Today is the day. What can we expect? | editorial

As we have been reminded again and again, the stakes have never been higher than in today's general election. Choosing not to choose is choosing not to care and letting others determine our fate. Exercising the right to vote is fundamental to our democracy. It gives us direction and the ability to solve problems together.

At the end of the day we will (with any luck) know what lies ahead. We will know the will of the majority. But as we reflect, we will also acknowledge the bitterness that comes with loss and the sharpness of our differences in this election. We will be victims of those who try to interpret for us what the voters did and did not say.

This is true in Vermont as well as across the country.

Gov. Phil Scott spent much of his time campaigning for Republicans in hopes of undermining the Democratic Party's veto-proof majority in the Legislature. No governor recently has spent more time advocating for others than Mr. Scott. He could do this because he is expected to get through the election with minimal opposition.

Mr. Scott also senses the panic of a state mired in an affordability crisis and fearful of decline. As popular as he is, being popular doesn't mean being successful, and being successful means having more lawmakers on his side. Now more than ever.

But recruiting capable people to run for the Legislature is a difficult task. Equally difficult is Mr. Scott's job of persuading voters to switch their support from the Democratic incumbent to the Republican challenger. Inertia is a powerful force in politics, and he is such a force. (Although a powerful one.)

The governor proclaims that if there was ever a time for change, this is it. Vermonters are more sensitive to rising costs than ever before. The 14 percent property tax increase was painful. The rise in healthcare costs is a looming crisis. Cost is generally a concern for people. To say the least.

Still, it would be highly unusual for Mr. Scott's efforts to bring the success he needs. Change on any meaningful level is difficult. That's what activists within the Democratic Party say. They push back, saying the governor's fears are being exaggerated and that Vermonters aren't as concerned about the costs as the governor claims.

This is an understandable political stance from the incumbent Democrats. But in the privacy of their leadership meetings, they know otherwise. They know they can't stand another round of big property tax increases. They know they have a health crisis on their hands. They know they can't enforce a clean heating standard that significantly increases the average Vermonter's fuel costs. They know they need more creative ways to deal with affordable housing. And they know they need better answers to the public's call for unmet public safety needs. They know we have to grow.

All candidates – from all parties – heard the same message. No candidate heard from a voter that life was good, that rising prices were not a problem, and that the current path was the best for Vermont.

When the dust settles from today's vote, we will see how honest the discussion becomes. This will give us some clarity on what we can expect over the next two years.

By Emerson Lynn