two-year lame-duck session.
3. Love nuclear power? Phil thinks it’s good. Now that we’ve removed some of the best community-driven renewables such as community solar, it’s a great (and pathetic, we-haven’t-learned-our-lesson) strategy to hype the worst — not really zero–emission — technology that still, decades later, has no answer for waste storage.
4. Love data centers? Even the mildest restrictions around criteria for prospective data center scale projects were recently vetoed by Scott.
5. Trump. Sure, Phil didn’t even vote for him, but a dangerous, erratic authoritarian leader needs more than our governor ducking behind trees not to gain his ire. Democracy and our form of government are at stake and, on sheer principle, we need a governor who speaks clearly in defense of our values.
I truly believe we have the chance to get out of the rut that Phil Scott represents. I urge you to join in changing the narrative.