Oh, the possibilities: Vermont is our serious sandbox, and Peter Shumlin just took all the toy trucks.
OK! I’M EXCITED! Despite some disappointing returns nationally (and while there may be a fascist in PA, at least there is no Nazi in Ohio) and a few blows state-side (Tom Salmon swims up stream?) at least Vermont bucked the national trend and supported progressive Democrats for the top-ticket races. I can say I’m pleased, but I could be pleaseder.
But I’m really happy about Shumlin. And really really happy that the Dubster backed down instead of drawing this one out. Now let’s move forward:
Peter Shumlin will move the nation forward. With a progressive governor and a Democrat-controlled legislature, we can move forward on initiatives that other states have stalled on. And our state leads other states, and other states lead the nation.
Look at woman’s suffrage. It came state by state, and then was taken up nationally. Same with abolition, and then Civil Rights.
And the same will happen with Gay Rights and marriage equity, and the same with universal health care coverage. And the same with climate change legislation.
Perhaps the flailing attempts of the Big O, followed by the “National Tea Party Massacre” has shown us that a top-down approach doesn’t work. These things need to be done organically, slowly, from the ground up. That is, Idaho won’t give gays the same rights as Vermont in 2010, and that’s OK, for now.
But finally we can put out foot down on the issue here. We can say, as Vermonters, that enough is enough. That the timid and regressive nature of the nation will not dictate our actions. That we’re going to see the big hope and the big change through. We can say, without a veto-override but with a common voice, that we are really ready for change in a positive direction.
But maybe Shumlin is just our Little O, and maybe we’ll all be really disappointed in two years when Gitmo Vermont Yankee hasn’t been closed. Who knows? Time will tell. But for now, I’ll go parade in the streets, happy that we’ve got something to hope for.
I like that, organically from the bottom up.