BRATTLEBORO — The Legislature's election of Gov. Shumlin as governor was a victory for the old boys' club - the same club that has destroyed much of what America used to be.
I voted for Scott Milne and was proud to do so. In many respects, Gov. Shumlin himself turned me Republican - at least for an election. Mr. Milne would have restored honor to the governor's office, and with his family's history of public service, he demonstrated to me the core values that he would have brought to the table.
When a sitting governor ignores two certified mail pieces of correspondence that documented wholesale fraud, and whose senior staff refused to return phone calls to me as I sought their support for a Vermont false-claims act (a comprehensive anti-fraud law that the state lacks), it demonstrates overwhelmingly to me that Mr. Shumlin no longer values his constituents sufficiently to acknowledge them.
It's a sad occasion for Vermont as our legislators chose party over what is best for the state. The ballot by the Legislature occurred on the day the Legislature should have held Mr. Shumlin accountable for his false promises of a single-payer health system and delivered judgment for his failure to timely release the financial structure of his health care proposal that was due a year ago.
Holding the governor accountable would have taken leadership, but the old-boys' club, rife with its circle of enrichment, won the day.
Had Mr. Shumlin not been so calculating politically and had he honestly told the people before the election of his intention to shelve Vermont's single-payer health system, the general election would have surely resulted in a plurality of the popular vote in favor of Mr. Milne.
Finally, Mr. Milne deserves our collective praise for standing up and trying to make a difference for all of us. As a whistleblower in a federal health-care fraud case, probably the biggest fraud the state of Vermont has been subjected to, I know firsthand the sacrifice it takes to fight for our state and country.
I salute Mr. Milne for standing tall and trying to make a difference for our great state. Too few are willing to endure hardship or sacrifice for the benefit of all of us.