| Tweets from the IBEW Local 300 feed, recounting the end of the Unemployment Task Force public meeting Wednesday:
ibewlocal300: State Auditor Tom Salmon just hijacked end of unemployment hearing with cheap shots at working Vermonters. "Find new line of work."
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 6:31 PM
ibewlocal300: Auditor Salmon told by chairwoman to sit down but he refused to relinquish floor. Several folks walked out in disgust.
Wed, Nov 4, 2009 6:36 PM
Salmon, riding high on his party switch (thank god) and his suggestion that the maximum unemployment benefit be dropped to $300 (a drop too draconian even for the Governor) apparently made a point of singling out blue collar construction workers for taunting in his soliloquy that was just too good to be bound by the rules of the meeting, I guess.
What a classy guy. A man o' the people. And this is the born again teabagger guy who said the Democratic Party left him. Maybe he's talking about one of these.
But hey, whatever he wants to tell himself is fine with me, as long as it keeps him away from my Party. So the question now, is - who's gonna run against him? Volunteers? Suggestions?
Update: From the comments below, some readers were there:
ml: As the meeting neared its conclusion, Chairwoman Cummings asked if anyone else wanted to testify. Salmon jumped out of his seat, dashed to the head of the room and declared he had something to say. Sen. Cummings told him this was not a forum for public officials, but rather for citizens. Salmon rudely cut her off and continued to speak. He wasn't exactly yelling, but his voice was definitely elevated. He paced the room - almost as if giving a lecture or political speech - instead of sitting at the stand in front of the Task Force. In total, his diatribe probably lasted 1-2 minutes. Task Force members, as well as the audience, were visibly disturbed.
Salmon glared directly at a group of labor representatives and workers from the granite and construction industries, and essentially told them if they can't find steady employment, they should get a new line of work. Some of these folks left the room in disgust, while those who remained watched in awe as this all unfolded.
watercloset: I talked with a few legislators afterwards, including Ann Cummings. She was shaken. She and her comrades up there kind of lost control of the situation. But they were pissed off at what he did. He just had to get his say in, knowing the rules, knowing that he violated the protocol, and that this would earn him numerous enemies. I chatted with one legislator for a while afterward who said, "what happened to him, he used to be such a nice guy." |
250-1
55-1
