Plato, author of The Republic, asserted that leaders create crises. Which in turn lets them do whatever they want. If ever there were a manufactured crisis in Vermont, it's the 'Vaccine Crisis'.
Rutland, Vermont Sen. Kevin Mullin's $20 thousand dollars in campaign contributions from outside Vermont made Rutland a 'safe seat', Mullin made multiple trips to DC with Governor Shumlin, according to a reliable source in Rutland. Both politicians championed a good bill; gay marriage. But not for the sake of civil rights. This is an old political trick: make themselves look good, then slip in the knife: bad, unconstitutional bills to whittle away at our rights and freedoms. Anyone who objects looks like a bad guy, is 'fringe'. Can even be labelled homophobic.
Such was S.199: a bad bill, taking away our right to choose, with a manufactured crisis as pretext. Commissioner Chen massaged the data to create a public scare, and the Legislature are falling into rank.
But Chen is a civil servant. He's not allowed to make policy: his job is to carry out policy. Chen handed a misleading map to Senate Health and Welfare and suddenly Vermont, healthiest in the nation, is in 'crisis'. And something must be done, even if it violates our civil rights.
The Facts:
S.199 was introduced by Kevin Mullen, who was re-elected last year to the Rutland Senate District with $28,005 in campaign contributions. Only $1,628 of that was traceable to Vermont, according to FollowTheMoney.org. Why should a single Vermont Senate Race be so important to out-of-state contributors?
In 2010, Mullin's safe seat was in danger from two Independents in his district, Dennis Morrisseau and Bill Cruikshank, part of the Vermont Thirty. Somebody took this threat seriously! The corporate media blacked out any mention of the Thirty and promoted the new 'fringe' lable, and got over $200 million in public assets (tax-free) assured for that year.
20 grand for a sleepy State Senate election, c'mon Mullin! Where are your loyalties? To your constituents, many of whom can barely make ends meet?
S.199 has been championed by none other than Sen. Hinda Miller in Chittenden County, installed in 2002 with a large campaign war chest. Miller's lobbyist contribution portfolio includes both Big Pharma and Nuclear. And when meeting with Vermont parents, she admittedly did not even read their testimony.
Here in Addison County, Rep. Willem Jewett has refused support to his constituents, refused to take a stand on S.199, and denied the Big-Pharma money connection to his Party.
This Big Pharma lobbyist, Matthew Badalucco out of Albany, has better access in the State House than you or I. Both Mullin & Miller enjoy the favor of Big Pharma lobbyists.
According to VoteSmart.org, "Willem Jewett refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders." Jewett also refused to work with me on a resolution to protect our rights to save seeds, a resolution later sponsored by Eldred French and others. My house rep stands for nothing but his political career, and votes as required to keep the corporate money and federal handouts flowing. Jewett must go.
The Senate Health & Welfare Committee seems ready to recommend passing the bill over the clear objections of their constituents. As Lenin said, the broad masses aren't sophisticated and informed enough to make the right decisions.
In 2010 the Legislature refused to pursue Entergy Corporation for fines relating to Vermont Yankee's poisoning of Vermont's groundwater... if the public health were so important to the Senate Health & Welfare, that old reactor would be gone!
This is why We the People have to retake the Vermont Senate this year, for the People of Vermont.
This article owes much to patient research by the Vermont Watchers, The National Institute on Money in State Politics and VoteSmart.org.