Over the past 15 years, Sen. Randy Brock (R-Franklin) has been a Republican Party stalwart. He’s had his wins and losses, but he has always answered the bell — serving as state auditor, legislator and gubernatorial nominee. Throughout this time, he has generously underwritten GOP causes.
But Brock is fed up with the Vermont Republican Party. Though he currently serves on its executive committee, he warned, “I may not continue.”
In 2018 Brock donated $1,000 to the party, but he has now closed his checkbook. “If I did give this year, it would be for a designated purpose,” he said. The senator has two in mind: “First, to hire an independent accountant. Two, to support [candidate] recruitment.”
An outside accountant seems … drastic. When asked why, Brock replied, “Because I have concern about the professionalism of the operation.”
Yikes.
Brock is not usually the kind to air dirty laundry. But he’s a straight shooter, he’s had enough, and he’s not the only one.
“After the last election, I viewed the party apparatus as one would a sports team, in need of a change in leadership and direction,” said Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning (R-Caledonia). Aside from Gov. Phil Scott‘s reelection, 2018 was a disaster for Vermont Republicans. They lost 10 seats in the House, giving the Democrats and Progressives a combined supermajority. They even lost a Senate seat in Rutland County, usually safe ground for the VTGOP.
Sen. Corey Parent (R-Franklin) was recently named to the party’s executive committee — and learned that each member was expected to donate $1,000. He flatly refused. “Quite frankly, I’d need to see an effective plan,” he said. “If there’s no plan, it’s hard to make donors feel confidence.”
Parent has been part of a successful party effort in Franklin County that in recent years has bucked the trend of Republican losses elsewhere in Vermont. “The 2018 results speak for themselves,” he said of the statewide outcome. “The party doubled down on an unsuccessful strategy.”
To be fair, it was a bad year for the GOP nationwide. But many top Republicans say recruitment failures and ineffective messaging made the Vermont results worse than they could have been. Lawmakers such as Parent, Scott and Rep. Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe) won with a broad appeal, while the party itself leaned heavily on negative messages after the example of President Donald Trump.
The state party’s top officials are, by and large, Trump Republicans — from chair Deb Billado to national committee members Jay Shepard and Suzanne Butterfield to most of the state party committee. They talk about being a big-tent party, but they have a blind spot when it comes to the effectiveness of Trump-style rhetoric in Vermont.
“Those of us who’ve been elected and reelected know you have to go beyond the party base to achieve your objective,” Benning said. That includes, he added, appealing to “Vermonters in the middle and disenfranchised Democrats.”
Neale Lunderville is a former executive director of the party and was a fixture in the administration of Republican governor Jim Douglas. “Parties exist to elect people,” he said. “Parties do best when they are focused on electing folks. They start to lose traction when they focus on ideology.”
Rep. Rob LaClair (R-Barre Town), the deputy minority leader in the House, called for a pragmatic approach. “Our party has felt that it can change public opinion,” he said. “We need to start listening and reflecting what Vermonters believe.”
Longtime Republican donor and unabashed conservative Skip Vallee is on vacation out of state, but he took the time to weigh in via email. “People make too much of the party as some guardian of ideology,” he wrote. “How about becoming the ‘guardian of recruitment for house candidates?'”
Former House minority leader Don Turner, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018, has pledged to support party leaders. But he acknowledged that he’s been asked by “lots of people” to challenge Billado when she’s up for reelection this fall. He has refused, but it’s more about his own plans than loyalty. Turner is leaving the door open to another statewide run, and he believes a stint as party chair “wouldn’t be helpful [to a candidacy],” Turner said. “If I knew I was never running for office again, I’d take it on in a heartbeat. I think I can do the job.”
Billado’s response to all of this criticism? “No comment.”
Scott is diplomatic, but you can read between the lines. “I have my views. They’re not always in line with the party,” he said at a March 28 press conference. “I believe that to survive two gubernatorial elections and receive the most votes, I must be doing something right.” He could have also cited an unbroken string of victories dating back to his first run for Senate in 2000, fueled by his cross-party appeal.
The party’s ideological purity could be seen in its choice of a featured speaker for its April 5 fundraiser: ultra-conservative columnist Star Parker. Scott called her appearance “not helpful to the state” and said he would not be attending.
A visual examination of the approximately 100 who did attend revealed only one lawmaker: Rep. Marianna Gamache (R-Swanton). There are 49 Republicans in the legislature. That’s a stunningly poor showing for a major event.
Party leaders allowed press access during the cocktail hour but not for Parker’s speech, so only paid attendees heard her message. But her views are easily discovered online. Parker doesn’t believe in evolution and argues that birth control and divorce are forbidden by the Bible. She equates abortion with slavery as “crimes against humanity” and has said the Confederate flag and the LGBTQ rainbow flag “represent the exact same thing.”
Yeah, probably not the best messenger for Vermonters. But she’s an ideological fit with the GOP leadership, if the rhetoric at a March 30 Republican State Committee meeting is any guide. At the Montpelier gathering, far-right remarks were greeted warmly.
Shepard gave a thoroughly Trumpian address. “The president is doing a great job of calling out the wackos,” he said. “We need to start doing the same in Vermont.” As for the national Democrats’ Green New Deal plan, “They want to stop cows from farting.”
Laughter ensued.
“I’ve seen tens of thousands of apartments being built in Chittenden County,” Billado said from the podium. This dystopian array of human Habitrails is, in her telling, part of “a master plan” to depopulate the countryside. This sounded like a right-wing conspiracy theory that posits a United Nations plot to relocate Americans into planned communities. If anyone in the room thought that was crazy, they didn’t speak up.
Former state representative Tom Koch reported that he’d undergone two knee replacements. “Bit by bit, they’re going to replace all of me,” he said. “When they get to the brain transplant, I hope I get a Republican brain.”
Someone from the audience replied, “Sorry, Tom, you’ll probably get a Democratic brain because they’ve hardly been used.”
Rimshot.
In pitching for donations, Billado got a little loose with the facts. “The entire executive committee voted to contribute $1,000 each to the party,” she said. “I hope everyone here can commit to supporting us.”
No mention of Brock and Parent. Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs Brittney Wilson, Scott’s representative on the panel, said she hasn’t donated either. “The ask was not just financial,” Wilson said. “There are other forms of support.”
When told of Billado’s remark to the state committee, Wilson said, “There appears to have been a bit of miscommunication.” Yep.
Vermont Republicans do have a bright spot on the horizon. Former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker will speak at another party fundraiser on May 30, time and location to be determined. Walker is more conservative than Phil Scott, but he’s a credible national figure. And Scott is inclined to attend — if the party agrees to open the event to the press.
“We need to show that we’re a welcoming party,” Wilson said. “If it were to be completely closed, that would be a deal breaker.”
Billado and VTGOP executive director Jack Moulton prefer to keep the press out, although neither could explain their policy.
“I don’t know if we’ve always closed [fundraisers] to the press,” Billado said in a Monday phone interview from party headquarters. “I don’t get involved in that.”
Remind me: Who’s in charge here?
Billado consulted Moulton, then offered, “We haven’t allowed the press since Jack started here.”
Um. That was little more than one year ago. Hard to believe that Moulton is the authority on state party tradition.
The Vermont Republican Party has embarked, consciously or not, on a steady course of self-purification. Trump-style conservatives rule the roost, to the detriment of their candidates’ electability. For more than a half century, from Bob Stafford, Jim Jeffords and Dick Snelling to Jim Douglas and Phil Scott, the secret to a Republican politician’s success in Vermont has been winning support across the political spectrum. If party leaders are too immersed in Trumpism to realize that, the VTGOP could be in for a lengthy stay in political purgatory.
Media Notes
A familiar face has returned to Vermonters’ TV screens. Fran Stoddard, former host of Vermont Public Television’s “Profile” series, is the new host of “Across the Fence,” a daily show produced by University of Vermont Extension and broadcast on WCAX-TV.
Stoddard succeeds former WCAX news anchor and Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Famer Judy Simpson, who retired in January.
“We were looking for a seasoned veteran broadcaster,” said producer Will Mikell. “It was a no-brainer to give [Stoddard] a call, and it was great that she said ‘yes.'”
Stoddard has spent the past five years working for the Orton Family Foundation, the nonprofit created by the owners of the Vermont Country Store. It works to foster the health of small cities and towns across America. “The work opened my eyes to rural America and its needs,” Stoddard said. “There’s a strong connection to ‘Across the Fence.'”
The program can be seen weekdays at 12:10 on the WCAX midday news.
Meanwhile, Burlington Free Press reporter Nicole DeSmet took to Twitter last Friday to announce her imminent departure. “Next week will be my last at the Burlington Free Press,” she wrote. “I’ve decided to make a change and see what comes.” She declined requests for an interview.
“For the past three years, Nicole has demonstrated a keen nose for news,” wrote Free Press executive editor Emilie Stigliani in an email. “She has written some damn good stories.”
The paper also recently lost digital news editor Evan Weiss. His wife is finishing medical school at the University of Vermont and is off to a residency program in California. He’s following, as one might expect.
Stigliani said she expects to replace both DeSmet and Weiss.
This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2019.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
Two things: Suzanne Butterfield was a big supporter of Judge Roy Moore, the candidate for Alabama’s vacant senate seat (on the off days from when he was cruising shopping malls looking for teen girls.) That should follow Suzanne for the rest of her life. Also, if Don Turner thought he could do a lot for the party, why wouldn’t he take on the job instead of entertaining the idea he could ever win statewide? Seems like he’s taking the easy way out.
To blame Deb Billado, elected in 2017 as statewide party chair, for the decay of the Vermont Republican Party is dishonest and hypocritical. Worthy of blame are those, recognizable as Republicans only by the R after their name, leading the charge to rid the party of truth talking, Deb Billado. Those deserving blame are Phil Scott, Joe Benning and to some degree Don Turner. Scott was a Senator from 2001-2011, Benning in the Senate from 2011 and Turner in the House from 2006.
Republicans lost having their way in the House since 2005 & never got it back. To blame Billado for this waning because she supports a President elected in 2016 is clearly a diversionary tactic to keep blame from where it belongs. The big tent Republican Party has always been inclusive but that shouldnt mean turning the party into liberal-progressive lite because Democrats do liberal better than we do and so we lose. Scott, Benning and Turner entered the tent with a contagious liberal virus that weakened the tent pillars and continued to infect other Republicans. Both Randy Brock and Corey Parent appear infected by the Benning virus. The Democrat Senate just passed PR.5, the proposed abortion constitutional amendment. They praised Benning for his help in their plan to enshrine Vermonts current abortion practice that allows the killing and dismembering of a perfect full-term baby just seconds before delivery and with no restrictions. Thats evil Joe!
Scott, Benning and Turner could have led in those faltering years after 2005 to bring things back but chose instead to make it their purpose to stay in office perpetually, but to do that they had to be willing and did stay under the dining table on a leash, willing to eat only what their liberal/progressive masters dropped to them.
“Those of us who’ve been elected and reelected know you have to go beyond the party base to achieve your objective,” Benning said. That includes, he added, appealing to “Vermonters in the middle and disenfranchised Democrats.”
This tells all: let’s translate. “Going beyond the Party base” means going liberal if the Republican Party goes the way of Scott and Benning. Scott did not “appeal to disenfranchised Democrats” when he betrayed our gun rights and alienated his base — he appealed to far-left Democrats. This article is amusing, as it shamelessly exhibits the cooperation between the liberal author (and media) and Scott and Benning. Together they here shift blame to Trump. But Republicans in Vermont did not come out for Trump, because THOSE REPUBLICANS WHO FEEL DISENFRANCHISED STAYED HOME DUE TO DISAPPOINTMENT FOSTERED BY THEIR VERMONT REPUBLICAN LEADERS.
Thank you Deb for swimming up stream when there are Rino Republicans trying to swim their direction. They have no backbone, and maybe its time they leave the GOP…..we all know who they are……and they will lose in the end. Again, thank you Deb.
To call Scott Walker “credible” is a stretch, as the man behaves like he is the Koch Brothers’ personal concubine and has done nothing other than take his orders from ALEC ( another Koch Brothers appendage).
Hopefully the GOP will go the way of the dodo bird before they succeed in burning down the country. The GOP is not the party of law and order, they are the party of “smash and grab”, supporting a President who ignores laws, the Constitution , common sense. To support Trump is to be economically, scientifically, and morally obtuse. To support Trump is to endorse without hesitation bigotry , fascism, a love of gun violence, white supremacy, a lust to destroy the environment, cruelty, and an eagerness to punish those at the bottom of society simply for being poor all while allowing the 1% to loot the country.
The national Republican Party resembles nothing more than a pack of rabid hyenas and it sounds like the Vermont GOP is in a hurry to emulate this. Just watch a Trump rally or members of the Freedom Caucus and listen to them howl.
To blame Deb Billado is a joke,It’s just a inside job by Scott and his team of no minds who lost seats in 2018 because Scott cherry picked who he would campaign with. Joe Benning is a true leader in his own mind who thinks his opinion is followed by all of Vermont Republicans. Randy Brock, Joe Benning,Phil Scott and Jason Gibbs are known “Trump Haters” and feel all GOP Chairs must follow there lead in there hate. Don Turner rides the fence because he’s thinking about a second State wide run and needs the almost 100,000 voters who voted for Trump. Lets get ready to rumble people because Phil Scott and his little team of no minds are no match for the fight coming.
Rob Mazza
This idea that Vermont Republicans are any different than Republicans anywhere else is just a myth, as is the big tent story some are trying to sell. All Republicans/Conservatives are motivated only by hate and greed. Period. Theres no mystery to what they believe and their motivations arent so much about their own self interest as they are about hurting other people. Republicans are all of the my house is burning down so your house should burn down too mentality. Never do they consider the rising tide lifts all philosophy. Lets hope that decent Vermonters continue to recognize Conservative ideology for what it is and reject it.
No, if you bring in speakers who reject science, who promote bible-sharia, who praise the Confederacy, and who hate on LGBT people, you will never run this state again.
At a point when Vermont is crumbling under the weight of years of the progressive/ democrat legislative policies, maybe its time to be concerned about appearing to pander to those who own the tragedy. Vermonters are waking up and are questioning is the push for collectivism really for the greater good? When allowed an informed decision – separate from the left-controlled media – people are choosing individual freedom over being ruled by big brother and fellow minions. Its looking like its going to be a year for drastic changes in perception and understanding concerning the truth about what has happened to Vermont over the past 50 years. Will voters even in the 802 shift to Republican ideas and pursue freedom? Articles like this are no surprise. The legislative session will end in a month and liberal media will have their work cut out doing damage control when people get shocked by what the P/D majority is doing to us from the chambers of State House. Not falling for the divide and conquer strategy. Its great to witness the family of Reasonable Vermonters growing every day – note the R for Reasonable.
This comment thread is a great reminder that unfettered stupidity is thriving all across the political spectrum.
Tis true, Star Parkers views “are easily discovered on-line,” Just google and up comes Star Parker CURE FIGHTING POVERTY / RESTORING DIGINITY. STAR is the founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), a Washington D.C. based public policy institute that promotes market-based solutions to fight poverty. Star consulted on federal Welfare Reform in the mid-90s and then founded CURE to bring new ideas to policy discussions on how to transition America’s poor from government dependency. In 1996, she was a featured speaker at the 1996 Republican National Convention.
Today, CURE leads a network of 800 pastors serving in at-risk communities across the country; and hosts BlackCommunityNews.com, a leading internet news network that has provided conservative information to more than two million viewers since 2015. Before involvement in social activism, she had seven years of first-hand experience in the grip of welfare dependency. After a Christian conversion, she changed her life. Now, Star regularly consults with both federal and state legislators on market-based strategies to fight poverty.
In 2017, Star joined the White House Opportunity Initiative task force to share ideas on how to best fix our nations most distressed zip codes.
To date, Star Parker has spoken on more than 225 college campuses, including
Harvard, Berkeley, Emory, Liberty, Franciscan, UCLA, and UVA. She has authored several books; is a regular commentator on national television and radio networks including the BBC, EWTN, and FOX News; and Star is a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators, reaching 7 million readers weekly.
This article has many false statements of who said what where. It also does not give the full interview with Randy Brock. The author picked a sentence or two that would leave you with an impression that was not intended by Randy.
It is clear to me that the author intended an attack
on certain party members would occur and it did.
Why would this author let or want the readers attack Governor Scott ? This is not journalism its in fact fabricated news. The author clearly tossed together comments or false statements people did or didnt make and hoped he would present this perfect picture of chaos. Several comments are attributed to me that where never made and actually where made by other people. The chaos is in fact in the jumbled and misleading article. No wonder the term fake news gets assigned to so many articles like this.
Our press can do and the readers deserve better.
Deb Billado
Deb Billado made a good point and it is the reason I rarely post here. They claim to moderate comments to insure a civil environment but what I see shows just the opposite. They talk of classy but how can that be when they let people post under phony names and spew lies and disrespect? Hard to understand how journalists, who come from such a rich and respected history, could sell out the way it is today. Conservatives, Christians, and Republicans (True Republicans are usually all three) only have one way to get the word out in this evil environment. They live their lives as they speak their words and set examples that someday might turn things around. I’m not holding my breath.
Skip Vallee,, OK. recruit candidates to do what exactly? Spew 17th century ideology? That’s worked so well there is now only 1 Republican US rep. or senator east of the Hudson River and she won’t survive 2020.. I say, keep it up. Sooner better than later the anachronism that is the Republican Party will die in the same manner as the Know Nothings. And the country and Vermont far better for it. Seriously, how much longer can the party of lying, stupid ideas and genital grabbing survive? Propaganda only goes so far.
Bob Orleck’s contention that a “True Republican” is only one who is “Conservative and Christian” (both spelled with a capital “C”) should not go unchallenged. The Vermont Republican Party Platform contains no such litmus test.
As Minority Leader in the Vermont Senate, I truly do lament our dwindling numbers of elected representatives. Mr. Orleck’s remarks do nothing but repel those social moderates and those of different or no faith who would otherwise choose a party that believes in less government, low taxes, a strong educational system, a thriving economy, individual liberty and personal responsibility. A party that insists on such capital “C” ideological purity, especially in a state with Vermont’s demographics, cannot survive. All Vermonters should know that we VTGOP members given the privilege to serve in the Senate abhor any such litmus test.