The Vermont Democratic Party's leadership believes it and not the electorate should select the next US Senator from our great state. The VDP's uncivil behavior at a Rutland event a few days ago provides clues to the ferocity with which it will fight to prevent any challenge to the status quo and its powerbase.
An unfortunate confrontation occurred at the Rutland County Democrats Headquarters opening party between its leadership and the Daniel Freilich for U.S. Senate campaign. Exclusion, omissions, tearing down campaign materiel, berating supporters, threatening, almost coming to blows...the establishment’s methods of protecting its turf.
Our campaign does not condone such unprofessional and uncivil behavior but is not intimidated. On the contrary, we are reinvigorated to fight elitism, assumption of power, and stealing of elections.
Daniel introduced himself to Senator Leahy and asked why he will not publicly debate. The Senator responded that he would debate on VPR prior to the primary and with all candidates prior to the general election and that Daniel was an Independent and "not a real Democrat". Clearly, a well controlled brief radio discussion is within the Senator’s comfort zone but it is not a public debate.
Daniel responded that he had submitted 750 signatures to the Secretary of State as a Democrat, public debates are part of elections, and Vermonters deserve elections rather than coronations or appointments; otherwise, we might as well send a reappointment letter to the Senator every six years and avoid costly elections.
Daniel added that the Senator was right if what he meant was that Daniel was "an American first and a Democrat second".
The happenings in Rutland show the elitism of the Vermont Democratic Party establishment which believes its cronies should pre-determine the primary election’s results rather than the electorate. State Party leadership is aiming for a reappointment rather than an election.
By doing everything it can to exclude challenge to the status quo, the Party can continue to maintain an unfair tax system favoring the rich and powerful; support incremental health care, banking, and energy/environment policy reform favoring the rich and powerful; and play in a corrupt and unethical system of Special Interests campaign funding which precludes objective representation of the people and also favors the rich and powerful.
One might ask why the state’s Party establishment is so angry at Daniel’s bid for the U.S. Senate. The reasons are obvious. A victory for Daniel Freilich would upset the status quo; a victory for Senator Leahy would maintain the status quo.
Daniel will fight for restoration of fair and progressive taxes, favoring working and middle income Americans; for single-payer health insurance, favoring working and middle income Americans and taking on health insurance and pharmaceutical industries; for transformational energy/environment reform, favoring America and taking on the oil industry; and for strict regulation of the banking and finance sector (including Glass-Steagall Act restrictions), protecting Americans and taking on the banking industry; and Daniel will not accept any Special Interests funding of his campaign, favoring representation of Vermonters rather than Special Interests.
Daniel respectfully and again asks the incumbent to proactively participate in scheduling open and public debates about the issues of the day prior to the primary election. Vermonters deserve accountability by their congressional representatives and should not be taken for granted or demeaned, whether due to political expedience, hubris, or lack of courage. The incumbent’s prior excuse was that he was too busy with the Supreme Court nomination hearings; those are over. The new excuse is that Daniel is not a real Democrat.
Enough with disingenuous excuses.