(WPTZ – NBC5 News with Stewart Ledbetter)
www.mynbc5.comKeith Stern as Governor?
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I have chosen to be a grass roots candidate as a complete unknown with absolutely no backing from anyone to challenge the (at the time) popular first term governor because he wasn't fighting to make Vermont affordable, only maintain the level of affordability. Does that seem timid to you?
I have said I would replace Vermont Health Connect and gut the agency of education which will be tough battles but I will prevail. I have stated categorically that as governor I will not enforce S55 and the individual mandate for health insurance if it becomes law. I have stated I will veto any carbon tax legislation that lands on my desk.
Now does this sound like the actions of a weak or timid person? I encourage you if you hear me speaking please listen to my words rather than how they are presented. Listen to my ideas that will make Vermont affordable and prosperous.
I am a quiet man with a loud roar inside.
Keith Stern
North Springfield, VT
www.vermontgetsstern.org
Vermont Republicans split over new gun law
The new gun control legislation Gov. Phil Scott signed into law on Wednesday has roiled gun-rights advocates and some Vermont Republicans, with more potential cracks emerging over a Trump-themed email from the state GOP party.
www.vnews.com
Primary Source: Vermont Republicans Split Over New Gun Law Valley News political columnist and news editor John Gregg in West Lebanon, N.H., on September 20, 2016. (Valley News - Geoff Hansen) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Purchase a reprint » Thursday, April 12, 2018 The new gun control legislation Gov. Phil Scott signed into law on Wednesday has roiled gun-rights advocates and some Vermont Republicans, with more potential cracks emerging over a Trump-themed email from the state GOP party. One of the most conservative lawmakers from the Upper Valley, first-term state Rep. Bob Frenier, R-Chelsea, has decided not to seek re-election to the seat he narrowly won in 2016, in part over his frustration with the gun law, which he voted against. “I thought it was an insult to traditional Vermont culture ... and so was the coyote bill,” said Frenier, referring to a bill that passed the Vermont House that bans coyote-killing tournaments. Frenier, who won his Orange 1 House seat over then-state Rep. Susan Hatch Davis, P-Washington, by 7 votes in 2016, indicated he may try to bring a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of some of the legislation that has passed, and said it would be easier to do once he is no longer a lawmaker. Meanwhile, he is trying to recruit Republican candidates for the two-seat House district, which represents Chelsea, Vershire, Corinth, Washington, Williamstown and Orange. Also raising concerns about the new gun law is North Springfield resident Keith Stern, who runs Stern’s Quality Produce in White River Junction with his wife. A protest candidate in the past, Stern this year is planning to run against Scott in the GOP primary, saying he is upset with the first-term governor’s support for the gun-control legislation and for just holding the line on taxes, rather than cutting them. Stern said that if elected, he would order his administration not to enforce the new gun laws, which include raising the purchase age for firearms to 21 and background checks for most private gun sales. “It’s unconstitutional and the governor takes an oath to uphold the constitution,” Stern said in a phone interview. Stern also asserted that Scott, whom he voted for in 2016, has lost support among GOP voters. “If he runs, it’s going to have to be with Democratic support. It has to be,” Stern said. “He has lost the Republican base.” That remains to be seen, of course, and Scott in his remarks at the bill signing on the Statehouse steps made clear he knows the stakes. “I understand I may lose support over the decision to sign these bills today. Those are consequences I’m prepared to live with,” Scott said. He said avoiding more gun tragedies was most important. Stern, who is holding a “meet and greet” with the public at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, at Hartford Town Hall, said he voted for Libertarian Gary Johnson, and not Donald Trump, in the 2016 elections, and said he likes some of Trump’s ideas, while disagreeing with others. Scott has been careful to distance himself from Trump, but the state party is a different animal. A fundraising email on Wednesday morning from the Vermont GOP bannered “Make Vermont Great Again!” raised several hackles with its obvious homage to the president’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. “In recent years, our state has been co-opted by the liberal elite. Out-of-touch politicians have been hell-bent on stripping away every right and freedom that Vermonters hold dear,” the GOP pitch said. State Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, a Stowe Republican who worked for then-Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords, was not amused by the “Make Vermont Great Again!” appeal. She issued a tweet that said she was “disappointed” and “embarrassed” by the email. “Traditional VT Republican values I embrace = fiscal responsibility, free market economy, smaller, more efficient government AND compassion, respect, understanding, compromise. None of the above displayed here,” Scheuermann tweeted. Briefly Noted The filing deadline for candidates in Vermont is on May 31, and some new faces are stepping forward. Democrat Randall Szott, a librarian who lives in Barnard, said he plans to run for the House district representing Barnard, Pomfret and part of Hartford. State Rep. Susan Buckholz, D-Quechee, has opted not to run again. And Thetford Republican Bill Huff is planning to run for the Orange Senate seat long held by state Sen. Mark MacDonald, D-Williamstown. U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., has endorsed Executive Councilor Chris Pappas in a crowded Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s open First Congressional District seat. Two former Valley News reporters won prestigious awards this week from the Columbia Journalism School. John Woodrow Cox, now a reporter at the Washington Post, won an award for his series on children affected by gun violence. And Hanover High graduate Ben Conarck, of the Florida Times-Union, won along with Topher Sanders of ProPublica for a series they did, “Walking While Black,” about the ticketing of a disproportionate number of African-Americans in Jacksonville for jay walking. John P. Gregg can be reached at jgregg@vnews.com.
Top2018News
Stern compares himself to Calvin Coolidge? The President whose supply-side economic policies caused the Great Depression? I THINK THAT SAYS IT ALL!
ReplyDeleteCoolidge wasn't the chief cause; he was just a cog in the machine. His policies toward settlement of the European countries' war debts played a part. As the federal government was relatively weak until the Depression, it was really the Secretaries of the Treasury and the Wall Street big boys who set up the catastrophe.
ReplyDeleteCoolidge might have declined to run for another term because of the death of his son, or he might have decided that the way the national government was run was antithetical to his New England upbringing, but decline he did. Historian Frederick Lewis Allen wrote, "Coolidge viewed the subsequent events with the satisfaction of a man watching the train he has just departed run off the bridge."
Ok, I was just keeping it short. The point I was making is that of all the past Presidents, Stern chose to compare himself to one of the worst. Supply-side economics WAS one of the Coolidge Administration's policies, even if "Silent Cal" was not so directly involved. The reparations following WWI were another mess, and led to the rise of Adolph Hitler. Not good, either!
DeleteWhen Stern says, "Calvin Coolidge was a man of few words himself but that did not affect his leadership ability," I believe he is comparing his style of presentation to Coolidge. Cal was indeed a quiet man. Keith may come across as "too quiet," but his beliefs are anything but timid. He has my vote.
DeleteNot timid, reckless. He'll bankrupt the state in the same way Coolidge and his administration bankrupted the country. Maybe worse. Think it's bad now? Elect Stern, and see how bad it gets! One need only to look at Kansas and Oklahoma to see. Broke schools and dysfunctional government, all thanks to policies like the ones Stern will put in place. This has been tried folks, and it fails every time. The only votes he'll get are from those who don't care what happens, as long as they can feel like they are in charge. Thankfully, it won't be a majority!
DeleteFeel free to rant, 10:25. I'll make you a deal. You for the candidate of your choice and I'll vote for the candidate I choose.
DeleteI AM free to rant. I don't need your permission. Yes, you and the other 26% of Vermont's population on the far right should vote. When you lose, understand that the reason is because you make up only a small fraction of the population, and you're really just wasting your time! But hey, feel free!
DeleteVoting is never a waste of time, and as far as the "far right" and "26%," I am neither. I tend to be middle-of-the-road but a vote against one of the established candidates in primaries might give them pause to reflect on some of their unpopular decisions before the general election. Anyway, Vermonters usually are the losers in each election and will continue to be as long as the liberals control the state house. They have an amazing way of coming up with new taxes every year. But hey, if that makes you feel like a winner, feel free!
DeleteSo, you'll be voting for Scott, then. He was my choice. I KNOW I'm an old-fashioned moderate. Curious though, why the full-throated endorsement of someone who you don't plan on voting for in the general election? You either support someone, or you don't. Unless you're just a spoiler!
DeleteI don't believe Stern will win the primary, but if he does, I certainly would vote for him. I can't vote for him in the general election if he's not on the ballot. See how this works?
DeleteYeah, I see how it works. You say you're a moderate, but you support the far-right candidate. If you truly were a moderate, you'd vote for Scott. In short, you're full of crap!
DeleteAh, so the name calling and insults begin. I don't recall asking you to explain my voting preferences to me. I'm pretty darn comfortable living in my own skin, and if it's all the same to you (or even if it isn't), I'll vote the way I want.
DeleteFair enough, but if you don't want to be called a liar, DON'T LIE!
DeleteCare to point out where I lied? I said I was voting for Stern in the primary and would repeat that vote in the general election. If Stern loses the primary, I will, more than likely, vote for Scott.
DeleteI also said voting for a lesser known candidate in the primary could -- and should -- cause an incumbent to think about losing his constituency if he doesn't gravitate back towards his base.
If you can't understand that, you can type in caps all day long and you still won't make a valid point.
I said that because there's no way a true moderate could vote for Stern. As you said "...his beliefs are anything but timid. He has my vote." Sounds like a ringing endorsement. To then claim to be a moderate, voting for him in protest, is disingenuous at best, and outright lying at worst! You can tap dance all day long, but you're no moderate; you're a Stern supporter!
DeleteStern got MY vote for Governor! Gov Scott is a RINO to a T! Never believe with the State of Vermont, GUNS are a BIG thorn!
ReplyDeleteAs a child, Dad go to deer hunting season annually event; some time Dad got a deer or did not get any deer at all.
As I SEE THE SUBJECT OF GUNS ISSUE: I never touch a gun, but have to be RESPECT for the LAWS of gun, especially DEER HUNTING SEASONS, police, and other parts, too.
In MY opinion, Gov Scott IS ONE TERM GOVERNOR: TRAITOR and RINO!
He ran as a moderate. There's no electoral college here, you have to actually get the majority to become governor. Face it, being a "RINO" is the only way a Republican can win in this liberal state.
DeleteSo you think Jim Douglas was a RINO? Are you kidding me?
DeleteDon't know Jim Douglas, as I wasn't living here then. A quick Google search reveals that he lost the popular vote the first time (sounds familiar) and only got a significant majority once thereafter. That was a while ago. Vermont may not be as liberal as some say it is, but I don't think someone as far to the right as Stern stands a chance. Not in the "Age of Trump." Scott got my support, but just barely; I'd vote for almost ANY Democrat before Stern!
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