Vermont Progressives greeted Gov. Peter Shumlin with a standing ovation at their quarterly steering committee meeting in Rutland on Sunday. Though the next election is more than a year away, early support from the Progressive Party during his first term is crucial for Shumlin’s re-election bid.
Winning the hearts and minds of Progressives is essential. That’s because the party, though small, has had a major impact on the outcomes of past statewide races. In 2008, Anthony Pollina ran as a Progressive against Gov. Jim Douglas and Democratic challenger Gaye Symington. Pollina finished second — by a tenth of a percent ahead of Symington.
In 2002, Shumlin ran against Pollina and Republican Brian Dubie in a three-way race for lieutenant governor. Dubie won that early contest. In last year’s race for governor, Dubie lost to Shumlin by 4,300 votes.
The Progressives dropped out of the gubernatorial race in the last election cycle, and four of the five Democratic primary candidates sought endorsements from the party. Once Shumlin won the nomination, he had no trouble wooing voters from the left, largely because he was in sync with the Progressive Party’s top priorities – single-payer health care and the shutdown of Vermont Yankee.
Shumlin is the first governor to address the Progressive Party State Committee meeting.
Martha Abbott, chair of the party, said Progressives care more about issues than partisan politics.
“If the governor and the Democratic leadership take our issues and fight for them and campaign for them in the Legislature, we win, because winning on the issues is how Progressives define winning,” Abbott said.
In his address to party members, Shumlin restated many of the talking points from his stump speech and emphasized core Progressive issues, including decriminalization of marijuana, sustainable agriculture, health care as a human right and support for public education.
“If you can teach me how to read, you can teach anyone to read,” Shumlin said. (The governor is dyslexic.) “We must be the education state, and we will be.”
The governor defended his budget cuts to human services programs, which included reductions in funding for the Area Agencies on Aging and developmentally-disabled Vermonters who are cared for at home. Shumlin reiterated his belief that Vermont’s tax rates are too high and wealthy residents are leaving the state as a consequence.
Shumlin promised the audience that he had no interest in going to Washington (presumably as a congressman).
“Washington is paralyzed,” Shumlin said. “Nothing good is going to happen there. Other states seem to be too scared to make the changes necessary. Politicians from all parties are so concerned about getting re-elected, they don’t want to make the tough decisions.
“So here’s my promise. I never want to go to Washington. That would be my idea of hell. I don’t want to do it. I never want to be the president of the United States. I’ve done the state Legislature and I’m not going back there. So, all I ask you is, work with me to get some real things done.”
Editor’s note: Anne Galloway contributed to this report.
Correction: The Progressive Party’s state committee meeting was its quarterly meeting. It was previously reported as its annual meeting.
