Why Peter Welch is Vermont’s best choice for Congress

By Emerson Lynn

Vermont will be sparred the Republican Party wave the polls predict will sweep the nation on Nov. 2. One of the reasons is Rep. Peter Welch. He will be reelected by a comfortable margin, and he should be. He remains a clear voice for Vermont and stands in stark contrast to the kamikaze rants of the Tea Party bent on, well, no one really knows.

The congressman’s Republican opponent is Paul Beaudry of Swanton, an affable enough person who made his name as host of a conservative radio talk show. He’s also a Tea Party advocate and a candidate who has based his campaign on the buzz words: government debt and government spending.

That’s as deep as it gets. That’s as deep as the Tea Party gets, as well. It has anger at its base, and little beyond, which is why the Congressman has the support of the majority of Vermonters. The nation has urgent problems to attend, but the answers demand more than the gnashing of teeth.

Mr. Welch has never been the partisan that recoils at the thought of reaching across the aisle to find the answers to a problem. He has been in Congress the same sort of leader he was when Senate Pro Tempore in Vermont. He cares less about party affiliation than he does finding an answer that works.

He also understands the political system in Washington is broken. He empathizes with the anger voters are showing and he shares much the same frustration. He points to the need of having states appoint bipartisan commissions that would be obligated to redraw congressional districts in more representative manners. He says the districts as now configured are “boutique” districts that make it almost impossible for the opposing party to conquer. That political “purity” is one of the factors contributing to a polarized political culture; it pushes both Republicans and Democrats to the extreme. He says that must change if Congress is to change.

As broken as the system may be, he does not retreat from some of the work that has been done, or the decisions made in dealing with key issues such as health care reform and the nation’s economy.

Much of the anger being expressed nationally centers on the president’s health care reform package. Mr. Beaudry wants it repealed. But, as Mr. Welch replies, repealed to what? If it’s repealed then how is the $100 billion in estimated annual savings to be made up? Mr. Beaudry’s sole answer to health care reform is fewer rules and regulations and allowing people to shop across state lines for coverage.

If only it were that easy.

We also favor the Congressman’s position on defense spending. Mr. Beaudry says he will “strengthen our national defense” and leave it at that, other than to say he would make sure the military has the tools necessary to defeat the terrorists. But the issue is infinitely more complicated. No one advocates for a weakened position, but even Secretary of Defense Robert Gates argues for a pared down version of what we have. Total defense spending exceeds 20 percent of the nation’s budget and it is impossible to gain traction in the effort to control spending if you can’t cut what is spent on defense. That does not have to translate to weakness, it just means stepping beyond the political drama and to prioritize our needs. When Sec. Gates says he’s embarrassed to admit he doesn’t know how many people work for him, you’ve got a spending problem and an efficiency problem.

This is the approach that Mr. Welch advocates: make the Defense budget transparent, find out what works, cut what doesn’t. Step past the misguided political blather that any cut to intelligence puts the nation at risk.

It’s important to recognize that Washington will be a different place when Mr. Welch returns. He will, most likely, be in the minority, not in the majority. But his conduct in these past four years puts him in a better position than most of his colleagues. He’s bright, well-read and understands the issues in detail, which is an exception to the rule. He’s been a political moderate who has an established reputation for bipartisan efforts. His level of intelligence and political moderation is what best suits Vermont and the nation.

Peter Welch deserves our support and he is in a good position to help Vermonters as the nation begins the long trek toward regaining its fiscal health.