Perhaps It's Time for the Peaceful Republic of Vermont to Declare War (of Sorts)

Vermont should NOT become what Texas, Florida, and some of the other states have become - a place where the residents' own best interests take a fourteenth seat to the national stage of Tom DeLay and George Bush. Vermont needs senators whose minds are very much on Vermont and what's best for its people (all people and not just the percentage of us who vote).

Oh, I expected the evil side of the GOP (which I do not believe has replaced all of the GOP yet) to come after Jeffords for his 2001 defection. But the level of nastiness since that date has been extremely high and we're now on notice that it's going to get even worse.

The Vermont GOP is actively seeking out-of-state money to slay Jumpin' Jim.

So the rest of us - the ones who feel Vermont should stay out of the cesspool partisanship part of the rest of the country enjoys vacationing in - need to keep it sane and in the state.

Jeffords may not be a Republican nor is he a Democrat. That's fine. Many Vermonters resist the "tag" of one of the two national political parties. More power to them (only in politics would be allow just two choices - imagine picking a car or a home from just two types).

True, we may not always like the way he votes. But on average, Jeffords represents the people of Vermont perhaps far better than our resident governor does. Between Jeffords, Leahy, and Sanders, we have elected officials in the national forum who remember what Vermont is and what it sacrifices to remain.

Jeffords has done what a national stage official should: he votes for the health of our nation, but without forgetting the people back home (us). He's not perfect and I'm not here to say that he is (got a few votes I'm not pleased about). But unless and until the Democratics or a third party put up someone who we can be sure would a) win (that seems to matter) and b) offers us much better representation, I think Jeffords deserves our respect and support (and many good suggestions on what he can do better).

Beyond that, however, and regardless of whether there is a better Dem/third party challenger, I think we owe it to Jeffords to protect him against the money and influence Tom DeLay and others will feed into Vermont. Protecting Jeffords in this case protects Vermont.

Who here would like Mr. DeLay of Texas or one of the wise, omnipowerful Southern states who seem to decide our elections to determine who represents the people of Vermont in the Senate? Not I.
Politics