Gubernatorial Candidate Dennis Steele Arrested for Free Speech

Ripton, Vermont – April 3rd 2010

This man was just arrested for speaking his mind in Vermont. See the front page of the Times Argus or click the picture at left for the story.

Dennis Steele is running for Vermont’s highest office as an Independent.  He has systematically been excluded from public meetings. This is Vermont, isn’t it? Not where  the status quo is more vital than free speech.

As an independent candidate, I am appalled at how the Democrat/Republican political machine totally controls the public debate and limits the questions that can be asked.  To standard questions, with rehearsed answers, the same every time.

There’s $1.5 billion of Vermont’s wealth just sitting there, and these shills for a corrupt Empire just sit there as well and allow it to go to the oil & drug wars. But to even TALK about touching this money gets you arrested.

The Democrats have played their hand, using the police (at public expense) to protect their monopoly on public spaces and public speech.  Democrats are about stealing as much wealth as possible from Vermonters, to send off to Washington DC. They are not about change, about hope. The Democrats are about a police state, in which Vermonters have to make do with less and less, and contribute more and more warm bodies to the wars.

Just think about how $1.5 billion could remake Vermont according to the sustainability vision!

The machine will have to come up with a better excuse for barring Independents from political events, than ‘having participated in a primary’. They invited Dubie, didn’t they.

Here’s some perspective. The Democrats and Republicans in Vermont–The Machine, dominate the Legislature where the power is, and pass the Governor’s office back and forth between them.

Two years ago, when The Machine wanted incumbent Douglas to stay in office, there was a real challenge from a third party candidate, Anthony Pollina. So, a Democrat entered the race with no intention of winning, refused to speak on any issues, uttered no words of substance, but nevertheless split the anti-Douglas vote. Douglas stayed in office.  Then announced ‘retirement’.  The Democrats suddenly have a bunch of loud candidates spouting the usual lies, and all the Republicans do is put forward the current lieutenant governor, who gets invited to the debate but doesn’t show up.  There is really one party–not two!

Tell me, please, how that’s different from the former USSR.

Today, The Machine, which cares nothing for public opinion, wants to put a Democrat into the Governor’s office. To this end, they will stop at nothing, break any law, exclude Independent candidates, censor public participation or prevent it through force of arms.

The Machine is consolidating power, taking over public spaces, town halls, firehouses, schools & universities, and illegally excluding Independent candidates from the ongoing debates in the 2010 Vermont Election. They are strangling free speech, taking over the public airwaves, and bringing in a police state, where Independent challengers have to risk arrest and harassment–merely to participate in the electoral race on equal terms!

The only voice that ordinary Vermonters still have, is to stand up in any of these bogus, totally-controlled fascist-style political events. Stand up and speak. Stand up and say that the Emperor has no clothes. Vote the Machine out! Vote for Dennis Steele for Governor, Pete Garritano for Lieutenant Governor!