VTGOP Chair Responds to Party Rule Prohibiting Support for Convicted Felons
For Immediate Release
Contact: info@vtgop.org
{Video Link included}
VTGOP Chairman Paul Dame today responded to recent inquiries to the state party about the candidate rule that prohibits the party from supporting convicted felons:
“The Vermont State Republican Party has a rule that it will not promote or support a convicted felon running for office. With this rule comes the option for our Executive Committee to exempt candidates on a case-by-case basis. In the past, such exceptions have been made for candidates who had mitigating circumstances including the fact that the candidate had completed their sentence and turned their life around and demonstrated a capacity to be of service to the community. In the past this has been done because we believe in second chances. Currently our executive committee has not met to even discuss what, if any, action we would take, and whether or not such action would be necessary. Previously this rule has only been implemented after a candidate has already become the party’s nominee. In the case of President Trump that wouldn’t be necessary until after the Convention.
The Vermont Republican Party has always had as its focus its local candidates who are Vermonters working to make our state a better place, and whether the executive committee decides to make an exception to this rule, it will remain the case that donors to the state party will see their money going primarily to help recruit and train candidates who serve here in Vermont.
Our state party rules, along with the RNC rules require that the tens of thousands of Vermont voters who supported Trump in Vermont’s Presidential Primary be represented at the National Convention. So I don’t expect this prohibition of promoting felons to prevent those delegates from being awarded to Trump at the Convention. The people of Vermont spoke in March and our rules compel those delegates to cast those votes as they are bound to do.
As someone who had run on the issues of criminal justice reform in my previous campaigns, it has been incredibly disheartening to see Democrats expose themselves as absolute hypocrites the moment that it became politically expedient to do. In the past Democrats have made the case that people should be able to overcome encounters with the criminal justice system. Democrats used to believe that sometimes people were found guilty because of bias in the courts. Democrats used to believe that the rest of their life shouldn’t be defined because of a single mistake. It has become clear that this whole time this rhetoric was just something Democrats said to get elected, and win support from certain Demographics – but they didn’t really mean it. Trump’s conviction has had the immediate effect of giving Republicans a greater capacity for understanding issues in our criminal justice system, and have turned Democrats into zealots for punishment – at least when the person accused is unlikely to vote for them.
It's worth noting that Several Vermont Democrats have committed crimes and Democrat party rules have not prevented them from serving.
Christopher Bates was convicted of a class 4 felony aggravated DUI and had an outstanding arrest warrant issued from the state of Illinois. He also has multiple other run-ins with the law prior to that:
http://www.truenorthreports.com/arrest-warrant-and-unanswered-questions-plague-bennington-county-democrat
Current State Rep Jim Carroll is currently facing DUI charges as well after being stopped just outside of the State House where he planned on arriving at the Capitol despite having a blood alcohol level above the legal limit.
https://vtdigger.org/2024/03/07/dui-arraignment-for-bennington-lawmaker-delayed-as-he-takes-part-in-treatment/
The Vermont Democratic Party also filed embezzlement charges against their own employee Brandon Batham back in 2019
https://vtdigger.org/2019/08/19/amid-embezzlement-scandal-democratic-chair-says-he-should-have-acted-sooner/
Despite the established history of these kinds of problems Vermont Democrats have had in the past few years, they still do not have any rules preventing convicted criminals from servings as staff or as elected officials in their party. So obviously they must think there isn’t a problem if Democrats do it. It’s clear that Democrats think that committing crimes is only a problem if you are a Republican. This is no surprise to anyone who has seen the double standard Democrats have played by for years. And it’s one of the reasons that Vermonters need to vote for the principled Vermont Republicans running for the legislature this year.”