Sen. Peter Welch has recently been talking with Vermonters about their primary concerns. The Democrat tells WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley he’s hearing from people that Washington is making life difficult.
People want change. Trump is getting unpopular. The polls show that. But I also think that those of us who want to change things have the burden, Democrats, of showing that we want to help working families. Anybody who's willing to work hard, they should have government on their side, not making it harder for them.
Now, President Trump threatened to bomb Iran again if the Straits of Hormuz does not open. Do you think that the President has any sort of an out in that or are we going to see the repercussions of this for quite a while?
No, his policy on this has been a disaster. He thought by dropping the big bombs he'd be effective. But it turns out that the mosquito fleet, you know, the small arms from these speed boats, can close the Strait of Hormuz. And he has caused these diesel prices to go up, the fertilizer prices to go up. And he's in a corner and I don't know how he's going to get out of it, but he's got to stop the war.
The Supreme Court's been issuing several decisions recently. What are your thoughts on the direction the Supreme Court has been taking in their decisions?
The Supreme Court has been a disaster. I mean, I'm very upset with the court and largely because they have been taken over by a kind of ideological wing in the court. They opened the way for billionaire money to dominate our elections. They've condoned partisan gerrymandering. I think we shouldn't have the success of gerrymandering that the court says is legitimate. And they've compromised voting rights. They've said it's okay to racial profile, to pick somebody up because of the color of their skin on immigration, but then they are denying districts that would help allow for minority representation.
Do you think Congress could pass a measure that would prevent redistricting in the middle of the cycle?
Well, I absolutely support that. We're not going to do it in this Congress. We'd have to get a new majority. But I think this radical gerrymandering, you know, it started in Texas and then the Democrats jumped on board to fight back. But bottom line, it should be the voters deciding who their leaders are not the politicians. So I would support legislation to ban this radical gerrymandering that we're seeing.
There's been criticism of Senator (Charles) Schumer. Some people are calling for him to be replaced as leader. Would you support that? What do you think the Democrats should do?
Well, I don't support that right now. I think two things. Whoever the leader is, I was with Nancy Pelosi when I was in the House and now Chuck Schumer in the Senate, gets the brunt of the criticism and frustration of the party. But number two, I've seen generally leaders reflect the party. And we're going to have elections and voters are going to have a chance to weigh in and that's going to significantly affect our ability to stand up for working people and their concerns.
And I also saw a release from Representative Balint, Becca Balint, who said the congressional delegation had not been informed that the border czar, Tom Homan, was planning to be in Vermont. Were you notified and what do you make of him coming here to talk about the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) situation here?
Well, I wasn't notified. But I am pleased that he was here talking to our high law enforcement officials. What happened in Burlington was terrible. Boston ICE came up here, didn't even notify Vermont ICE, didn't notify our local law enforcement. So our local law enforcement was left out in the dark and that created safety issues. So the fact that the law enforcement people did meet with Mr. Homan is a good thing.
What's going to be your priority when you get back to DC?
I'd like to get the budget passed. I'd like to get the war stopped. I want to get a farm bill passed where farmers get the help that they need to keep feeding America.
Sen. Peter Welch says he has yet to speak to the latest surgeon general nominee, but he is optimistic about reports that she supports vaccinations.
