The Vermont Right to Life Political Committee recently announced it recommends pro-life Vermonters choose Libertarian nominee Ericka Redic for Congress over GOP nominee Liam Madden and Democrat nominee Becca Balint.

VRLCPC emphasized that it uses the word ‘recommends’ rather than the stronger term ‘endorses.’ And the party label adheres somewhat loosely to both candidates. Redic is historically a Republican with Libertarian leanings who chose to accept the Libertarian nomination only after the avowed political independent Madden won the GOP nomination in the August 9 primary. 

Still, Vermont pro-life voters might wonder why a nominee of the famously pro-choice Libertarian Party got the nod over the nominee from the Republican Party which, alone among Vermont political parties, includes in its Vermont party platform this plank: “We value the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.”

While both candidates oppose the proposed federal ban on abortion, they disagree on Article 22, the state’s proposed “reproductive liberty” constitutional amendment. As they stated during a September 15 VTDigger candidate debate, Madden supports Article 22. Redic opposes it. Furthermore, she passionately states her support for crisis pregnancy centers and mourns that as a young woman she had an abortion without knowing CPC help was available. 

Redic and Madden state their views, beginning at about the 21:10 mark. 

VT Digger: Earlier this week, Senator Lindsey Graham proposed a bill that would ban abortion nationwide at 15 weeks of gestation. Miss Redic, at VTDigger’s Republican primary U.S House debate in June, you said you would not support a federal abortion ban, saying the issue should be left to the states. Is this still your position?

Redic: Yes, it is it is still my position. I think that the reality of the circumstance that we’re in right now is that there are literally hundreds of thousands over a million women every year in the United States who find themselves in a position of being pregnant and not knowing what to do. I was in this position in my early 20s, and being born and raised in Vermont, where you just get taught, because our culture here is such that if you get pregnant out of wedlock and you and your boyfriend is not gonna, whatever, then you just get an abortion. That’s just what you do, and so that’s what I thought I was supposed to do. 

Now that I’m older I actually can’t have children, so now I’m going to miss out on the opportunity of motherhood because I didn’t know that there was an organization out there that could help me, not only with my medical care and supplies, but giving me parent coaching, giving the father parent coaching, and helping us work together as a family. That’s why I support organizations like Aspire now that help women in crisis pregnancy, to know that they can choose life, that they can keep that child. 

What I want to see, in a place like Vermont where we give over a million dollars to abortion clinics, like a million and a half dollars to abortion clinics, and zero dollars to Pregnancy Resource Centers, what I would love to see is for our state to Reject article 22 to say that abortion up to nine months is not okay. 85 percent of Americans agree.

VTDigger: Mr Madden, at that same June debate you said you would support compromise abortion legislation based on fetal viability. Please describe what a suitable compromise of abortion legislation would mean to you.

Madden: Ericka, I’m so sorry that happened to you. That’s heartbreaking. I’d like to start with some areas of agreement. I agree with Ruth Bader Ginsburg that access to abortion is central to a woman’s dignity. I agree with Justice Ginsburg that this issue is better decided by legislation than by courts. And I agree that the Constitutional grounds for protecting abortion is better rooted in equal protection clause rather than the Roe versus Wade privacy rights argument. 

But where I agree with Becca is that I think we agree that 99 percent of abortions happen before a fetus is independently viable, and those should be protected choices, and we agree that the majority of all abortions after that are likely due to the health of the mother being in jeopardy or the fetus being incompatible with life. 

So I think we would agree that if we were to allow states to prevent some late-term abortions, excluding the ones that I just mentioned, we would be only preventing an extremely rare instance of elective abortions in the last term, which is probably like less than one in a thousand. 

Where we disagree is that I believe it is relevant when a child can live independently of the mother and that provides a moral and legal complexity that deserves attention. Even if elective late term abortions are rare, we provide regulation around all sorts of other rare occurrences when they’re ethically relevant. 

This week Becca Balint sent a text message to thousands of Vermonters saying that she needed money because her opponent is anti-choice and at first I was kind of angry about this because I thought it was misleading to say that someone who believes in a constitutional amendment protecting 99% of the choices is not anti-choice. 

But I’m thinking about it more, and I’m realizing that I don’t think you actually see that there’s nuance here, Rebecca, and I’m so happy to be a voice for the middle 80% of Vermonters who want a voice in this discussion.

Michael Tagliavia

My journey to becoming a Vermonter began in 2014 after a friend moved here with his wife, who has multiple generations of Vermonters in her blood. My wife and I purchased our log cabin on a mountain in the town of Corinth in 2015 and became permanent residents in 2019.  I am impressed on a daily basis with the kindness, trust, generosity, and helpfulness of the Vermonters I come into contact with.

But these qualities are what is allowing the Vermont lifestyle to come under attack. People no longer feel as safe as they once did in the cities and small towns of the Green Mountain State. This trend can be reversed with common sense solutions.

Law and order must be restored in all corners of this little green gem in the northeast of this great country of ours.  My plan is to do that with simple, straight forward steps to “right the ship”. The Governor has put forward a 10-point plan to get the rising crime under wraps, and I hope to integrate my proposals into that plan.

First, put most of the $100 million “Big Pharma” settlement money into law enforcement and drug abatement programs. This should include reopening the Windsor detention facility with a focus on addicts who have committed crimes to support their habit.  The facility would focus on rehab, treatment, and vocational training with a goal of breaking the cycle of relapse. 

Another step would be to enhance drug interdiction efforts to stop drug traffickers before they are able to get the drugs on the street. This would include working with federal agencies where necessary. 

An integral part of the plan must be a focus on bringing back a bail system that works to make it clear to “would be” criminals that they will be held to account. The average Vermonter does not have faith that if a person has committed a crime, they will be taken off the street, or will even be held responsible for their offense.

Stop the revolving door! Today, a victim of theft, whether it be a stolen catalytic converter, or jewelry, or cash, has no hope of restitution. In short, the revolving door system does not work. In fact, it has only served to make the situation worse.  

I also find it necessary to speak directly to all of the men and women in law enforcement. I oppose any reduction of qualified immunity. This has been proposed by Progressives and Democrats in the legislature. At this time in our history, I believe the best approach is to fully fund, and give the best possible training and equipment to law enforcement.

Also, they need the support of the citizens of the towns and counties that they serve. We should get to know them and they should get to know us. Law enforcement officers swear an oath to protect and serve, and I believe that the very highest percentage of them do. Let’s not forget that they answer to the law as well. 

Education through the LEAD program should also be expanded. This is a low cost, high impact program to educate even the youngest students of the dangers of drug abuse. 

I am a strong proponent of Article 16 of the Vermont Constitution and the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. 

My name is Michael Tagliavia and I am asking for your vote for Attorney General of Vermont. 

Source: https://vermontdailychronicle.com/gop-candidate-for-attorney-general-wants-tighter-bail-backs-qualified-immunity/

This month, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Rep. Peter Welch has received at least three pieces of bad campaign news: critical coverage of his stock trading on the front page of the New York Times, positive national news coverage of GOP darkhorse challenger Gerald Malloy, and a national poll showing Malloy just 6.5% behind him.

Welch’s thumbnail photo appeared with many other members of Congress of both parties in an above-the-fold news story headlined “Stock Trades Reported by Nearly a Fifth of Congress Show Possible Conflicts.” The story named lawmakers owning stock in companies their committees oversee, transactions of these stocks, and lawmakers’ efforts to hide these transactions.

The New York Times story didn’t go into detail about Welch’s eyebrow-raising stock transactions. But other media already had. 

According to Capitol Trades, Welch was the only member of the Vermont Congressional delegation to make stock market trades in the previous three years. Almost all of his 55 trades were “sell.” The most recent “buys” occurred in March, 2020, when Welch purchased between $1000 and $15,000 shares of Medtronic, a medical equipment company; PayPal; and Consolidated Edison, an energy company serving New York City and Westchester County.

The Washington Times reported December 28, 2021 that Welch and his wife Margaret Cheney failed to promptly report a September $6,238 sale of Exxon stock. Cheney reportedly had inherited the stock from her mother. Cheney is the former chair of the Vermont Public Service Board, the state’s ‘energy court.’ She also is a former chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, where she oversaw pro-renewable power energy legislation.

The Exxon trade went unreported for 53 days. The tardy reporting violated a 2012 law co-sponsored by Welch regulating congressional stock sales. The law sets a 30-45 day trade reporting deadline.

On October 28, Welch grilled Exxon’s CEO at a House hearing, including challenging his ‘credibility.’

Those facts were not lost on a non-partisan government watchdog group, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT). 

Recent reporting shows that Rep. Welch failed to disclose that his wife sold $6,238 in ExxonMobil stock on September 17, 2021, by the November 1, 2021, deadline,” FACT reported Dec. 22. “Although Rep. Welch’s spokesperson admitted that he had learned of the trade on October 25, 2021, he grilled ExxonMobil’s CEO in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on October 28, 2021, and didn’t disclose the transaction until November 9, 2021, eight days after he was required to.

“Rep. Welch has been a member of Congress for nearly 15 years and is well aware of the financial reporting requirements. What makes this case egregious, beyond the violation itself, is that his office acknowledged that he knew of the transaction prior to the reporting deadline and not only missed it, but grilled the ExxonMobil CEO about transparency and credibility just days later. The OCE must fully investigate this violation and apply the requisite penalties,” said Kendra Arnold, Executive Director of FACT.

It also wasn’t the only tardily-reported trade. A sale of Cloetta AB worth $1000 – $15,000, went unreported for 106 days, Capitol Trades reports. Cloetta AB is a Swedish confectionary company.

Welch’s spokesperson told the Washington Times in December he would no longer trade stock. The most recent stock transaction attributed to Welch on Capitol Trades is November 18, 2021 – a month before the December, 2021 promise. 

Vermont Daily Chronicle published details of the Trafalgar national poll on September 11. Breitbart published its news story on September 18. The first four paragraphs are republished below:

Vermont’s Republican U.S. Senate nominee Gerald Malloy said that “Vermonters are ready for change” after being “fed up” with the current leadership in the country during an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday.

“I can tell you campaigning in the last seven months [with] boots on the ground… Vermonters are ready for change,” Malloy told Breitbart News Saturday host, Breitbart News’ Washington Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle.

“Vermonters have common sense, and they see, you know, paying at the pump and paying at the grocery store, and they’re fed up with the performance… from their leadership in Congress, and they’re ready for change,” Malloy explained.

He also noted that the campaign is moving in a “very positive” direction after a recent poll from the Trafalgar Group showed that Malloy is only 6.5 percent down from Rep. Peter Welsh (D-VT), a career politician who’s been endorsed by socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Courtesy Vermont Daily Chronicle

Many people, including myself, are starting to get their offers to pre-buy home heating fuel for the upcoming winter. My offer was almost 35% higher than what I paid just 6 months ago. Others are telling me they are paying 50% to 70% more than they pre-ordered last year. And winter pre-buying is usually supposed to be a discount – so it makes many of us wonder what this winter might have in store.

But as bad as it will be for Vermonters to be paying hundreds more to get warm this winter, one thing to be thankful for is that if we had been missing just one Republican legislator last May to help sustain Gov. Scott’s veto on a new carbon tax, home heating fuel might have been even more expensive.

Despite this set-back, Montpelier Democrats have promised to go back and pass the SAME bill to override Gov. Scott’s veto – unless they lose some seats. Democrats have not made any changes to their policies in light of the struggles many Vermonters are facing. Their intention is to keep pushing punitive carbon taxes that disproportionately hurt rural Vermonters.

Adding a new carbon tax is bad enough. But because Democrats don’t want to be seen raising taxes in these economic conditions – they proposed to transfer their power to a group of unelected bureaucrats who can add and raise the tax at will and NEVER be accountable to voters for it. Then Democrats could shrug their shoulders to voters in future elections and tell them “It’s not me – it’s the board. Sorry, nothing I can do.” At best it’s irresponsible, at worst it’s unconstitutional.

Unfortunately for Vermonters, this responsibility shirking has become all too commonplace with the Democratic Party in Vermont, and across America. If something bad happens, they always point somewhere else, but they never take responsibility for how they are going to achieve a different outcome. We elect leaders to fix problems, not just to message them better. I’m starting to think if we had a famine Democrats would point to the reduction in childhood obesity.

Recently President Biden was asked about the 8.4% inflation we’ve been having, and his response was to brag that after last month it’s down to 8.3%. He won’t take responsibility for the 8.4% increase, but he is going to jump over the fact that it went down 0.1%. That is denial, we need determination. Rather than taking the problem seriously, and telling Americans how he is planning on fixing it he told us our concerns were unjustified because the unemployment numbers were good. Instead of fixing the problem we do have, Democrats weasel out of it by pointing you towards another problem they tell you is worse (Abortion, Trump, etc) – or trying to gaslight you into believing you are alone in your frustration. Republicans want you to know that you are NOT alone and your concerns are in fact serious. We hear you and are fighting to restore a degree of common sense to Montpelier.

I’ve been talking to several of our House & Senate candidates who have been going door to door in our communities across Vermont for several months. We hear the serious concerns and stories of Vermonters who are having a hard time making ends meet. We understand that Biden’s distraction of unemployment numbers doesn’t help the seniors on fixed incomes when their heating and grocery bills go up, but their pension or social security doesn’t. We know that student loan forgiveness doesn’t make it easier for young electricians and plumbers trying to buy a house in a severely restricted market. We know that “reimagining” and defunding the police does not make Burlington any safer to visit or live in.

Republicans know that we just can’t afford the Progressive Democrat agenda any more. We need to get serious about our essential energy supply and costs for workers and seniors alike. We need to make it easier to build affordable first-time homes to keep young people here, both tradesmen and professionals. We need to fully fund our local police and prosecute criminals to make our streets safer again for workers, students and tourists. While I won’t go so far as to say that Democrats can’t do that – they have made it clear that they won’t. If you think things are better now than they were two years ago, ask your neighbors, your mechanic, your senior center coordinator, your local teachers how everyone else is doing. They will tell you that something is broken and it needs real change not just better messaging. Vermont Republicans stand ready to answer the call, be your voice of reason, address the serious problems we are all experiencing, and focus on creating a Vermont that really works.

Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos this week encouraged Vermonters to register to vote for National Voter Registration Day (NVRD) on September 20^th. NVRD is a nonpartisan civic holiday celebrating democracy, held annually in September.

“When you register to vote and cast your ballot, you are strengthening our democracy just by participating,” Condos said. “National Voter Registration Day is an opportunity for us to try and further reach those eligible Vermonters who are not yet registered.”

“No matter how you vote, or how you cast your ballot, we want you to register and vote. We’ve made it easy: you can register online at https://olvr.vermont.gov, automatically at the Department of Motor Vehicles, or by registering directly with your Town or City Clerk.

“The November 8 General Election will be here before you know it. Vermont does have same-day voter registration, so if you forget to register before Election Day, you can still show up at the polls, register, and vote, but why wait and risk any complications? Register today, or for NVRD, and save yourself the hassle. Plus, once registered you have a number of early voting options you can consider,” Condos said.