In the aftermath of last week’s violence in Charlottesville, Va., Vermont Republicans are distancing themselves from “Unite the Right” white supremacist groups as well as from violent leftist groups.
In a phone interview Thursday with the Burlington Free Press, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said, “The bottom line for me is white supremacy, bigotry, racism can’t be tolerated or explained away. We have to confront the issue and stand up to it.”
Scott also said Confederate monuments should be removed from public places to Confederate military cemeteries or even museums, a viewpoint rejected by Maine Gov. Paul LePage.
Regarding President Donald Trump’s repeated denunciations this week of bigotry and violence committed by white supremacists, the governor said it was “unacceptable” for President Trump not to more firmly denounce racial bigotry and violence on the right.
Democrats spent the week criticizing the president for not going far enough in his initial statement Saturday following the riot in Charlottesville. “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides,” Trump’s original statement said.
While Scott’s statement on Thursday notes an obligation “to stand up to white supremacy, bigotry, and neo-Nazism,” his original statement Saturday, like Trump’s, didn’t mention white supremacy, neo-Nazis or the “alt-right.” Scott wrote on Twitter:
The acts of violence and hate seen today do not represent American values and I join leaders across the country in condemning them. pic.twitter.com/vC1FT9y7ga
— Governor Phil Scott (@GovPhilScott) August 12, 2017
The governor has not called out the left-wing violence that also occurred at the Charlottesville melee. He did, however, release a 3-minute video Thursday on Facebook criticizing the president. He also said the issue should be discussed in classrooms across the state.
Jeff Bartley, executive director of the Vermont Republican Party, echoed many of Scott’s comments.
“The Vermont Republican Party condemns white supremacy and all forms of hate,” Bartley told True North Reports. He said Vermonters need to condemn violence as a way to solve differences and to find common unity.
“The Vermont GOP is focused on making Vermont a better place to work, a more affordable place to live, and a safer place for our children. Tweeting doesn’t end bigotry. Standing together does,” he said.
Republican Wendy Wilton, treasurer of the City of Rutland, and a vocal GOP leader in the state, said no place is immune to racial and political violence coming from the right or the left.
“The violence that broke out in Charlottesville could happen anywhere in the United States,” she told True North. “We must be strong in our communities to prevent violence from any group, especially the fringe elements of extremism, either far right or far left.”
Wilton joined Republican Rep. Doug Gage at the party’s booth at the Vermont State Fair in Rutland on Tuesday.
The pair displayed a photograph of two small children, one black and the other white, to promote a common heritage: “the human race, not racial differences.”
The two prominent Vermont Republicans encouraged unity and condemned violence from both sides.
“There’s no place for violence on the right or the left,” Gage told True North Reports. “We’re all human beings. There’s been enough division. It’s time to come together.”
Lou Varricchio is a freelance reporter for True North Reports. Send him news tips at lvinvt@gmx.com.
I think that the broader perspective of the balance between allowing free speech and disallowing hate speech is missed by most public statements and the press coverage. Also, when should the local and State police have intervened in charlottsville? The second day? This should be a front page question.
It is wonderful that the GOP took such a brave stand condemning both sides for the violence in Charlottesville. Now that they’ve done that, I guess we can all go get coffee and a danish and sing a round of Kumbaya to cement this courage.
What’s next? Will they gather to tear down the dummy in Milton?
The GOP’s condemnation was weaker than the President’s. Where do you get ‘such a brave stand’? No mention of Antifa, BLM or other hate filled and murderous left wing groups.
Did I miss the references to what happened at Middlebury? Are the fascist Antifa punks getting a pass on the violence they have perpetrated in multiple locations around the country? What about the Bernie supporter who tried to assassinate Republican congressmen and the Bernie supporter who killed two people in Portland, OR? The irony is that if the Dems succeed in their campaign to tear down Confederate statues and rename streets . . . those downed statues and renamed streets memorialized DEMOCRATS who supported the Confederacy, Jim Crow Laws, segregation and opposed civil rights legislation up to, and including, the LBJ Presidency. I’m sure Sen.Robert KKK Byrd is rolling in his grave over all of this. History, you gotta love it.
Bingo ! D. Taylor. Middlebury ’58
Phil Scott was elected because ” True ” Vermonters wanted a voice and leadership from a
Conservative for Montpelier to help curtail the looney tune left that now has a strangle hold
on VT.
I’m glad the Governor took a stand on the tragedy in VA and also stating Both sides are the
blame be it Anti-Semitic Neo-Nazis and white supremacists on one side and the radical
communist so-called Anti-Fascists (aka ) Antifa and BLM running rampant, all are home
grown terrorist !!.
So instead of keep these fools in check , we are now asked to deny History and tear down
all statues that remind us of our past , next it will be burn all the History books what’s next !!
Where did Scott blame Antifa and BLM? He didn’t because he doesn’t want to offend the left wing nuts in this state. No, Scott is part of the problem. He wasn’t half as forceful in his condemnation of the right wing racists as was Trump, yet Scott is praised for his stand and Trump is belittled. Go figure…………..
Scott…just another reason I no longer support the Republican Party. They don’t exist. And where is this RINO on Black Lives Matter and their intimidation of Vermont schools? Nowhere to be found. Vermont is a lost cause. This removal of statues and where it portends to lead is nothing less than the Chinese Cultural Revolution playing out in America….and we see where that got them.
I voted for Phil Scott, but he is seeming more and more as an opportunist as he attacks our President, who I believe is absolutely correct in calling out the violence in all sides in Charlottesville. I feel our governor has lost a lot of credibility right from the start of this presidential term, and he lost more this week. There are Vermonters, like me, who believe our President is doing an absolutely remarkable job in the face of tremendous opposition from a “shadow government”, and he and we do not need our Governor to be part of that opposition.
Amen sister. The local BLM leader is a woman named Tami Sawyer. I did a search on her yesterday and she is on the board of directors of the Memphis Planned Parenthood. I guess unborn black lives don’t matter. What a hypocrite.
Scott…just another reason I no longer support the Republican Party. They don’t exist. And where is this RINO on Black Lives Matter and their intimidation of Vermont schools? Nowhere to be found. Vermont is a lost cause. This removal of statues and where it portends to lead is nothing less than the Chinese Cultural Revolution playing out in America….and we see where that got them.
You are right. President Trump is doing an INCREDIBLE job and will go down in history as one of the best presidents ever, if there is a country left after the left wing fascists, socialists, and communists take over. Trump’s problem is that he makes the politicians…the swamp dwellers look weak and ineffective, which they are. They want to keep their power but like the Emperor who has no clothes, they are being exposed. And the complicit left wing media gives them cover. I fear for his life. And it will be an inside job. Democrats.