(Not the title of the latest Robert Ludlum potboiler)

If you follow Vermont politics, you’ve probably been keeping up with House Minority Leader Don Turner’s last-minute maneuver. Earlier, he’d promised to suspend House rules as long as his caucus got at least 24 hours to review legislation; but this week, he issued a lengthy list of new demands for his assent. Then came House Majority Leader Lucy Leriche calling Turner a “terrorist,” quickly followed by Captain Renault-style expressions of shock and outrage from Republicans, and numerous apologies from Leriche.

That has become the story, unfortunately; it’s diverted attention away from Turner’s maneuver, which is a far more significant political development. But that’s what a single intemperate remark can do, and the Dems are paying full price for Leriche’s outburst.

As of this writing, Speaker Shap Smith was still trying to reach common ground with Turner, so this whole thing may be moot by the time you read this. But I wanted to take note of the contretemps and the ill will that lies behind it.

There’s a whole lot of anger among Vermont Republicans, folks. They are seething with frustration. (Turner said his maneuver was a matter of “the leverage I have.” It’s about the only time in this biennium that he’s had any leverage at all.)  

You can see it in the increasingly heated rhetoric of “nonpartisan” Bruce Lisman, who brands the Legislature a failure on every major issue, calls the Dems “strident” and “unfocused,” accuses them of causing “economic damage” and of “abdicating” their leadership. And, of course, he slams Governor Shumlin for “rocketing” toward health care reform. (He also slams Shumlin for taking too long to put together the system’s cost structure. Which is a neat trick: Shumlin is too fast and too slow at the same time. But never mind.)

Then there’s VTGOP chair Jack Lindley calling Shumlin and the Dems “arrogant” and threatening a lawsuit over a very mild and relatively nonpartisan redistricting plan*; and Republican money man Ralph Colin (speaking on Common Sense Radio) accusing Shap Smith of bullying the Legislature. And lest we forget, there was Darcie Johnston’s notorious (and quickly deleted) Facebook “joke.”

*He accuses Dems of “sabotaging the process.” Has he taken a look at the unconstitutional mess the New Hampshire Republicans made of their redistricting? Now, there’s a real case of sabotage.

It’s understandable, really. In the conservative flood tide of 2010, the VTGOP lost the governorship, failed to make a dent in the Dems’ Legislative majorities, and didn’t come close to breaking the liberal grip on our Congressional delegation. They did manage to not screw up Phil Scott’s bid for Lieutenant Governor.  But if that’s all they could do under the best possible circumstances, what hope do they have for the future?  

And in some fundamental way, they are dumbfounded at their plight, and at the failure of Vermont voters to see things the way they do. These days, conservatives live politically insulated lives: they read the Wall Street Journal, they listen to Rush, they watch Fox News. This provides a steady diet of unchallenged conservative talking points, and of unalloyed outrage over Democratic perfidy. Over time, this tends to distort their world view. It’s incomprehensible to them that other people might see things differently, and might even voluntarily choose to elect — gasp! — Democrats. Or even — horror! — Progressives. (That’s why the voter-fraud fallacy has such currency with conservatives: if Democrats win an election, they simply must have cheated. It’s the only possible explanation.)  

This Republican anger is likely to result in an ugly 2012 campaign by Vermont standards — especially if Randy Brock’s bid for Governor continues to flatline. This won’t help the VTGOP win anything, but it could significantly coarsen our political discourse going forward. And the Turner Ultimatum may be the beginning of a less polite, more dramatically partisan atmosphere in the Legislature.