Reply #31: I like Jeffords, and I'm not alone.

[cali]

Lots and lots of liberals in Vermont like him. We voted for him when he was a republican and we'll vote for him as an Independent. He's pro-choice, pro-gay rights, voted against Clarence Thomas, and is pro-environment. In the sixties he fought the paper mills that dumped sludge into Lake Champlain, when he was in the Vermont state Senate. He battled nuclear power. He's been a leading advocate for funding special ed. He was instrumental in passing the 1976 legislation that promised that Washington would pay for up to 40% of the costs of educating disabled students. (never happened, but that wasn't his fault.) He managed to slice $300 billion off the tax cut. Jeffords voted against the IWR, and more recently against the most recent bloated budget with its anti-choice bomb.

You said:
How could people elect someone like him?? He brings the state of Howard Dean to shame.

To answer your question, we vote for him for all the reasons I gave above, and because he's a a decent human being, quirky, to be sure, but humble and smart and responsive to his constituents. Yes, there are some Vermont liberals who don't like him, but they're a pretty small minority. As far as bringing shame to the state, hey aren't you from Illinois, didn't you guys elect Denny Hastert and Ray LeHood, as well as Durbin and Obama? I'm proud of Vermont and it's representatives. I'm proud of the vital democracy to be found in the small villages and towns thoughout the state.