Vance Comes to Vermont

V.P. JD Vance came to Vermont for a ski weekend. It was the day after his meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy. He was politely booed.

Of course, we Vermonters are hospitable folk, and we welcomed him. Listen to our non-Trumper, well liked, and Republican Governor who asked that we treat him politely. But we are independent people and with a history of doing our own thing. (Disclaimer: I am a grandfather, here because of family. I come from lots of places and am not native to Vt).

So, Vance came in somewhat unannounced (we knew he was coming) and was able to get to the ski area with little notice. But on Saturday morning, ski day, we had an anti-Trump/Vance demonstration in Waitsfield, and five miles down the road in Warren, there was a pro T/V rally.

About 1500 opposition, 50 in support.

All quiet, peaceful, non-violent. And many young folks in Waitsfield. Very encouraging.

So firstly, I looked at the local news (always both sides), which showed the dueling events and no discussion or recognition of the crowd size.

Then I looked at the Fox News Clip. Biased and propagandic reporting. They did show the crowds but called them pro-Ukraine supporters. They ran a vile quote in large letters from a trumper calling the protestors morons. (Brings to mind Trump’s first Sec of State (Rex Tillerson) who referred to the prez as a “moron”).

For the record the Vermont crowd was definitely Pro-Ukraine, but it was also overall blue which means non-trumpers, unhappiness with Vance in general, dislike for Musk’s sledgehammer and his oligarchy. It means unhappiness about healthcare, concern over climate change, racism and compassion for immigrants. And now it is about alliances with PUTIN.

Fox news wanted its viewers to think this was small and extreme leftist. Wrong, this is middle and left, and moving towards mainstream.

There were smaller protests and signs at Sugarbush, the ski resort. Management allowed the signs and peaceful statements, and it was noted that this was out of character for the organization.

They put out a morning newsletter at the resort (and to its large mailing list). The writer/blogger basically complained of the destruction from the Trump Administration (written in the proper manner). It was a courageous step for the reporter, and we hope that she keeps her job.

In the local news report, they interviewed one of the local Republican leaders who welcomed Vance and said he thought Trump and Vance had the best chance to take us back to the good ole days (not specified but assumed to around the time of “Leave it Beaver” or “Father Knows Best”).

The interesting point about the old days is that we used to think Russia was our enemy.

So, what good were the rallies/protests? Well, it is part of the public outcry which is needed. We need to raise our voices against this current administration. A demonstration gives people a chance to stand and be seen, a chance to make a small but important contribution. A key to local protests is that bodies count, and therefore your (everyone’s) participation matters.

One protest doesn’t matter by itself. It is a large number of protests in widespread areas, occurring and re-occurring over time. Public Outcry, we need it.

What about welcoming a public servant and hoping that he and his family enjoyed the slopes: we did that. But as a public servant who has said some wild things and helped turn our foreign policy on its head, he has to expect some pushback, some public outrage, especially here in America, where we like our freedom of speech and our right to assemble peacefully.

The skiing had to be great. We have had a good snow winter up here in Vermont.