Shumlin Out Of Touch With Vermonters

Shumlin out of touch with Vermonters

In bad times, wealth is great insulation from unpopular opinion and bad circumstance. That's why the proletariat so often despise bourgeoisie leaders: they can marginalize their contact with the condition of average people as much as they please. The front-page photograph of the Burlington Free Press on Sept. 14 shows Peter Shumlin's wallet, bulging, a portrait of a millionaire disconnected from the condition of the average Vermonter.

In bad economic times, the fundamentals are what must come first in a state government's budget. Shumlin acts and talks like it's still the mid-2000s. He wants to cut Corrections spending (something we need) and set up a single-payer health care plan. That has not only proven financially unsustainable in several states, but it's also intensely, politically divisive.

It's hardly the way to unify, but it shows the mindset of an ideologue who is clueless about what to do during economic hardship.

Meanwhile, Brian Dubie, who had to consider the financial ramifications of becoming governor, understands that Vermont must attract more jobs and take care of the basics state needs before considering frivolities like mandatory pre-school. If we can learn anything from Shumlin's fat wallet and smooth talking, it's that he doesn't know how to be a governor in lean times. No amount of weeklong doses of manual labor on a campaign trail will ever cover up that fact.

JUSTIN SENESAC
Fairfax