Roper: The best moment of the 2019 legislative session

By Rob Roper

During the debate over the plastic bag ban, Rep. Jim McCullough, D-Williston, explained the need for the legislation because, among other things, “the pounds of plastic in the oceans would soon outweigh the pounds of fish in the ocean.” Wow! Serious stuff.

state of Vermont

Rep. Bob Helm, R-Fair Haven

During interrogation on the floor, Rep. Bob Helm, R-Fair Haven, actually confronted McCullough about this “fact,” asking for confirmation of how many pounds of fish there actually are in the ocean. McCullough had to admit he didn’t know. Then Helm asked how many pounds of plastic there were in the oceans and where that number could be verified. Again, McCullough had to admit he had no idea, and couldn’t verify anything.

It was the single best moment of the legislative session.

Helm’s point, humorously illustrated, was that many of the bills the Legislature puts forward are based on false findings, incorrect assumptions, and “factoids” that really aren’t based in reality. Too often, nobody challenges those assumptions. This is how we get bad legislation that becomes bad law. And, in order to do justice to the issues and their constituents, the legislature should do a better job of vetting these foundational arguments for interfering in our lives.

Good lesson. Good laugh!

Rob Roper is president of the Ethan Allen Institute. Reprinted with permission from the Ethan Allen Institute Blog.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Public domain and state of Vermont

4 thoughts on “Roper: The best moment of the 2019 legislative session

  1. I think McCullough was using hyperbole to make a point. Good for Bob helm to clarify though.

  2. As far as I can see, Rep.Helm is one of the few legislatures who has guts, brains and commons sense and uses these trait quite effectively.

  3. Well at first I thought it was going to say the day it ended but then realized the flatlander fools are still there. Good for Bob for making the boob see he’s a ijiot. How many pounds of that trash come from Chinia, India, Indonesia leftarded Jimboob? Did you do anything about the one’s actually polluting the Ocean Jimboob? No you only jackboot on the poor VT citizen who’s more of a contentious environmentalist *landsteward* then any of you leftarded buffoons. Did your stupid ban actually accomplish the goal of reducing “pounds” from the ocean Trash? No ‘Cause it’s only about the ASSAULT AGENDA. We need more Bobs and whole lot less Jim*boobs*

  4. Than you Rep. Bob Helm, for asking a ” Grade School Question “, it just goes to show
    it doesn’t take much to stump a Progressive DemocRAT, they don’t have a clue.

    Good work on showing the foolishness we have in Montpelier, It’s all rhetoric !!

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