John McClaughry is an old hand in Vermont political circles. The founder of the conservative think tank The Ethan Allen Institute, he served in both the Vermont House and Senate. He worked in Washington in the 1960’s for the late U.S. Senator Winston Prouty and served as a policy advisor in the Reagan White House in the 1980’s. For 51 years, John McClaughry has also moderated the Town Meeting Day gathering in Kirby, Vermont. He says one of the nation’s founders is an inspiration behind Vermont’s annual tradition, which is wrapping up this evening.
"John Adams in one of his invaluable history books responded to the question: What is the secret of New England’s political success? And he said town, school, congregation, and militia. All four of those institutions on a very local level built a sense of participation and decision-making by local citizens which became very jealously guarded, although it is weakening with the passage of time."
Vermont’s Town Meeting Day is traditionally held on the first Tuesday in March.
