[Dragondog]

carolinajack

they are moving into Connecticut's 'quiet corner' as well (the eastern part of CT)
yep NY, DC, NJ CA AZ Plates- aka as 'Equity locusts'......

[carolinajack]

I cant attack them as I am a South Carolinian (Red stater) who loves Vermont(a very blue state). I can say that I love real Vermont though, as my wifes family are all dairy farming Yankees from NH, VT and NY. We like the farms the way they are, the old dirt roads, the hard working, small town values, Community where people speak to you not size you up based on the size of your SUV or what Ivy you went to (btw Go Brown Bruins!!!)

I love the general stores, the small businesses, the dairy and farming traditions and dont look for a Latte or Sushi bars--get enough of that crap in the cities.

Real Vermonters, liberal or Conservatives have more in common with us Red State South Carolinians, liberal or Conservative, than they do with flatlanders from the big cities.

[Dragondog]

CJ

I understand what you are saying- I live in an old mill town NE of Hartford by 17 miles. Connecticut is a very liberal state- and I am very liberal, reflecting my background and what I have been exposed to. I tend to me more moderate on money issues-

Even here in eastern Connecticut- I do not follow the 'trends' and enjoy a simpler life. Yes we have the ethnic restaurants here, great sushi and the lattes- I do like sushi- the lattes I can do without.

However the good thing is that in eastern CT and many parts of Vermont you can still find 'regular' down to earth people.

[flu189]

Yes comrade, it is very liberal. We put a rebublican governor and Lt governor in office and then nullify their power by voting in an opposite legislature that seems to be asleep at the switch when it comes to dealing with the real economic issues facing our future. This is why many are actively taking steps to plan their relocation to other states. It's a shame as Vermont is a very nice place with many positives, but ultimately folks have to face reality when it comes to their economic health and overall quality of life. All parties are promising to address the issues at hand, but many life time VT'ers are very skeptical.

[square peg]

Hey flu189, I'll be stopping in Hinesburg tomorrow at Lantman's while on business. There's a coincidence for ya. Also, the legislature isn't just democrat - it's waaaay democrat and with the new session wields veto power, which could make for a couple of interesting years in Montpelier. Overall, I'd rate VT politics as being kinda civil - recent senate election aside. Please keep in mind, though, that I understand very little about politics.

[Georgia]

I love Vermont and do consider it Liberal, but in the dictionary term of Liberal. Vermonter's do not place themselves on the elitist scale, thus I would refer to them more as Progressives in the Teddy Roosevelt sense of the word.

Being very Conservative in my beliefs I have yet to see any folk in Vermont hold that against me, unlike you would find in NYC or even the left of center areas of Atlanta.

I always said that Vermont is so laid back, it is almost laying down

I think that is what makes it such a great state.

[grimstuff]

The contrasts - and more importantly the similarities - between "old gaurd" republicanism and the more traditional liberalism is one of the things that has attracted me about the State. So far it's at the top of my list. And yes, I'm from California, but don't worry, I don't own anything (and thus cannot "cash out"), so I won't be driving up any home prices in your neck of the woods.

[flu189]

As alluded to in many earlier posts Vermont's liberal status is at least somewhat civil compared to many places on the "left" coast for example. Nonetheless, some of the stuff that comes out of Montpelier and more recently from the new mayor in Burlington justs leaves one speechless. Mayor Kiss recently in a WCAX news story showed his anti military fervor by not wishing another air show in Burlington. The Air Force put on such a fine show this past summer here and it was pretty decent, but the extreme left agenda of the mayor only brought out criticism from the noise the jets make to the purpose of having them (instruments of death and destruction). He even blasted General Dynamics which pumps money into our economy with their facility here because they make the armaments used on the aircraft. Of course we also had someone up here blast the Marines Corps Toy for Tots program as being an insidious recruiting tool. The national guard was also slammed for bringing a fitness slide to a high school (and it was the school that requested it!) We just had a very low sentance imposed on a guy who shot someone in a drug dealing incident and the mayor came out in support of that sentance. This from a guy who is supposed to be anti-gun and abhoring senseless violence? He also proposed to make Burlington a sanctuary city for illegal aliens. I grew up in NYC and served in law enforcement out west before coming back east and I have to tell you that if Vermont continues on this grossley over leneint trend we will be having some some real crime issues in our future. I have been around hard core felons and slap on the wrist treatment is considered a treat to them. Their attitude is basically that short spans in jail are merely the cost of doing business penalties. It is much easier to keep the criminal element out than to deal with them in larger numbers especially when you get a core of repeat offenders. I really believe that many of our representatives cannot fathom what the social and economic costs will be if Vermont falls prey to what has happened to so many other regions of the country.

[vter]

You know what they say about Burlington and the rest of Chittenden County...people love it because it's so close to Vermont!

[Psherryred1]

Years ago Vermont used to be "Hard Rock" Republican. For YEARS it was considered so. In fact, Consuelo Northrup Bailey from Vermont used to read "the role" at the national convention (I was told her father used to "water down" maple syrup-presumably that was NOT the influence that propelled her to the convention floor). Not anymore. One of the biggest influences came when Bernie Sanders came from New York to become the mayor of Burlington. He was a Libertarian and people say he brought all the liberals with him. He later became a representative in the House-I believe it was in the House, but I could be wrong.