The VT Red Wave Was Kevin Ellis’ Fault

Along with the rest of the Leftwing media propagandists.

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I’m picking on Kevin here because he’s written two mostly ridiculous articles following the November 5 election lamenting how Donald Trump won a stunning victory nationally, and Vermont Republicans shattered the Democrats’ supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature, but he’s not alone. I would have let it go and allowed him and John Walters, David Moats, and the rest of the cast of characters at VT Digger, VPR, etc. to have their cry and rend a garment or two in peace if it weren’t for this line Ellis wrote about the Clean Heat Standard:

That bill seeks to move us away from fossil fuels to clean energy by using a carbon tax to do it. It is good policy. But what killed Democrats was their effort to disguise the carbon tax as something else that would not raise heating bills. Too cute by half. 

Yes! Nailed it. Except for the bit about it being good policy; it’s insane. But the real problem with this statement is the date that it was posted, November 13, 2024, eight days after the election. The Clean Heat Standard has been in the works for over three years. It has always been a carbon tax. From day one it was clear it was always going to be – had to be – expensive, and Vermonters were going to pay. And, yes, the Democrats and the activists at VPIRG, VNRC, EAN, and the rest of the usual suspects who constantly lied about those obvious facts were absolutely being “too cute by half.”

But you know who went right along with this it’s-not-a-carbon-tax-and-won’t-raise-fuel-bills crock right up until a week and a day after the blowout election? Kevin Ellis (and company).

More than that, these so-called journalists and pundits trashed anybody who pointed out these and other observable aspects about the policy – data that appeared in the three commissioned studies and from video recorded testimony of many official witnesses and experts -- as peddlers of “misinformation” or worse. Just ask ANR Secretary Julie Moore, who got raked over the coals for daring to put a price tag – 70 cents per gallon – on the farcically named “Affordable Heat Act.” I mean, you all even accepted that comically absurd title with a straight face!

You not only failed to question the lies, challenge the lies, call out the lies, you actively enabled they lying. You circled the wagons around the Democrats’ talking points. Made champions out of the liars and silenced the critics. You spoke untruths to the people instead of truth to power. And you got caught. So, a hearty “that’s what you get for lying” to ya! (I’m holding up two fingers. Guess which ones.)

Who knows what would have happened if the Vermont press did its job like real reporters and commentators. Maybe if our politicians had to answer hard questions from the media about their bills it would have caused lawmakers to craft better legislation that the public could have got behind. Or, if the public wasn’t buying it, it would have given the politicians the time and insight to back off and pursue something else. Maybe if the reporters had spent their time understanding and explaining in a series of articles how the Clean Heat Standard actually worked and prepared folks for what it will likely cost the public wouldn’t have rejected it so violently. But we’ll never know because… to make this polite I’ll just steal a quote from Chevy Chase in Caddyshack, “You’re not—You’re not good. You stink.”

I will give kudos to Kevin for the revelation, “The Democrats’ arrogance is what’s wrong with this country.” Uh huh. And good on him for recognizing, “… the political correctness police of this era have lost 30-year-old men. They are sick of “Me Too” and George Floyd and police reform and transgender kids wanting reassignment surgery.” Now you’re catching on! And “The system that Democrats work so hard to defend and strengthen has not worked well enough for working people. That is the failure of this election.” All good stuff.

But here’s the thing, Kevin and company. You in the media built the bubble around the Democrats and crawled in there with them. They were doing their job of pushing forward an agenda they thought had popular support. Why did they think it had popular support? Because you, on the other hand, failed to do your job as members of the Fourth Estate to expose the truth by challenging their narratives, demanding answers to hard questions, and listening respectfully to people with differing perspectives. Instead of exposing the scams, you wanted in on them. And now that the jig is up, you’re ratting out your partner to the authorities in hopes of a lighter sentence.

You knew the truth about the Clean Heat Standard: it is an expensive carbon tax, and the Democrats were being dishonest with the public about it. By amplifying the misinformation surrounding the Democrats’ agenda and doing your best to censor any opposition you did especially the voters of Vermont, but also the Democrats, and yourselves a tremendous disservice. And that is the real reason for Republicans’ landslide victories on November 5^th: voters don’t appreciate being scammed and lied to. So, VT Democrats lost their supermajorities, and you in the Leftwing media lost your credibility. Good luck getting it back.

• Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics including three years service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank.

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Media Note: Rob Roper will be a guest on Vermont Daily Chronicle’s Friday at Four webcast this Friday, November 15th, at, well, 4.