Guess Who Thomas Naylor Is Condemning Now

He's already condemned all of Vermont's congressional delegation, statewide office holders and the General Assembly, since they haven't gushed over his plans for a Second Vermont Republic. He's condemned prominent state environmentalists, the churches ("No group is more loyal to the American Empire than are the Vermont clergy"), attorneys, all of the instate media including his former SVR flack, Shay Totten, all of Vermont's colleges, university and public schools. He's likened the Vermont left to the "White Citizen Council" (sic) and the KGB. So what's left?

Why Vermont's voters, of course!

Yes, he's put up another of his tedious screeds. You may be familiar with the style. It's as though he's put all his catch phrases and half-baked theories on refrigerator magnets, swirled them all around on the door and hit print. The only thing new is this gem,

"In spite of the paucity of votes attracted by candidate Steele, his campaign seems to have been perceived as a major threat to someone."

"During the four weeks before the election, Steele and the entire Vermont independence movement were the object of a vicious, CIA-style, cybersmear campaign. Three websites and a well-organized network of anti-secessionists bombarded cyberspace with charges of racism, homophobia, and anti-semitism. The exact nature of the relationship between the smear network and the hostile websites was unclear. What was clear was that the entire effort was extremely well organized and well financed."

Good one, Tom! I've been laughing for days. Glad to see that you're getting a grasp of the obvious, something that's eluded Dennis Steele, his campaign manager Matt Cropp and the rest of that Tin Foil Hat Party campaign. That is, the "paucity of votes attracted by... Steele," your anointed candidate this time around, and that Vermonters weren't buying any of your SVR nonsense.

I did noticed that Naylor didn't go too deeply into why the racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism stuff came up or deny any of it. Figures. He couldn't deny what was posted on the campaign's listserv, could he?

Here's an idea: next time Naylor and his pals decide to launch a campaign where the goal is to not tell Vermonters too much about themselves, they shouldn't leave their collective flies open on a publicly accessible listserv. The racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, flying saucers, and the secretly, as well as illegitimately, reconstitution of governmental bodies makes the group sound a little, ah, nuts.

Meanwhile, Thomas Naylor's Second Vermont Republic finds itself still "on the radar" of the Southern Poverty Law Center. This morning's interview of SPLC Director Mark Potok on Vermont Public Radio can be heard here. Potok was originally scheduled to be speaking at the Kellogg Hubbard Library, 135 Main Street in Montpelier on Tuesday, November 23 at 7:00 PM. The program is called The State of Hate in America. Potok will discuss "the development of organized hatred and how it might be stemmed... (and) (w)hat accounts for the dramatic growth of hate groups in America."

Due to a larger than expected turnout the talk has been moved across Main Street to the Unitarian Church at 130 Main Street.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For the archive of the Free Vermont Framework listserv, click here.