S

~lI~thof Pownal, east of~~dsor and &erossthe biglake

It s the dawn ofa new political ageof more prisons more
prayers and more paranoia. It's the Rash Limbaup
Age, with Newt Ginlrieh as pope, as the Christian Coalition
and the NRA just took over Capitol Hill. What, meworry?
Little Vermont bucked the tide onceagain. Despite the best
intentions of the NRA, Congressman Bemie Bandera will get
his federal pension after all. In fact, heshould thank the NRA.
The off-the-wall, red-baiting radio war they unleashed against
Ol'Bernardo two weeks before election day tripped upRepubli.
canJ ohn CarroUjust ashismomentum wasbuildingtoagreat
crescendo. No wonder they call 'emgun nuts.
Despite the NRA's interference, Carroll comesout of therace
witheverything but the win. J .C.morethan established himself
as acandidate with statewide potential, and now he's got the
namerecognition, experience anddesiretodoit again. "It's been
awildride," hesaid the day after. "I'm not goingto walk away
fromall this. It's too exciting to walk away." In '96 Carroll will
beformidable. Areyou listening, Howard?
J an Backus' bubble burst as the returns came in. She
certainly rose to the challenge. Unfortunately, her campaign
manager, J im Schumacher, did not come out of the race
smelling likearose. His attempt at damage control onthe drug
issuebackfired when thecandidate contradicted him, andhehad
somevery sour remarks about J im J effords election night that
servednopurpose except toleaveasour taste associatedwithJ im
Schumacher.
J eezum J im returns to the Capitol for what should be the
finest chapter in his "maverick" career. Now more than ever
before, Senator J effords can beaRepublican consciencewith a
Vermont accent.
The big Vermont upset was in Bennington where House
Speaker Ralph Wright was knocked off. Republicans pumped
$20,000 to Gerry Morrissey. Ralph spent under $500. Hewas
targeted and eliminated. The defeat was afeather in the capof
Republican Chairman Allen Martin, aguy who never met an
electric utility or cable TV company hedidn't love.
Ralph Wright is aworking classguy whoclimbedthe legisla-
tiveladder while wearing his liberal Democrat badgeproudly on
his breast pocket. Unlike most liberals, heplacedahigher value
on winning than on being liked. He fought for the poor and
working class, the environment, the gays, the elderly. Social
justice was his creed. There wasn't atouch of the wimpin him.
A touch of the Marine, sure. A touchof thepoet, too. Ralphcould
play hardball with the best paid lobbyists big business would
throw at himand win. Those hevanquished knewno bounds to
their bitterness.
Ralph Wright wasdemonized inthepress particularly byJ ack
Hoffman of the Rutland Herald/Times Argus. To Hoffman,
Ralph wasanintimidating anti-Christ with aBostonbrogue. To
Ralph, Hoffman wasastrike-breaking scabintennis whites who
crossed a picket line at the Rutland Herald and took another
reporter'sjob. Nolovelost there, folks.Unlikemost pols,though,
Ralph never gave adamn about polishing his image.
Ralphdidthe heavy lifting forMadeleineKunin, DickSnelling
andHoward Dean. Twicehewonthespeaker's chair eventhough
the Republicans were in the majority. Good lord, how that
burned them up. (Howironic that oneof his most bitter detrac-
tors, Representative Inge Schaefer of Colchester, was also
giventhe heave-he bythevoters.) Ralph's defeat washighlighted
in the Boston Globe as one of the three races "that changed
northern NewEngland." It's certainly changed thedynamics in
the Statehouse.
For one thing, Governor Howard Dean has nowhere to go
but down. His popularity has been the direct result of the fact
that he's kept above the fray and avoidedpolitical combat. Now
he's got to roll up his sleeves and get into battle.
That's great newsforLieutenant Governor Barbara Snelling
who'd loveto spend tbe next twoyears holding Ho-Ho's feet to
the fIre. She's endured a non-stop public vilification this year
because of her votes against HoHo's E-board nominees and the
minimum wage - two well-orchestrated set-ups, Well guess
what? Turns out not many citizens outside of Montpelier gavea
damn about the E-board battle. TheRepublicans evenpickedup
two more senate seats. As wehead for J anuary, Bahs and the
Republicans bave little ifany respect left for Dr. Dean.
In legislative races around Chittenden County, Republican
Senator Sara Gear, Democratic Representative Alan Bjerke
andtbeSelfRighteousBrothers-ProgressivesTerryBourieius
and Dean Corren - won re-election which may indicate the
voters expect their politicians to knowhowto makeafewextra
bucks onthe sly. Barbara Snelling saidthe dayafter her victory
to expect legislative perks tobecurtailed intbe comingsession.
Great.
But guess which political faction in Vermont suffered the
greatest defeat election day?
That's right, the Progressives. They dropped athird of their
seats intheLegislature asKathy BonlOa wasunabletokeeptbe
Progs' Old North End seat given up by Representative Tom
Smith. That seat went to Democrat J ohn Tracy. Somuch for
the Progressive "movement" in Vermont. Besides Bernie all
they've got istheir rhetoric andTheSelfRigbteousBrothers' tap
dancing routine.
M e g a D i t t o s