Editor’s note: This commentary is by Arshad Hasan, of Burlington, who runs the Alliance for a Better Vermont.
[V]TDigger published a story with the headline, “Scott’s approval rating topples after signing gun control bills.” I’m afraid it’s just not that simple. Worse, the headline obscures a more complicated reality about Gov. Phil Scott’s leadership and the skepticism Vermonters have developed about him.
It is true that Scott’s approval rating dropped significantly. According to the Morning Consult polls, Scott went from one of the most popular governors in the nation last quarter to one of the least today. But guns, alone, can’t be it. Despite some vocal minority opposition, these same polls show that simple measures that protect us from gun violence are overwhelmingly popular. It’s among the most praised actions the governor has taken.
There is no question that Scott’s support for gun safety legislation has angered a number of Vermonters but it is also true that they are in the minority and many more Vermonters support the governor’s stance on gun violence prevention. If we are going to rely on polling data to tell us how Vermonters are feeling, let’s take a look at the most recent VPR-Vermont PBS poll, which showed widespread support for the gun safety legislation passed this year. Out of the 603 Vermonters polled, 67 percent said they completely favored or generally favored the new package of laws. This broad support for gun safety legislation mirrors the national trends, where nationally Americans support stricter gun laws by a two-to-one margin.
While pinning his drop in approval solely on gun safety legislation does makes for an easy headline it does not make for reality.
So what are the other factors in Scott’s massive drop? His approach to our state’s finances for a start. This year saw the governor holding the state budget hostage over his demand to use one-time money to lower property tax rates for non-residential properties. This may seem like good politics but using one-time money to keep down rates temporarily will only result in much higher property taxes down the road. Vermonters aren’t stupid and the vast majority saw this for what it was, a gimmicky political stunt.
Scott has also made a bad habit of attacking our public school teachers. This year saw Scott proposing an arbitrary staff-to-student ratio that failed to take into account factors like poverty and rural vs. more urban districts. Any changes with our education system should be done carefully and be based on research with an understanding of the impacts on our children. Vermont has a good, high quality education system and the people of this state do not support dismantling it in a mad rush for short-term savings.
In a similar penny-wise buck-foolish move the governor pushed back against a unique coalition of business and environmental organizations advocating for cleaning up Lake Champlain. While this coalition and the majority of Vermonters understand that cleaning up Champlain and our waterways is going to cost money they also recognize that putting it off will only make the cleanup all the more expensive.
There’s a theme here. Scott’s policies are all penny wise and dollar foolish. His short-sightedness might make him look good right now, but it costs us all in the long-run. Vermonters started seeing through that this year.
It’s easy to see politics as a series of black and white issues. Guns are a hot topic, but it’s not the roots of all popularity here. Governing requires leadership and foresight on all kinds of issues that affect our wallets and our lives. There are a host of reasons why Vermonters are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Gov. Scott. His penny wise-buck foolish approach to our state’s finances and his undercutting of our quality education system are just a couple of examples. Political analysts and the media should be wary of jumping to easy headlines and simple black and white solutions that mask more complicated, grey realities.