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Jerry Trudell of West Charleston will be in Washington Superior Court Thursday morning for the first of two days of his civil challenge of the new Vermont law governing when independent candidates must file petitions to be on the ballot.
The Legislature moved the date from September to June so that all potential candidates filed at the same time. In the past, independents and minor party candidates filed after the party primaries in September.
As your Independent candidate for the Vermont Senate for Addison County and Brandon, I am calling for the impeachment of the federal president. I am calling on my learned colleagues currently sitting in the Legislature, to direct this impeachment under Jefferson’s Rules.
Nobody is above the law, nobody.
For not only continuing but compounding the Bush-era coup of our Republic, this man deserves to have every single law-abiding citizen turn his back on him. On his hands is the blood of every Vermonter who has died or will die in these oil wars: Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya.
He is also responsible for:
Any congressman that votes to fund any illegal, unconstitutional war is also party to war crimes. Notably, Rep. Ron Paul (R) has consistently refused to fund these wars. Rep. Peter Welch (D) has also begun to question the legitimacy of this funding, and has voted against it.
- The deaths, maiming, torture, homelessness of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in these and other countries.
- The continuing genocide against North American Indians, Pashtun tribespeople, and anybody else who gets in the way of Big Oil, uranium extraction, pipeline deals…
- Propping up an infinite growth economy based on cheap (often stolen) oil. Peak Oil is now past, and with it the brutality that built that economy and nearly ruined the planet on which we live.
I understand that many of you here in Addison County had high hopes in the ‘changing of the guard’. I regret to inform you that those hopes of reform… have failed. We must maintain the moral high ground, even if this man has failed to represent us honestly.
A diverse group of Independence-minded Vermonters, state-wide political, social and economic organizations, political office candidates and private individuals came together in solidarity and support for Vermont’s sovereignty, independence and constitutional rights, at noon on Sunday for the formal opening of the Center for Vermont Independence (CVI) . . .
At 10:24 Friday morning, Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont took to the floor of the Senate to share a few thoughts about the tax-cut plan brokered by President Obama and Republican leaders. Well after the sun had set and most of his colleagues had flown home, Sanders was still sharing - about taxes, bad trade deals and "the crooks on Wall Street," among many other topics.. . .
"You can call what I am doing today whatever you want, you it [sic] call it a filibuster, you can call it a very long speech," said Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. "I'm not here to set any great records or to make a spectacle. I am simply here today to take as long as I can to explain to the American people the fact that we have got to do a lot better than this agreement provides."
Independent Todd Pritsky is very proud to have received an endorsement from the Vermont League of Conservation Voters. "I'm thrilled to be listed among so many Republicans, Progressives, Democrats and other Independents who are dedicated to a conservative approach in preserving Vermont's unique character while building a sustainable 21st century economy," Pritsky said. Referring to the diverse slate announced today, he also remarked, "it shows that conservation goes beyond party lines and is just a traditional Vermont value."
The VTLCV endorsement comes on the heels of Todd's earning a nod from the non-partisan group Progressive Push last week. "I was very pleased to receive that one, too," he said, noting that "the folks there accepted my position that fiscal responsibility and progressive policies go hand-in-hand."
The winner of today's Democratic primary for governor will meet Republican Brian Dubie in the first general election debate this Thursday in South Burlington. Not on the invite list: the five independent and minor party candidates who earned spots on the November ballot.
Debate co-host AARP is excluding the five independents because they don't meet their criteria for being viable candidates, says AARP's Dave Reville. Even though the candidates collectively garnered 2500 signatures to get onto the ballot, Reville says they fall short on three fronts.
Now comes Emily Peyton, Pro SE, Independent Gubernatorial Candidate, a resident of Windham County in Vermont , in the power vested in my person by the 500 signers of the petition to place me on the ballot, and makes the following complaint against the named defendants above.
Whereas: It can be safely assumed that these signers desired to hear my views, and I have the duty and the responsibility to at least these 500 people of Vermont to participate in public forums, to openly criticize our methods of governance and offered such solutions as I have long and deliberately pondered and studied, at the expense of my personal productive time. Further the newspapers that discriminate against me, and the radio stations that do the same and the forums and debate hosts that (plan to) exclude me, and the television news that suppress any mention of my platform through the assumption that my movement to the Governor’s seat is bound to fail for the lack of funds, or for my choice to serve as an independent and not affiliate with either the Democrats, Republicans, or Progressives, or for my perceived incompetence due to my choice not to participate in campaigns for political office heretofore, or for my gender, or for whatever reason they may have for presupposing failure to win the election as reason to fail to cover my platform completely, is guilty of practicing unfair and illegal suppression, censorship and bias , which in turn causes damage to the people of Vermont by withholding the full complement of information that the People of Vermont absolutely need in order to make a full and informed decision prior to their vote in a few short months in November 2010.
One of the busiest political campaign years in recent Vermont history kicked off yesterday as a last few candidates filed their petitions with the Secretary of State’s office, setting the slate for Aug. 24 primary elections and the Nov. 2 general election.
Topping the ballot: A wide-open race for governor, with at least five Democrats, a Republican, two independents, and a United States Marijuana Party candidate seeking to succeed Republican incumbent Jim Douglas, who is stepping down after four terms in the $142,542-a-year job.
As I tweeted the other day, the Legislature very bravely changed this year's election rules very late in the game, so the Secretary of State has moved up filing deadlines for Independent candidates from September to June. I had planned to have all my signatures collected by the original early date of June 7th, but was counting on the extra cushion just in case things got dicey with Sam--indeed, my first week of planned work on the ground was stymied by his teething, roseola and first header off the couch!
Regardless of my individual situation, this election year change of election year rules is not only patently unfair, undemocratic and a cynical ploy to lock out candidates outside the major parties from where I sit, it could also be illegal . . .
He couldn't get a word in edgewise at the gubernatorial candidates forum where he was arrested for disorderly conduct in April. At his scheduled arraignment in Vermont District Court early Thursday afternoon, everyone suddenly wanted to hear what Independent candidate for governor Dennis Steele had to say.
Steele, a fifth-generation Kirby native and U.S. Army veteran, entered the Main Street courthouse expecting to plead innocent to charges stemming from his alleged disruption of a union-organized debate at the Old Labor Hall. But Washington County State's Attorney Tom Kelly had opted to not to file the charge. "It was a good arrest," Kelly said, "but we've got a lot to deal with here and I didn't think it merited the court's time."
Everybody go and support Atriot Todd Pritsky in his run for the Vermont House. Go NTodd!Pritsky is running as an independent for Vermont Representative for Franklin 2. From his campaign website:
It is time...
- For a sustainable economy - Vermont needs clean energy, green jobs, local agriculture, improved telecommunications infrastructure
- For restoring our Constitution - States can take back their authority to fight the PATRIOT Act, FISA, the destruction of habeas corpus, Federal restrictions on healthcare reform experimentation
- For leaving Afghanistan and Iraq - The Guard must stop occupying other countries, instead protecting our freedoms, helping in crisis, raising their families here at home
- For fair elections - Democracy requires more choices than wealthy Democrats and Republicans, no more corporations outspending the People, public campaign financing, instant runoff voting
This is a grassroots campaign which will rely not only on electronic media but more importantly on the passion and creativity of countless people. As a challenger for one of two House seats, and an underdog by virtue of my independent status not to mention lack of name recognition, I need a lot of help from Vermonters I run into along the way.
- For universal healthcare - Government's job is to protect and promote the General Welfare, and our right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness
At one of the liveliest events so far in the campaign for the governorship, the five Democratic candidates jostled for political position and sparred as they answered questions on labor and union issues Thursday evening. Adding to the drama, a third-party candidate for governor had to be removed by police after he began interrupting answers by the candidates.The caption to a photo accompanying the report actually provides more information on the incident than the report itself, stating:
Dennis Steele of Kirby, a candidate for governor with the Second Vermont Republican Party, is arrested for disorderly conduct by Barre Police after interrupting Thursday night's debate.See original post at Poli-Tea for a bit more background and context.
Vermont already permits two parties to jointly nominate the same candidate. However, in Vermont, when a candidate is the nominee of two different parties, he or she is only listed on the ballot in one place, so a voter who votes for that fusion nominee can’t indicate a preference for either political party.
Vermont state representatives David Zuckerman (Progressive-Burlington) and John Moran (Democrat-Wardsboro) have introduced HB 621. The bill would change fusion so that candidates nominated jointly by two parties would be listed twice on the ballot, so that a voter voting for such a candidate could demonstrate a party preference. This is called “disaggregated fusion.”
Vermont had disaggregated fusion before 1977, but changed to aggregated fusion that year.
A group in Vermont has formed the Vermont Independence Day Party, which believes that Vermont should secede from the United States. It plans to place nominees on the 2010 ballot for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and 7 State Senate seats. See this AP story.From the AP story:
Update: At The Whig, Septimus supplies a link to a "website devoted to Vermont Independence: Second Vermont Republic."Peter Garritano thinks it's time for Vermont to call it quits with America. The way the 54-year-old automobile salesman sees it, the "empire" is about to implode and tiny Vermont can lead the way by becoming its own independent republic. So he's running for lieutenant governor, topping a slate of secession-minded candidates seeking statewide offices this year. Their name: Vermont Independence Day.
"The only hope is to just say, 'Look, this isn't working for us. We want to start fresh again, with a real democracy,'" Garritano said. "I think that's the answer. Hopefully, it won't take another horrible economic breakdown to realize that the people running things don't look out for the little guy, or us, or the soldiers. It's all about profit and getting the last drops of oil on Earth and trampling people's rights." Garritano, gubernatorial candidate Dennis P. Steele and seven candidates for state Senate seats plan to declare their candidacies Friday.
The Senate may pride itself on a reputation as the world’s most exclusive deliberative body, but it is turning into just about the only place in America where a self-described socialist can wield raw power . . .
His favored targets of late have been top finance regulators he considers far too deferential to Wall Street. Last year, Sanders spent five months trying to block a new Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman before securing promises from Gary Gensler to aggressively fight market excesses.
Now Sanders is aiming at the top of the regulatory pyramid, putting a hold on the renomination of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, whom he blames for the country’s financial collapse as a “key architect of the Bush economy.’’ . . .
Over 16 years in the House, his lonely crusades - which amount to a lifelong campaign to remake American capitalism and social policy - were usually received as little more than glitches in an otherwise well-functioning two-party system. Since his 2006 election to the Senate, however, Sanders has found that a junior senator’s single vote is enough to keep him in the middle of things.
He has emerged as a one-man tea party within the Democratic ranks, an ideological purebred feeding on outsider anger while staying close enough to party leaders to win rewards for his loyalty . . .
This year, Sanders may settle on a fresh target: a proposedComcast -NBC merger. He is working with staff over the winter recess to determine the best way he can wield his senatorial clout to potentially disrupt a deal he fears could establish a new monopolistic media force. “I think in a democratic society, you don’t want one or two institutions controlling the flow of information,’’ said Sanders.
