PUTNEY — One of the great joys of being a state legislator is going into our schools and meeting with students. Those visits are often followed with having them visit the Statehouse, a trip that gives students a sense of history and teaches them what democracy is.
One aspect I emphasize is that before we had our democracy, we had a king who gave no voice to the people. That didn't sit well with our ancestors, and we established our democracy - with elections, and majority rule being the benchmark for settling differences. Or, so we think.
For here we are, for the second time in this century with a president elected by the minority of the popular vote - and it's not even close, as the lead in the popular vote for Hillary Clinton is more than two million votes. If it weren't for the system that the elite set up - the Electoral College - she would be the winner by far.
That's not a mandate for this president-elect. That's called gaming the system, and it's time to change that.
Vermont did vote for changing to popular vote only in 2011, and now it's up to enough other states to correct this antiquated injustice.
The need for this is amplified, since, despite his lack of popular mandate, Donald Trump is confirming some of our worst fears as he radicalizes his administration.
He's nominated Wall Street insiders, a white supremacist as a White House advisor, a billionaire at the Department of Education who has no educational experience, and a United Nations ambassador with no foreign-policy experience.
Will we next see someone like Bernie Madoff put in charge of the U.S. Department of the Treasury? (Thanks to humorist Andy Borowitz for that suggestion.)
Luckily, in Vermont, we made no such attempt at radicalizing our government.
The Democratic majority legislature is joined in governing this year by a professed moderate Republican who early on disavowed the president-elect of his party. We might not agree on everything in Vermont this year, but we will work together to figure things out.
Moving forward in reasonable ways has served Vermont well, and will continue to, as there's much work to be done. Working families deserve to be able to breathe a little easier in making ends meet. Kids need a better start in life, and elders deserve a smoother road during their golden years. And Vermont needs to continue doing its part in addressing global warming by growing our economy with new energy- and conservation-efficiency opportunities.
Under that banner, let's welcome in the New Year in Vermont, along with the new legislative biennium - and let's get to work.