VTGOP chair statement on Trump announcement

This statement is by Paul Dame, chair of the Vermont GOP.

Speaking for myself, and not necessarily for the party as a whole, I want to take this opportunity to repeat what I have been saying during my entire term as chairman; I believe that Donald Trump is part of the past, and I want to focus on the future. Trump’s candidacy is at best a distraction from the direction the party needs to go in order to be successful in the Northeast and other swing states, and at worse it had become a liability for many of our down-ticket candidates. Now that Trump has made the decision to run, I believe that the best thing for the future of the party is for other qualified and accomplished Republicans to join the primary to give Republican voters a better choice in the 2024 election.

Paul Dame, chairman of the Vermont GOP

I do find it unfortunate that this announcement comes so early in the process, and Trump’s candidacy will become a factor of undue influence as State Committees re-evaluate the rules of their primary process next year.

While there are many elements of Trump’s speech that I can appreciate from last night, including things I think could have broad bi-partisan support like a lifetime ban on the revolving door from Congress to Lobbying firms and a call for Republicans to focus all of our policy goals on working class Americans, I can’t help but imagine that the policy goals put forward will eventually be corrupted by Trump’s more negative patterns of behavior. Republican policies like these will get broader support and a more fair hearing if they come from almost anyone other than Trump.

I believe former President Trump is correct in his predictions of how much worse this Biden economy will get in the next 2 years. This is all the more reason that Republicans need to have a more robust discussion about the future of our party that needs to be shaped by policy, not Trump’s personality. The 2022 midterms suggested that even though voters didn’t like the current economy under Biden, Republicans did not articulate a clear vision of how we would make things better, which I believe is a factor in why we couldn’t close the gap on what should have been a good electoral environment. If Trump’s campaign focuses too much around past grievances, especially aimed at Biden, without offering a clear alternative Republicans should expect the 2024 results to look a lot like the 2022 results.

In the end, the party will belong to the Republicans who show up and get involved. If Republicans want something different than Trump, and want to redefine our party outside his shadow, it will take those voters getting more active and involved at the local level, and working for better candidates during the primary. Republican voters must become the change they want to see – both as members of our party, and as citizens of our country.

Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

76 thoughts on “VTGOP chair statement on Trump announcement

  1. VTGOP gave no money to Gerald Malloy. How much is Paul Dame paying himself? Attacking Trump does distract and focuses attention off the money.

  2. The shift to radical Progressive policies ensures the failure of Vermont as a viable place to live. Smart people vote with their feet. Noticing lots of Vermont license plates in The Free State of Florida lately…

  3. Paul Dame should immediately RESIGN as VTGOP chairman. His flagrant incompetence led to a non-Republican winning the nomination for US House. His views on Trump are indicative of his lack of usefulness. Yeah, yeah..he’s a nice guy blah blah blah, but here is an instance of a nice guy causing us all to finish last. Do the right thing and resign. Now.

  4. Perhaps the biggest question is why the party chairman, of the party that got clobbered in a year when where election laws were strong did exceptional (Florida) and made slight gains else where, feel he has anything to offer on the national stage? Should he not be trying to figure out why he failed completely in his own state? It has been hard enough on Vermont that the Democrat Party, which has held power in Vermont for two decades, has used its place of “power” to flex in the national stage, but now the chair of the Republican Party in Vermont feels a need to compete with them. Vermonters will be better served by political parties that focus on Vermont and helping make Vermont a place where citizens flourish, rather then these people who do nothing to help Vermont, but somehow feel they are in a place to lead our nation. Sadly, with the “great wisdom” given by Paul Dame and of governor Phil Scott regarding national politics, that applies to both major parties in Vermont now. Vermont needs a Vermont focused political party, where opportunity for every Vermonter of every background, all ages (conception to natural death) to flourish is the focus. No more dividing one group against another, as this commentary did. No more buying into the false idea that if one person does better, another must be doing worse. Rather lift the tide and raise all boats.

  5. A political party is nothing more than a vehicle to move an agenda as to what government should be and do. The Democrat Party is what it is in Vermont because the Progressive Party presented gave a more “pure” leftward alternative and pulled many from the Democrat Party and in fact pulled the Democrat Party itself as the Democrat Party tried its best to cut is losses on its left flank.

    Phil Scott won governor with over 70% of the vote, while Democrats dominated the legislative races. And the fact is they share a lot in common. The Lt. Gov. candidate shares similar space, but not as well as his Progressive opponent, who easily defeated him. No surprise there. Now the VT GOP Chairman make clear that he really does not want a huge portion of those who voted Republican in his party. Paul Dame is not stupid. He knows that thousands of the most reliable Vermont Republicans support Trump. Has he really tried to understand why? I did not vote for Trump in 2016 (neither did I vote for Clinton), but when he won, I did not trash those who voted for him, nor did I trash the newly elected president. I know those who voted for Trump were good people. I respected them an worked to understand why they voted for Trump. Also to my surprise, Trump policies where not tyrannical big government action that I felt were portrayed in his campaign style and which was my reason for not voting for him.

    This letter by Paul Dame is shameful, but he clearly feels no shame. His attack on Trump is an attack on those who appreciate the many good things about Trump … no engaging in war after war, energy independence, not forcing everything from the federal government, economic opportunity, giving America three Supreme Court Justices that embrace their role as interpreting law, not making it, and the list goes on. I understand not appreciating many of Trump’s tweets. There is an easy solution … don’t read them! It is called self control. As far as what he often says, it takes a bit more work than we might hope, but if you take the time to find the real context and all that he actually said, you would find it not only not offensive, but actually meaningful.

    For the thousands of Vermont Republicans that are tired of being used and then kicked down, you might consider starting a new party in Vermont. Vote Republican where the candidates embrace limited government, free-markets, and embrace a morality fixed by our Creator. Otherwise, give the people of Vermont better choices, not just in primaries, but also in the general elections. You cannot hurt the Republican Party in Vermont as it is already on a suicide mission. The only way to help the party at this point is to provide it with a clear alternative, like the Progressives did for the Democrat Party. Do not focus on winning, but rather presenting ideas and forcing the Republican candidates to take stands on issues and to come clean. Find a welcoming name, like the progressives did, even though their ideas are as regressive as it gets. It is a tough road, but the Republican Party in Vermont has no place for you. Controlling the party platform is meaningless. There is no reason left to stay … not until it is pulled back from trying to be Democrat lite.

  6. All I can say is Wow Paul Dame, are you serious?? Are secrety a P O S globalist Beotch Commie what about saying something about our Freedoms and Rights being trampled by people like corrupted Commie Authoritarians destroying VT and you say zero about commie Balint who calls us all kinds of names while gaining money and power from a gigantoid foreign based Globalist ponzie scheme FTX connected to real Nazis running Ukraine. F off Paul Dame and take the Cee you next Tuesday RINOs all over allowing any of this BS!!

  7. Phil Scott is a RINO. And Joe Benning is a RINO too. They are the leaders of our Party. Thanks to them the party is in disarray. Phil Scott openly scoffs at the conservatives and pro-life people in his own Party. When our so-called “Republican” governor doesn’t believe in over half of our own Party Platform, when he votes for the Presidential candidate of the opposite Party and brags about it in public, when he supports Article 22 and most of the liberal sexual agenda, when he votes like a Democrat on many issues (perhaps because he is really one of them), what are ordinary Vermonters supposed to think? Vermont has embraced the Socialist agenda with the election and re-election of Bernie Sanders over the years. Why are we surprised? As a conservative, I am tired of the “moderates” in the VT GOP bashing us for not wanting to be Democrats. I was one once. I left the Democratic Party because they were becoming too far left. Now they are Marxists and the timid RINOs in Vermont politics are where the Democrats were a few decades ago. We are being pulled slowly and inexorably to the left, people. Can’t you see it? Stop following that path! It leads nowhere except to chaos and financial and moral destruction. With the passage of Article 22, Vermont has chosen to REPUDIATE Judeo-Christian morality and embrace the morality of ancient Rome instead. Just wait until you find out what kinds of hell you have called down upon yourselves and our state. Hardly anyone talked about God throughout this debacle. Reap what you sow. Do you really think all of this chaos is caused by humans alone? Maybe you ought to start thinking about God and His opposite — the devil. Human sacrifice (as in up-to-birth abortion), is the devil’s playground. We have run toward hell in Vermont and are about to reap it. Politics is the least of it. Our Constitutional and cracked moral foundations are the most of it. I don’t want to hear lectures from RINO politicians who vote like Democrats.

  8. Paul Dame,,,,right. Looking towards the “future” of the GOP. Well, it’s rinos like you Paul that are a large part of the problem here in Vt. By you not standing by the best guy this country ever had to run it, a real businessman, says all I need to know about you. You are right tho, the future is what I’m looking forward to, a vermont where rinos are rooted out of the REPUBLIC, and the vote isn’t manipulated, where we have real choice. Voter ID with PROOF of residency and citizenship, paper ballots, and same day results. Maybe you should step aside for some real “leadership”. “Leaders” no one leads anyone except to the gallows, and it shows now every day, right here in Vt. It won’t be long now that we leave this once proud RED state only to return to the only piece of real estate we own that’s NOT taxed to death,,,the cemetary plots we own.

    • The unelectable, Real Republicans are ensuring, “it won’t be long now that we leave this once proud RED state only to return to the only piece of real estate we own that’s NOT taxed to death,,,the cemetary plots we own.” soon than later.
      You can’t change a thing without being elected over 60% of the state didn’t trust Real Republicans or RINOs enough to vote for them.

  9. I can’t think of one reason not to be supporting Donald Trump to become our president in 2024.

    Donald Trump has been dealing globally as a businessman for years and is well known everywhere he goes.

    He had the experience as a businessman that made him so successful as our president and now having served in a presidency where he was surrounded a bunch of traiters in his own party and the opposition party I’m sure he will have eyes in the back of his head this time so the backstabbers won’t get a chance to take him down again.

    One of the first things he did when he became president was to secure our borders in spite of the actions of the rhinos and the democrats who were fighting him tooth and nail from building a wall.

    The next thing he did was to begin to secure our economy by making others around the globe pay their fair share… We provide security for many other countries and we weren’t being paid properly for that job..

    President Trump truly had concern for our young men and women and worried about putting them in harm’s way while they serve in our military.

    President Trump also built our military back into a fighting force providing new equipment after a failed administration under Obama who was happy to tear our military apart.

    And look what happened in Afghanistan and the billions of dollars of equipment that was left there for foreign countries to use against our soldiers.

    Donald Trump knew for America to succeed we had to be energy independent and he moved immediately to begin to secure America from being ruled by other nations because I’m shortage of oil in America.

    Look where our country is today begging nations that hate us to death to supply us with the oil we need just to survive in America never mind succeed.

    Donald Trump provided safety around the globe because every leader in every nation knew when Donald Trump said something he meant it and they feared him.

    Donald Trump wanted to put an end to corrupt politicians and that is why the democrats hated him and even the rhinos were totally against him in spite of the wonderful things he did for the American people…

    I could go on and on about Donald Trump and the wonderful things he provided and for sure years in spite of the fact he had both hands tied behind his back by corrupt politicians in the republican party and the democrat party.

    I’m definitely in for Donald Trump for president in 2024..

    I’m not sick of winning but I sure am sick as hell of losing our country under the rhinos and the democrats who are hell bent on destroying our republic.

    I’m back in Donald Trump 100%.

    I know a lot of people like ron DeSantis as I do and I support the man 100% as the governor of florida where he does one hell of a job for floridians.

    In spite of that I don’t think DeSantis holds a candle to Donald Trump as far as being a world leader at this point in his political career.

    Just look at the flunky we have for a governor and the shape the state of Vermont is in… And look at the rinos in our party that support Phil Scott.

    There is no one in America who can begin to fill his shoes and do the wonderful things he did for America in four short years.

  10. In recent times, how many self-anointed “Real Republicans” have won an election in Vermont?
    I can’t change or enact legislation without being elected.
    And standing on the state house steps shouting, and name-calling gets you nowhere.
    Mr. Sexton has proven so.

    • The great defender of every Rino in VT, Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Tom Arnold.

      Name one time I was on the Statehouse steps shouting Mr. Arnold.

      Oh I have stood on those steps many times. Once for the Rally I organized supporting Law Enforcement. I worked with the Capitol Police, the Montpelier Police and the State Police for weeks before my Rally in July 2020. I shared with them the emails and messages I received before the Rally threatening me and anyone who attended. I made it clear to the domestic terrorists threatening me and each of the Law Enforcement Agencies, this was to be a day of recognizing individuals and organizations that played a part in something Heroic or outstanding. Celebrating people who step up for us at the worst moment of our lives.
      I also made sure to say that if anyone was coming looking to confront those who threatened us, they were not welcome.

      We weren’t protesting or attacking any group or organization. But after months of watching every major News Outlet attacking Police Nationwide and claiming they were ” hunting Black Men, ” I had enough.
      Over two hundred people from every corner of VT attended, and I was promised by Chief Romei, Chief Pete and Corey Lozier they would be watching.
      About 150 people from blm and Antifa also showed up that day. Forcefully shoving their way through the crowd of Vermonters praising people who stepped up, in one case saving the life of a friend of mine.
      The verbal assault on law abiding people was becoming ever more threatening. And when an elderly woman holding a sign supporting the Police was knocked down the threat of violence increased exponentially.
      Those that arrived that day with hate in their hearts would not stop pushing and screaming at people who had done nothing wrong.
      At one point Pastor Gordy Wells asked for a moment of silence for George Floyd, the response was instant, and everyone from both sides stood quiet.
      Then Pastor Wells asked for a moment of silence for every member of law enforcement injured or killed. The domestic terrorists raised Hell, screaming like never before. The pushing and shoving increased. I called for the Rally to end, because I wanted to prevent anything from getting much worse.

      And we stopped. The day after, Scott was shown a video of what happened. His response was that ” We can never allow another racists event like this on the Statehouse grounds. ”
      Fully and completely choosing sides, and it wasn’t with the law abiding Vermonters or the Law enforcement agencies that protect us.

      The following year I organized my Patriot Rally. I included speakers from 12 of the 14 counties.
      Great people that shared so much information of how to protect yourself and your Family.
      Again attended by approximately two hundred. Another great day that accomplished a great many things to many people.

      I cannot count the number of times of I have stood on those steps or been in the Statehouse Chambers fighting for the unborn and our Constitutional Rights.
      Each time my voice was heard, as were the voices of those who stood with me to make a difference.

      You have argued with me more than a few times defending Scott and the Rinos destroying our Great State, the unborn and our way of Life.
      Each time I am accused of doing nothing or the reason Republicans fail.

      Just like I explained each time before Mr. Arnold, those I call out are not Republicans. And neither or those who vote for them.
      The destruction of life to the moment of Birth, illegal and unconstitutional gun laws and mandates, supporting illegal aliens while homeless Vermonters and Veterans get pushed aside. So many other reasons to call them out.
      And guess what Mr. Arnold ?
      That won’t change.

      Since you sited the term I use – Real VT Republicans, here’s the definition ; Pro Life Constitutional Patriots that fight for themselves, their families, their State and their Country.

      How many won ?
      Charles Wilson from Caledonia County for one. He stood up every time and spoke the truth.
      That earned him no support from the Caledonia County GOP. But I worked with him every day.

      Gerald Malloy won over 80% of the Real VT Republican vote.
      Without any help or support from the VTGOP. I worked with Gerald from the beginning of his campaign.
      But the apathy and those that claim to be Pro Choice Republicans ensured Welch would win.
      Is the good enough ? Absolutely not, but they showed the courage that will inspire others.

      If you don’t stand for something you stand for nothing.
      Even if I stand alone I will stand.
      One more thing Mr. Arnold, I did all of that without shouting.

      • Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you one of the persons who aided and abetted the Great Blue Wave, Reverand Jim Jones Sexton and numerologist, 80% blantant fabrication.

        • Anyone notice Mr. Arnold did not address any of the facts I posted about these Transrepublicans violating the VTGOP Platform while supporting the destruction of Babies to the moment of Birth and voting to allow the ” State ” to take your children to forcefully mutilate them sexually, chemically, physically and psychologically ?

          Maybe Mr. Arnold could be Madden’s campaign manager in two years.
          Neither of them are Republican.

          • There once was a charlatan named Sexton,
            Who ruined everything he came across.
            He was nothing but trouble,
            Leaving nothing but rubble.
            He was as heartless as they come,
            And his victims never knew until it was too late.
            Beware of the man with the silver tongue,
            For he will only bring you down in the end. ..in the name of the lord

          • Everyone notice how Mr. Arnold doesn’t even try to defend the Rinos I call out for lying, failing and betraying the Real Vermont Republicans ?

            He sure is quick to attack me for stepping up to fight them though.

            Hey Mr. Arnold, do you support the slaughter of Babies to the moment of Birth, the illegal and unconstitutional Gun Laws, the unconstitutional jab and mask mandates, and the transgender agenda that will destroy the Reproductive Autonomy of children, or are you just a mouthpiece for those that do ?

            Ironic that you feel compelled to attack me for speaking the truth, but defend those traitors.

            FYI ; Feel free to continue your ” poetry ” and one liners.
            I have a life. No more time for your drivel.

          • Vermont Republicans believe in one nation under God, individual liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, compassion for the needy, low taxes, a free-market economy, and local control. The principles set forth in this platform reflect the beliefs and values that characterize the Vermont Republican Party. While individual Republicans may hold diverse opinions in some areas, such differences should not deflect from advancing the principles that unite us as a party.

            Mic drop.

            When Jim, Johnny come lately republican, didn’t get his way in the VTGOP, he ran away like a coward, he QUIT, and started calling people names. That’s character!

            In the military, folks like Jim were never trusted.

            Jim quit
            Jim quit and ran!!!
            Quitter.

    • Phil Scott has destroyed the VT GOP with some help from the establishment RINOs. When independents and moderate democrats judge the GOP based on Phil’s progressive values then it’s easy to assume that conservatives are extremists. If we had a Dick Snelling showing people what conservatism is all about then we could be winning seats. But sadly Phil has just about ensured that he will be the last republican elected to statewide office. Harry Truman put it correctly when he said when the choice between a democrat and a democrat the democrat will win every time. That is why RINOs like Joe Benning can’t ride Phil’s coat tails to victory.

  11. You’re the Chair of VTGOP and you have absolutely NO BUSINESS making a statement based on your personal opinion. That’s exactly the same as paying to see a musician, (like Roger Waters) and having to listen to his political opinion when all we care about is the music. You need to step down from your position and let someone who cares about VTGOP take your place. There are plenty of us who will support Trump.

  12. What would be the most devise statement as the VTGOP chair, you could possibly say, after a massive loss in your home state?

    If you are struggling with this question, see above announcement.

    If Paul Dame is the tree, his fruit is division.
    If the Uniparty is the tree, it’s fruit is division.
    If the New World Order is the tree, it’s fruit is division.
    If the Montpelier Swamp is the tree, it’s fruit is division.

    If division is the fruit, it comes from the same tree. Hence our problem in Vermont.

  13. Trump’s point about the death penalty for high-end drug dealers had to have been music to the ears of the hundreds of Vermonters who have lost loved ones to the Welch/Sanders/Biden open southern border policy allowing Fentanyl importation. Now if Gov. Abbott would stop exporting illegal aliens to of states.

  14. The problems in VERMONT cross party lines, without question. The party has not listened to the VERMONT public, nor their members this is why they suffer staggering losses for decades. This is why they don’t win.

    When was the last time, as a party they addressed 3 items as group that need solving for ALL VERMONTERS?

    The answer is they haven’t.

    They have never had an offensive game, they pretty much always let the uniparty in Montpelier pick the terms of the argument, to which they frame, such that we lose. Every election cycle. Debates, same way.

    We all know a winning team can not run a national campaign. Yet here we are instantly talking about national issues. Here is the Dame talking about national issues. Our state is the water boy for the uniparty.

    Any group of people coming together in love of neighbor, Vermont, and country would sweep the boards, because it would be the first political party to do so in 25 years. The votes and the live will go to those who do this. Until then, enjoy you uniparty, the Montpelier swamp, they’ve got this game down pretty well.

  15. Trump can do without nutcase “Republicans” in Vermont.

    He got plenty of votes from non-socialist Vermonters in 2016 and 2020

    If the Vermont Republican Party could attract that many votes, it would have been a proper opposition party for the Dem/Progs.

    Under failed Dame, that will not be possible.

  16. What a nasty bunch of comments. Go ahead and pick on me too, I seriously don’t care what you think about me.

    There’s really two issues here as I see it. The VT GOP is a joke. It runs a bunch of wing nut candidates(with a few notable exceptions) and then cries when the Dems walk away with the election once again. Now we can’t even depend on Scott to ever successfully veto whatever crazy legislation the legislature will propose; it will all get passed. And believe me they are positively drooling over the bills they will pass. Vermont will be unrecognizable soon. No one to blame but the VT GOP and those who can’t even be bothered to vote; and there’s many of those here. Only real choice now is to vote with your feet; leave this once great state and move to a red state.

    Re; Trump, Dame does have a good point. I supported Trump and voted for him twice. I think he accomplished a number of good things despite being under attack the entire time. At this point however I do feel strongly that it’s time to turn the mantle over to others, especially younger people who will be able to take the GOP into the future. Trump is 76 now; would be 78 if elected as for Biden. True he’s not suffering from obvious dementia as is Biden. But still not a role for someone that age. I’d personally love to see him represent the US at the UN; that would be a hoot!

    Trump will turn it into a personal campaign to vindicate himself and make up for his loss. Was the 2020 election fixed? Good possibility. Guarantee it will happen again if he runs.

    We need strong candidates who will not turn people off the way Trump does. Yeah I know he has his fan base, and many of you are in it. But there are also many of us who now view him and his behavior as a liability. His stated intent to destroy DeSantis should he run is over the top and should disqualify him immediately. That he is more interested in his personal goals and vindication than what the country needs is of great concern. So I do agree with Dame that he shouldn’t run again. And if he does and wins the GOP primary he will lose once more, even against a brain dead Biden.

    • They led the way you liked, they’ve been leading that way for years, except for two, so why haven’t they won at all? Why haven’t the numbers grown? gov Scott’s county hasn’t even had a list of names of voters and supporters coming into the 2022 election. How come after being in office for decades and being the capital’s home county gov scott doesn’t even have a team their that looks like him? He clearly gets votes from 70% of the people, how come he can’t even get 50% of the towns to caucus for him? They vote for him, so what gives? It should be super easy to find trump hating candidates in Vermont no? Everybody knows you can’t put a Trump sticker on your car or it will get keyed, so what gives?

      I’ve met many candidates, most all of them are NOT politicians. they’d re good people willing to stand up for our state and values. None of them are slick talkers, honest people, tired of what is going on in our state, know well that something is wrong.

      They also aren’t afraid to use their own name in public. They may have lost an election, but they certainly are not losers. I’d stand by them any day of the week and love to have any of them as a neighbor or friend. I think perhaps your comment is misplaced.

    • We are behind enemy lines, so you can’t run a typical national campaign, where most people know the difference between a democracy and republic. Any winning team would know this from the onset.

      however the leadership in the VTGOP thinks the answer is to run democrats or Uniparty candidates on the ticket because, they win in a UNIPARTY controlled state. That only makes the uniparty stronger, it keeps our population divided and fighting each other, one of the uniparty goals, because a divided America is easy to swindle and control.

      If a group of people got together and ran a VERMONT campaign,, vs national they would sweep the boards. Until then the United nations, the NWO pimps currently in control will control the conversation and the VTGOP will do their bidding, and keep on losing because of leadership failure, think what you want. These are the leaders and these are THEIR failures for what? 22 years straight? how do you explain that away?

    • Independent voters are people who can’t make up their mind to stand with the principals of one party. It’s easy for you to say Trump will make it personal, what do you do when viciously attacked? Do you want another professional, career politician like all the others prior to Trump? He is in a perfect situation right now to be president. He knows who the snakes and back stabbers are in the republican establishment are. He will win again this time because the nation sees what the uniparty does to us little people. Trump represents us and is not owned by corporate America or the corrupt never Trumpers who like Washington the way it is. Trump does not not need to enrich himself like so many (Biden family) who use politics for personal wealth. The unelected bureaucratic political machine known as the Deep State Swamp needs to be broken up. Who else is better positioned to do that? The people are with him!

      • @ Dano

        If Trump truly cared he would lend his support and knowledge to strong up and coming next generation potential candidates such as DeSantis and Nicki Haley. But ultimately it always becomes about him and his ego. That will be the downfall of the GOP if it’s allowed to continue.

    • You’re being indoctrinated, VTIndependent. Everything reported on this issue is either off-camera, or from a so-called ‘hot mic’, or from some other unconfirmed, anonymous source. The media is exaggerating what both Trump and DeSantis are saying about one another.

      Keep this in mind: these are the only arrows the progressives, the left media, and the deep state, have in their quiver. There were more than a thousand instances of election fraud criminal convictions (not accusations) in 2020. There was no Russian collusion with Trump. The DNC paid for the Steele Dossier. No classified nuclear documents were found in the Mara Lago search. The foreign lobbying case against Rudy Giuliani has been dropped. Dozens of FBI instigators were reported by the NYT to be under-cover in the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers during the Jan 6 insurrection. We still don’t know who Ray Epps is. Hunter Biden’s laptop is real. And, now, FTX crypto money has been laundered to democrat candidates in the latest mid-term elections – including to our own Peter Welch and Becca Balint.

      These are just some of the issues from which you’re being distracted. And yet there is no Trump policy with which any of us take issue.

      We’re not electing a high-school class president or a prom queen. The world is a ruthless and brutal place, and our government, our schools and universities are being infiltrated by foreign players. We should (we must) elect a hard ass, who is proven to have the best policies we’ve seen in decades. ‘Like’ him or not.

      If you want a friend, as the saying goes, get a dog.

  17. Gaslighting at it’s finest and what a delight it is to see these people squirm. Fun facts: The Congressional GOP declared their first order of business is to investigate 10% Joe’s family business (exposure.) The FTX/Almada crypto exchange collapse is ensnaring not only the DNC, but McConnell and company as well (exposure.) Space Force took control over all Defense Department’s military satellite communication function (they have it all.) National Guard cybersecurity units deployed combining efforts with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Homeland Security (they have even more now.) SCOTUS docket – filing some 70+ pages long. As Vermont’s leadership opts to continue their chicken dance, the barnyard is going to get a MOAB of Truth and consequences in the near future. The more you know!

  18. Well I for one loved President Trumps booming economy, cheap gas fuel oil and energy independence. His peace thru out the world and talk instead of military action, his securing our borders in spite of leftist commies and rinos. His making others pay their FAIR share instead of us footing the bill. His stocked shelves of affordable groceries and hardware and now his biggest plan TERM LIMITS the one thing that will make government for us again instead of for the wallets of the political hacks… No wonder VT GOP did so poorly following this imbeciles looking forward plan when we have to get back to what we had first…

  19. It would be nice to have Trumps announcement speech vs. what if written here for the people to compare for themselves.

    If it’s not shown, it says volumes….

  20. Funny how the VTGOP comes out against Trump BEFORE the VT Dems!

    Will you be leading us into the 2024 election? What will Vermont’s political future look like? Trump has nothing to do with Vermont, btw……..

    Must have good support within to come out with statements like this.

    What is your plan for 2024…..saying the opposite of the VT Dems, like every single year for the last 20+ years? We already know what the election results will be based upon our track record. Enjoy your reign.

  21. Chairman Dame blames President Trump for the almost complete failure of the VTGOP to put forth Republican candidates or support Real VT Republican candidates.

    Both Gerald Malloy and Charles Wilson from Caledonia County won their Primary contests without any help from the VTGOP. In fact, Charles Wilson won his State Representative Seat.
    I worked with both of them from the beginning of their campaigns.
    Charles was denied help and support from the Caledonia County GOP.

    Chairman Dame exceeded his own expectations of destroying the Republican Party in VT.

    Where to start ?
    Well, Dame actually blamed Trump from the day Trump was nominated to run for President in 2016.
    Dame and two others who were at the Convention to Nominate Trump walked out of the Hall when Trump took the stage. They were sent there to represent you.

    Dame refused to support Real VT Republicans who were running for Office this year.

    He and other members of the VTGOP chose Ms. Nolan despite the fact that she was Pro abortion thru the 2nd Trimester ( over 99% of all abortions ) and vowed to fight to codify Roe V Wade.
    Dame and Jay Shepard told Gerald Malloy he would not receive any financial help or support from the VTGOP. A promise they kept even after Gerald defeated the Rino candidate.
    But that didn’t not stop Dame from trying to use Gerald’s victory to bleed donors.
    Gerald never received One Cent from the VTGOP.

    Dame and the VTGOP supported and endorsed Scott, Benning, Beck, Martin, Walker, Sheuermann and Leffler despite the fact they all voted for and supported Prop 5.
    Scott and Benning bragged they would vote for Article 22.
    Parent from Franklin County put out a Mailer with Mitzi Johnson pushing Article 22.
    Toof from Franklin County wrote an Article for the St. Albans Messenger saying he supported Article 22.

    Besides the fact that all of them violated the VTGOP Platform, not a word from Dame or Rules Committee Chair Koch.

    Before the Primary Dame held a debate between the Senate and Congressional candidates.
    Not for Governor because Scott refused to debate.
    Stephen Bellows from Grand Isle County was on the Ballot as a Republican candidate for Governor.
    Stephen showed up at the event and asked Dame if he could state his positions. Stephen is a Pro Life and Pro Constitution Republican. Dame denied Stephen the opportunity.

    But wait there’s more ; Stephen also ran as the Republican candidate for State Senate from Grand Isle County.
    Scott endorsed Democrat Dick Mazza. And once again, Dame did not call Scott out for it.

    Dame’s continual hatred and blame for President Trump is a cancer. It is a cover for the worst possible result from an anemic effort. Dame is quick to blame everyone besides himself and the absolute failure of the Big Tent agenda they created.

    Real VT Republicans better step up. Dame is talking about what to do in two years. Here’s what you can do next year. The VTGOP will reorganize next Fall. Every Executive Office will be voted on.

    If you like the total failure and betrayal to the Republican Party in Vermont, Dame is your man.
    If you like their Big Tent which gave you Madden spitting in the face off Real Republicans, Dame is your man.

    If you are strong enough to stand up for what you believe in and are sick of Rinos and being lied to, Step Up and tell him you are done with those who have betrayed Republican Values and sold you out.

    • Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you one of the persons who aided and abetted the Great Blue Wave, Reverand Jim Jones Sexton, jailhouse lawyer, and numerologist.

    • Thank you for an outline of Chairman Dame’s lies and malfeasance. Add to the list that he supports election fraud and covers for Biden regime corruption and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

      You wrote that he “exceeded his own expectations of destroying the Republican Party in VT.”

      I agree with your choice of the word “expectations,” which conveys the sense that Dame’s “destruction of the Republican Party” is the desired outcome. Indeed, it is not the result of incompetence, but systematic sabotage of President Trump and conservative voters.

      In the seminal 2017 paper Political Warfare, Military analyst Rich Higgins characterized RINOs like Paul Dame as “the Opposition” and said they are “the hard Left’s designated defeat mechanism”:

      “More afraid of being accused of being called a racist, sexist, homophobe or lslamophobe than of failing to enforce their oaths to ‘support and defend the Constitution,’ the Republican Establishment accepts and enforces cultural Marxist memes within its own sphere of operations. In doing so, knowingly or not, it becomes an agent of that.

      These ‘conservatives’ become increasingly indistinguishable from their democratic counterparts save that they misrepresent themselves to their constituents. Lacking the discernment to recognize their situation, they will work with globalists, corporatists, and the international financial interests and will likewise service the deep state.

      These establishment Republicans are the hard Left’s designated defeat mechanism in the destruction of the American ideal.”

      https://unconstrainedanalytics.org/potus-and-political-warfare/

      But things have gotten a lot worse since this paper was written. By supporting foreign interference and election theft, these “Opposition” RINOs are modern day Vichy collaborators, selling Vermonters out and colluding in our subjugation by an illegitimate tyrannical regime that stole the election, siezed the levers of government by fraud, weaponized them against the American people, and is destroying our country from within.

    • Ladies and Gentlemen, I bring you one of the persons who aided and abetted the Great Blue Wave, Reverand Jim Jones Sexton, jailhouse lawyer, and numerologist.

  22. Paul why don’t you convince Phil to run for president? The dems love him and since they have such an atrocious field they may encourage him to be their nominee. He is pretty much a useless politician so it fits the dem model. He could push congress to make replacing all gas powered cars illegal and he would fit right in expanding the size and scope of government.
    Don’t want that? Then we need a man like DJT.

  23. I am appalled at the vitriol flowing throughout the comments following Dames’s dissertation.
    Can we get beyond personalities and calmly discuss what the Republican Party policies are
    and how we can advance them?

    • Too funny……Jim, Dame just lead the VTGOP through one of the worst elections, with our Gove and Benning. There was no focus other than Dems Bad, GOP good.

      Now he comes out just days after a massive defeat and says….Orangeman Bad. Orangeman isn’t even running in Vermont.

      So next election it will be AGAIN……we’re not like Trump, we don’t support Trump. We’re good, Dems bad…..and guess what we’re gonna lose even MORE seats.

      National loves Vermont just the way it is. We are the perfect uniparty state, the first colony of the United Nations. Three years from now it will change. Not this coming election, because surely Dame is gunning for higher positions in the RNC, being a perfect water boy for the New World Order, he’ll rise quickly.

    • Jim Peabody, Sr.
      There is a huge difference between personalities and the actions of a person pushing a party agenda that the voters are clearly expressing here that they do not agree with.
      This has zero to do with Mr.Dame’s personality.

      What the policies are is the crux of the issue.. the policies for the Republican party leadership is to talk the voters into agreeing with the Democrats policies only go slower and spend less money.

      Real Republican voters want to stop the advancement of Democrat policies..
      And you can see from how deep blue that Vermont now is, that the Republican party has accomplished nothing at all because the leadership of the Vermont Republican party is not listening at all to it’s voters…hence the anger here.
      None of this is new,, which has people even more angry.
      These voters have been watching their state fall under complete Democrat control for decades now despite them voting to stop this for, in some cases, their entire lives!

      Yeah, I think their anger and vitriol is rightly justified.
      They are refusing to continue on this downward path that has them repeatedly losing.

  24. I cringed reading this, you have got to get rid of this man!
    He’s literally parroting the same tired talking points to you and it’s frankly quite insulting.

    I don’t think that Paul Dame understands that he’s repeating a narrative that we are seeing everywhere now.. they are all saying the same thing..
    Nothing is worse than seeing ‘leadership’ on our own side attempting to shove the propaganda machine up our you know what and then wanting a donation for this experience.

    A man whose time us up would not be easily filling arenas still.
    I watched the entire Trump speech and there were records being set of people tuning in at places like Rumble.
    Now Paul Dame, would that be going on with a man that no one wants to elect?

  25. hello Paul – what are Trump’s “negative patterns of behavior”?

    we need someone with the details, Paul, not just generalities….

    Paul, step up, go beyond the “never Trump” rhetoric and hit us with a plan.

    What is your plan, Paul?

    thank you

  26. Hey Paul, and there lies the problem the current leadership in the GOP State and
    Federal has no “cohones “, they refuse to ruffle feathers even when they are kicked
    by the other party, and will only do what their donors tell them what to do and who
    to support, established GOP members are the past !!

    Donald J Trump is what the party needs to be, not indebted to anyone and isn’t tied
    to any donors and not afraid to ruffle or even pluck some feathers.

    No thanks to Vermont’s pathetic display in the midterms, something we should have
    owned….. PP-support from the GOP and Paul you have the gall to blame Trump, but
    luckily on the federal side the house GOP they picked enough seats with some fresh
    new faces with some backbone ” America First Agenda ” and will bring the heat and
    the established RINOs will be pushed aside.

    The Trump Train is rolling Paul, get on board or get out of the way !!!

  27. Paul, I think you may speak for others in the Vt Republican party as well as yourself. There is no future in politics until those that have made an abomination of American democracy be held accountable, both Dems and Reps. ONLY Trump can see that this will be done as completely as needed. Far too many Pols have proven themselves incapable of putting others first.

  28. We need more men like Paul Dame and Mitch McConnell to help convince more people to leave the Republican party. The Republican party poops on our heads and tells us it’s a mud slide. The Republican party treats conservatives like the Democrats treat Blacks and Hispanics. They only come around election time and want us to vote for the lightweights they have picked out for us. They care nothing about Conservatives. Hey Paulie, how much did Mitch help out with Gerald Malloy’s campaign. He had over one million to spend. If their noy MAGA they don’t get my vote. TRUMP 2024

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fhkvbocrmk

    • got news for you james mitch mcconnell we don’t need mitch he is not on your side you wait the truth will be coming out. it will probably shock you. what clear visions does Paul have to make things better?

      • I guess you don’t understand sarcasm.

        Before the election on the tube, I saw Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell say he didn’t think the Republicans would take the Senate because of the quality of the Republican candidates. This was a blatant rebuke of all the Trump endorsed senate candidates.

        A few days after that statement on Newsmax Dick Morris said that what McConnell is trying to do is destroy all of the Trump endorsed America First candidates, the reasoning being he would rather be Senate Minority Leader than Senate Majority Leader because that majority might have the vote to remove him as leader and give it to Rick Scott-R-FL. When the red wave didn’t happen, McConnell trashed the MAGA candidates again.

        How could this be? A republican that didn’t want to take the Senate and put a halt to the Biden agenda, with the biggest reason that being Biden would not be able to get judicial nominees, federal and supreme court thru the Senate. Was there a conspiracy between the Democrats and McConnell? The Democrats funded several MAGA candidates in the primaries with the hope that they could beat them in the general by labeling them extremists. Now all the swamp creatures are coming out to say it was Trump’s fault and that his candidates lost the Senate. Really? McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund had over 100 million dollars to help Republican senate candidates get elected. So, what did he do with the money? Let’s start with Arizona. McConnell gave zero dollars to Blake Masters. Masters was outspent by 64 million dollars. Kelly 73 million Masters 9 million. In Pennsylvania OZ was outspent by 15 million dollars. Fetterman 52 million OZ 37 million. In Nevada Laxalt was outspent by 34 million dollars. Cortez Masto 46 million Laxalt 12 million. In Georgia Walker was out spent by 43 million dollars. Warnock 75 million Walker 32 million. In New Hampshire Bolduc was out spent by 34 million dollars Hassen 36 million Bolduc 2 million. McConnell stopped sending money to Bolduc after he was endorsed by Trump. Republican governor and rino Chris Sununu won election by a wide margin but didn’t lift a finger to help Bolduc. Now we get to Alaska where the Alaskan Republicans censured Lisa Murkowski. Then Murkowski’s friends put in ranked choice voting to make sure that Sara Palin and Kelly Tshibaca both Trump endorsed candidates would be stopped because Murkowski couldn’t win in a straight up election. McConnell funded Murkowski because she would vote for him as minority leader. This is even after Murkowski said she would be voting for Democrats. Murkowski had six times the funding of Tshibaca. Now the Trump trashing starts. It was the election deniers. It was abortion. We have to go in a new direction. Trump’s time is passed. His candidates can’t get elected. Why? It’s because they fear Trump. He is a threat to people like Mitch McConnell’s and the Uni-Party’s power. If you recall when he was elected in 2016, he had to rely on the Republican establishment’s recommendations to fill White House and cabinet positions, FBI, CIA, etc. And they made sure they put people around him to weaken his authority. Not so this time. If he should get elected again, he will be able to drain the swamp by coming in with his own staff, cabinet and appointees that will greatly diminish their power. Tucker Carlson’s interview with former congressman Steve King from Iowa King said Paul Ryan did everything he could to thwart funding for the border wall.

        When I was a correction officer an old timer told me when an inmate asks you for something or tells you something always ask yourself why. What’s their angle? So what is the Republicans angle? The angle is the Republicans are using conservatives like the Democrats use Blacks. They only come around when it’s time to vote. They never give us what we want. Is it time for a new Constitutional Party?

  29. Mr. Dame is ‘woke’, pure and simple.

    Interestingly, Dame reminds me of the young student in the new film, Tár, starring Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár, whose reputation as an acclaimed composer gained her the coveted title of the first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra. Watch this clip as Blanchett exposes the student’s ‘woke’ behavior for what it is.

    Perhaps there’s hope in Hollywood after all.

    https://dailycaller.com/2022/11/17/cate-blanchett-anti-woke-monologue-leaked-scene-movie-tar/

  30. Why would anybody look to a Vermont ‘Republican’ for guidance? Sorry !!! It’s Trump, Trump, Trump, all the way in 2024.

  31. I stopped reading after the first sentence. Trump is popular because he works for the American people and not the corporate political establishment in congress. Trump isn’t owned by the big shots. We saw all the establishment back stabbers and the lying corporate media the first term. The corrupt Washington machine chews up the little people but not Trump and the legacy media lies were never corrected. Two bogus impeachment trials, Russia, Russia, Russia all BS. The J6 so called unarmed insurrection when Nasty Nancy refused 10,000 national guard soldiers 3 days before and then put up fences around the capitol after to make it look like DC was under attack. It was just quietly announced by the F B I that they found nothing during their well advertised raid at his residence but it made big headlines just before the midterms. Remember, he had the nuclear codes and was going to sell then to some country.

    Now comes Mr. Dane to explain his dismay and disapproval of Trump’s announcement for president. This is the problem with northeast republicans and establishment members of the uniparty. If Vermont republicans and conservatives want to win anything in this state we need to be done with the likes of Mr. Dane. Remember the Madden fiasco? And why is it necessary for him to dis Donald Trump? I, for one am sick and tired of this gang of fools that think republicans can win as they tear their candidates apart and try to choose who’s running instead of the people. The party needs new leadership, we are sick of losing.

  32. MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA MAGA

    No, I don’t think Trump is finished. And do we really want to take the advice of a ‘Republican’ from Vermont? No. I don’t think so.

  33. Based on the track record of accomplishments for the benefit of all, the left is fit to be tied and worried that Trump will prevail. It’s their fault every bit of the way. Trump would not be needed if it weren’t for Clinton, Clinton, Obama, Biden, and in some respects the Bush Clan, the U S Justice Dept, and the FBI.
    Trump probably would have needed only two or three more years to make the Democrat party extinct. And they know it. It is worse now, because the Democrats have contributed very little in a positive approach to endear themselves to the heartbeat of America. Their contributions since Biden are resulting in unadulterated misery, destruction of our bases that have been the hitching posts for successes for centuries. Are you better off now than you were on 20 Jan 2021?

  34. “If Republicans want something different than Trump”, they already have it. It’s called the Uniparty!

    • Love it,

      Also like his pick for VP, it was mine too, Rand Paul. He doesn’t need the lime light, he’d be a good second lt. and could fill in as President if needed, good experience, good head, and an outsider. He could be set lose to over see the coming trials for crimes against humanity with the whole vaccination debacle. Let’s Trump take care of business without getting into the fray, Rand wouldn’t sell our country out either.

      If Karl Lake has experience……that would be a different story her time will come. There are some great Republican women coming up the ranks. I bet the first woman in office, will be a Republican.

  35. Since when did Trump not offer a clear alternative to the Bush-Obama-Biden carnage, both abroad and at home?

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