This Week: No Kings Day 3.0

At the State House in Montpelier on Saturday, the blue sky was full of sunshine while thousands of people gathered together with their signs and collective mission: stand together to demonstrate our belief that NO KINGS should exist in the United States of America and certainly should not lead our land of the free and the brave.

There was a fellow next to me wearing a US Marine Corps Veteran hat and holding a huge American flag facing right side up (which I prefer); he was quiet but smiling and cheering. My 13-year-old son and I saw many older people in wheelchairs and walkers who hardly seem to be able to withstand the cold but they were all smiling, tearing up, taking photos, and cheering. What an exercise in our First Amendment!  

Standing in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, Senator Peter Welch and Attorney General Charity Clark stood amongst the people of Vermont. Clark provided logical and conclusive language about her office’s mandate to follow the Constitution. Clark shared that the state of Vermont has recuperated about $12 million dollars from the federal government for education, disaster relief, and health care by insisting on the rule of law; that funding is now back in Vermont where it belongs. 

As a candidate, I recognize the effects of national intolerance, political harassment, and overt authoritarianism on our small state. I do not think it is a useful exercise to ruminate on the executive branch, but we do need to be prepared to function independently from the federal government if needed.  

We have depended on national funding in many areas of our livelihoods for decades. Circling the wagons with legal righteousness from our attorney general, local economy boosts like shopping nearby, buying food from our neighbor farmers, and focusing state infrastructure on flood and drought mitigation can shore up our strengths well into the next administration.