Look the Other Way

Other than ShumpleCare, Gov. Peter Shumlin (D-VT) has been acting pretty much like a good Repuglican.

His $4.8 billion 2011 budget proposal slashed human services spending. Even the Vermont House Repuglican leader was pleased that the governor was “mostly sticking to not raising taxes and he is looking at ways to cut structural costs.”

In the wake of Irene, Gov. Shumlin eschewed the big government solutions, supporting and cheerleading community volunteers where they could help and building infrastructure where the government should. He even hired former top Repuglican aide Neale Lunderville as Irene-Czar.

And then he reminded us that he is a Big-D Demorat after all.

See, Demorats don’t believe in law. Oh, they believe in making law. But the law doesn’t apply to them unless it’s a “good” law.

Vermont state troopers made a routine traffic stop on I-89 about a week ago. In the stop they discovered that two migrant farm workers from Mexico were in the country illegally.

That’s an important distinction. The two migrant farm workers from Mexico had entered the country illegally.

Let me make that clear. The two migrant farm workers from Mexico had broken the law entering and staying in this country.

A decade or so ago, the U.S. Border Patrol, stretched thin, seconded Vermont police to that agency. In addition to enforcing all the law, Vermont police have the explicit duty to enforce customs and immigration laws. The driver of the car they stopped, a U.S. citizen, received a speeding ticket.

The staties turned the farm workers over to the Homeland Security. The Vermont Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project has branded the incident “racial profiling.” They ginned up a protest that included a human chain to block the Border Patrol vehicles from transferring the illegals to another facility for processing. Police arrested three protesters. I’m thinking they should have checked for green cards.

Reporter Stewart Ledbetter of WPTZ-TV interviewed Gov. Shumlin about the brouhaha. The governor said Vermont should “look the other way” when dealing with the illegal “guest workers” on Vermont farms. “We have always had a policy in Vermont where we kind of look the other way as much as we can.”

Gov. Shumlin said “look the other way” is Vermont policy on “undocumented” farm workers because the state dairy farms cannot survive without them.

Any end. Any means.

Apparently, I couldn’t buy any milk today unless it came from illegally squeezed teats.


“Every officer, whether judicial, executive, or military, in authority under this State, before entering upon the execution of office, shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation …” [Vermont Constitution]

Then Governor-elect Peter Shumlin’s big moment came when the Paul Rieber, Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court, administered the oath of office:
Shumlin OathPaul Rieber: “I do solemnly swear … according to law.”
Peter Shumlin: “I do solemnly swear … according to law.”
R: “I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution
S: “I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution”
R: “Of the state of Vermont”
S: “Of the state of Vermont”
R: “And the Constitution of the United States”
S: “And the Constitution of the United States”
R: “So help me God”
S: “So help me God.”
R: “Congratulations, Governor.”

I need milk today, so I guess it is in my best interest that the Governor is a law-breaking Demorat.


UPDATE: November 4, 2011

Governor Peter Shumlin (D-VT) today announced his new “bias free” policing policy for Vermont State Police.

Vermont will commit no resources to prevent illegal immigration.

The new policy orders Vermont state troopers not try to identify people whose only suspected violation is that they are present in the United States without proper documentation; troopers clearly should investigate any suspected criminal activity.

crim·i·nal /ˈkrimənl/ Of or relating to a crime, a person who has committed a crime.

crime /krīm/ An action that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law.

I’m thinking the crime here is that the governor of a state has made as policy that the state will investigate any suspected criminal activity as long as they don’t investigate that criminal activity.