VT-GOV: Our Revolution endorses anti-vaxxer for Democratic nomination

[RandySF]

David Zuckerman, the lieutenant governor of Vermont, is an eccentric longtime figure in state politics — a ponytail-sporting organic farmer and Bernie Sanders protege who has proudly fought against government-mandated vaccinations.

But the arrival of the coronavirus has suddenly put Zuckerman on the defensive in his campaign for governor this year: Amid the worsening pandemic, one of his top Democratic opponents is calling out his anti-vaxxer views as dangerous, and attempting to make them politically toxic.

“In moments like this, we see just how critical it is that we support vaccines and make them as available as possible,” said Rebecca Holcombe, the state’s former education secretary who is challenging Zuckerman for the Democratic nomination in the August primary to take on popular Republican incumbent Gov. Phil Scott. “It's scary that anyone in public office or seeking public office would cast doubt about the value of vaccines. It's unbelievable this is even up for debate."

Zuckerman shot back that Holcombe is trying to use a public health crisis to score political points.



https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/21/anti-vaccine-coronavirus-137446

[abqtommy]

1. I'd never campaign or vote for an anti-vaxxer...

[Hortensis]

2. I'm with you. Big time. How else do this person's anti-science

attitudes and the other problems they're going to be part of manifest?

Big surprise that anti-science attitudes correlate strongly with, instead, conspiracist beliefs to explain an otherwise incomprehensible world.

Plus, over a third of anti-vaxxers display the Dunning-Kreuger effect of ignorance causing people to irrationally believe they're more knowledgeable than the experts they "know" aren't. The greater the ignorance the greater the surety -- and the less necessary the unpleasant experiences of exposure to real information.

In any case, studies find that anti-vaxxers are very resistant to becoming more knowledgeable by taking in new information that they're wired to distrust and reject. After all these years, immersion in the problem-solving cultures of Democrats in government has apparently never lead this one to rational, fact-oriented thinking on this topic.

[womanofthehills]

11. Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, the son of a physician, is not an anti-vaxxer.

Voting for a medically proven exemption does not make one an anti-vaxxer. The world is not black and white. People get nasty during elections.

Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, the son of a physician, is not an anti-vaxxer.

In 2007, he was one of more than 70 sponsors that would permit women to obtain a vaccine to prevent HPV (human papilloma virus). Later, he did support a clause in the other vaccine bill that would allow parents to exempt their children, but only if it was medically proven to endanger their lives. Nonetheless, David understands the importance of vaccines in protecting our communities.

https://www.vtcng.com/stowe_reporter/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/lt-gov-zuckerman-is-not-an-anti-vaxxer/article_d39c1c4e-c221-11ea-84cb-8396c0255a5a.html

PRESS RELEASE: May 12, 2020

Lt. Governor David Zuckerman’s Statement on Vaccines

BURLINGTON: Today, in response to the criticism leveled against Lt. Governor Zuckerman by Rebecca Holcombe and the Holcombe campaign, the Zuckerman for VT campaign released a statement condemning negative campaigning and reiterating David’s position on vaccines.

Campaign Manager Megan Polyte said “negative campaigning and attacking other Democrats have no place in our campaign and should not have a place in any campaign in Vermont. When the Holcombe campaign distorts David’s position on this issue, it does not help Vermonters learn about the candidates running for Governor and it only helps the Republicans and the RGA who have already invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in this race.”

The campaign also acknowledged that due to the Holcombe’s campaign’s hyper-focus on this issue during the recent debate in Windham, and Holcombe’s statements that misrepresent David’s position on this issue, it was important to further reiterate David’s position on vaccines.

The Zuckerman campaign released the following quote from David: “I think everyone should get vaccines unless it is medically contraindicated.”

The campaign also clarified David’s position regarding a 2015 vote on an un-vetted and rushed amendment on philosophical and medical exemptions for vaccines. This is the debate which the Holcombe campaign points to in broad strokes when talking about David’s position. David reiterated his position on this vote, saying “vaccines are truly amazing and have prevented untold illness. There are a small number of individuals who have medical reasons to not take vaccines, many, but not all, of them can be identified by current medicine. Along with a third of the Senate, who had a variety of reservations, I voted against the amendment to remove the Philosophical Exemption in order to help parents of children who have had severe reactions to vaccines. I then voted for the bill because we have to work towards herd immunity for the health of our whole community. I support the current law that solely allows for religious exemption and medical exemptions. Unless you have a medical reason, you should get vaccinated.”

The Zuckerman campaign also released further information de-bunking the Holcombe’s campaign’s statements about David’s position on vaccines. Campaign Manager Megan Polyte said, “In 2007, David co-sponsored legislation requiring the HPV vaccine. He first voted for a task force to fund medical research into the vaccine and then when those medical professionals recommended it, followed their recommendations and co-sponsored the bill.” The campaign also pointed to David’s consistent support for universal and free access to a COVID-19 vaccine for Vermonters. https://www.zuckermanforvt.com/press-releases-1/zuckerman-statement-on-vaccines

[Hortensis]

17. WotH, he really IS. Many politicians fudge beliefs not considered widely respectable,

and that's what Zuckerman is doing. VT's anti-vaxxers know it. They haven't dropped their long-time support for him, even considering him an anti-vaxx "hero" according to this.

It's like Pat Buchanan presenting himself as an old-fashioned traditional conservative on MSNBC while delivering racist/misogynist messages to white male supremacists by more back-channel routes. Eventually the kind of people who regarded him as their "hero" when he ran for president helped out him to mainstream voters.

But Zuckerman himself makes the case that he is anti-vaxx right up front.:

Many in the so-called “anti-vaxxer” community have tried in recent years to make their position more politically palatable by arguing that while they believe vaccines are effective, they are opposed to the government requiring them. Zuckerman has taken a similar messaging approach. In the 2018 debate, Zuckerman said “the science behind vaccines is sound, I think vaccines do good for our communities, my daughter is vaccinated. But it’s a question of whether government should be forcing that onto individuals.”

Yes. It is exactly that.

In the real world, voluntary vaccination cannot stop many virulently epidemic killer diseases. But mandatory can. Opposition to mandatory vaccination IS anti-vaxx.

Mandatory vaccination makes this a political issue and is what makes some people take anti-vaxx positions. Exactly as government-mandated mask wearing triggered anti-mask reactionaries.

Btw, some decades ago Sanders wooed VT's anti-vaxxers of that era, hinting at his sympathies a number of times. But anti-science nuttery was less "normalized" then, and he apparently never came out as firmly against mandatory vaccination as Zuckerman did later.

[sheshe2]

27. Thank you.

[Aristus]

3. I would have hoped that the pandemic would have quashed the nonsense

about vaccines. But I fear it is only going to become more difficult to convince my patients to get their vaccines in the future.

[Mariana]

5. They are linking flu vaccines to vulnerability to Covid-19 now.

Yes, they are. They're saying anyone who's had a flu vaccine in the past is much more likely to have a severe Covid-19 case, and is much more likely to die from it. It's insane.

[Blue_true]

6. The thing about people like that is the never have to prove anything.

It is ok to not have to “prove” something when facts are self evident, but those people throw out total nonsense and even when their claims are roundly disproven, they keep it up.

[Phoenix61]

10. Concurrence and correlation are different.

I’m sure their statement is correct. Most people who get the flu vaccine are older. Older people as a group have worse outcomes from covid.

[ehrnst]

41. Tell that to the anti-vaxxers. (nt)

[MineralMan]

4. Well, that is a stupid move on Our Revolution's part.

Not surprising, but stupid.

[Blue_true]

7. Yes. That group makes a lot of head scratching moves.

They only win when they back a traditional democrat who also happens to be very far to the left, we have plenty of those type of people in our big tent party.

[ehrnst]

42. He's ahead in the polls. They *need* to back some winners to claim that their endorsement did it

because in 2018, it sure didn't turn out that way statistically speaking.

I have to wonder how things are going down in the head office, what with the campaign finance complaint against them.

[Polybius]

8. I haven't seen an elected politician with a ponytail since Ben Nighthorse Campbell

That part I like about Zuckerman.

[womanofthehills]

12. You might also like the fact that he is NOT against vaccines

and has actually sponsored the HPV vaccine. Gee........ is he a little too progressive for some???? Why this attack????

David has been endorsed by national and local organizations from People for the American Way, The Sierra Club, Rights and Democracy, the Vermont AFL-CIO, all four co-chairs of Sen. Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign (U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna; former president of Our Revolution, state Sen. Nina Turner; San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin-Cruz; and Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen), as well as over 75 current and former Vermont legislators. And, of course, Helene G. Martin.

https://www.vtcng.com/stowe_reporter/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/lt-gov-zuckerman-is-not-an-anti-vaxxer/article_d39c1c4e-c221-11ea-84cb-8396c0255a5a.html

[Polybius]

16. I actually like him a lot

I just didn't want to say it in this thread because so far everyone was attacking him.

[womanofthehills]

19. He's well liked and way ahead in the polls

[ehrnst]

36. Perhaps because anti-vaxxers are a public health hazard? Especially during a pandemic...

The disapproval here on this thread about that, not his other positions.

It sounds like too many people are too much on the side of science and medical consensus when it concerns vaccines for some...

[George II]

9. Our Revolution endorsed an anti-vaxxer?

[womanofthehills]

13. Actually NO. Just a person who thinks people who are medically fragile should get an exemption

if their doctor agrees.

[BannonsLiver]

14. ...

[obamanut2012]

21. ie an antivaxxer

[PTWB]

22. What about that makes him an anti-vaxxer?

[womanofthehills]

26. Sorry to inform you, but the world is not black & white

Some immune compromised people and severely allergic people might react adversity to an adjuvant in a vaccine. This a very small minority, but it happens - otherwise there would be no need for the government to have a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. A program that has given out over a billion in compensation for vaccine injury and death.

[ehrnst]

35. Wrong. He's gone way farther than that - he has cast stated doubts on the science of vaccines

and supported "philisophical" exemptions to vaccines, not just medical ones - until it came to a vote when he was in the statehouse, and he saw that his political fortunes would suffer. Sorry to inform you.

Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin) argued that eliminating the philosophical exemption would restrict parental rights, while Sen. David Zuckerman (P/D-Chittenden) questioned the science of vaccinations. He said that while conducting his own research on the matter, he came to believe that the pharmaceutical industry is foisting vaccinations on the public to make money, not fight disease.

"For me, as long as there's the extreme financial conflicts of interest out there that are driving much of this debate and discussion, I have to maintain the individual right for someone to do their own research as well and make that decision," Zuckerman said.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2020/07/21/holcombe-amplifies-attack-on-zuckermans-vaccine-record

Perhaps he has "evolved" since then on his views, but from what I understand, if one is on the far left, any "evolving" on the part of a politician is pandering for votes and indicates that one is corrupt. In the very black and white world of the Our Revolution PAC, one only "clarifies" their position when it changes, because they were "misunderstood" and it's everyone else that's wrong.

[ehrnst]

40. BTW - The VICP was adopted in response to concerns over the pertussis portion of the DPT vaccine

So there's that.

Perhaps you aren't aware that pedicatricians screen children prior to giving them vaccines to determine if they are at risk for adverse reactions to any drug - family history and health, etc.

You sound rather doubtful that vaccines, like antibiotics, are indeed safely manufactured and should be part of the standard of care, because of the existence of the VICP, and "over a billion."

Maybe you can clarify?

[sheshe2]

28. What is "medically fragile"

Same people that refuse to wear a mask to protect themselves others out of selfishness?

[ehrnst]

34. Actually YES - he has disputed the science, and the "motivations" of vaccine developers.

April 2015, Zuckerman worked to preserve the philosophical exemption and, on two separate occasions on the floor of the Vermont Senate, disputed vaccine science and questioned the motivations of vaccine developers.

Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin) argued that eliminating the philosophical exemption would restrict parental rights, while Sen. David Zuckerman (P/D-Chittenden) questioned the science of vaccinations. He said that while conducting his own research on the matter, he came to believe that the pharmaceutical industry is foisting vaccinations on the public to make money, not fight disease.

"For me, as long as there's the extreme financial conflicts of interest out there that are driving much of this debate and discussion, I have to maintain the individual right for someone to do their own research as well and make that decision," Zuckerman said.

Because someone googling apparently has as sound judgement on what is and is not quackery as the consensus of the medical profession.




https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/sick-em-paid-leave-gets-a-long-delayed-vote/Content?oid=2557416

[BannonsLiver]

15. This is so on brand for Our Rev

With any luck he’ll lose.

[womanofthehills]

18. Actually - the people of Vermont love him

His 2 challengers are way behind. Kind of like the AOC thing.

[sheshe2]

29. I see.

[ehrnst]

38. IKR?

[ehrnst]

37. It's not like Our Revolution hasn't jumped on the bandwagon to support a popular candidate,

in order to claim afterwards that their endorsement is what got the victory.

Lord knows they could use some positive press and some winners to claim.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watchdog-group-claims-pro-sanders-nonprofit-violated-campaign-finance-law

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/08/bernie-sanders-endorsements-2018-elections-767403

[RhodeIslandOne]

44. He's already the Lieutenant Governor

Soooooooo....?

[BannonsLiver]

47. And?

Hey even the OR bunch finds someone who can actually win an election every now and again, not that Lt Gov of a tiny state is a big deal.

[RhodeIslandOne]

48. Awww come one now....

.....I thought they had a 400 election loss streak or something.

I doubt the majority of Vermont knows nor cares who they are.

[JCMach1]

20. Never voting for a person who avows an anti-science position

[Initech]

23. Anti vaxxers can go lick toilet seats.

Seriously you want to go that route during the worst pandemic in a century? I know I don't.

[pampango]

24. Being anti-Vax is stupid but I am not a one-issue voter.

There are other issues that are important too. I do but that I agree with any politician on every issue.

[RandySF]

25. Anti-vaccine views are hazardous to public health

And nobody who holds them should be allowed to run a state.

[Hortensis]

31. It goes to mental competence and judgement, Pampango.

It's about fitness for office and the very ability to understand and address all issues properly and responsibly, not just one.

[ehrnst]

45. +1000. I feel the very same about climate science skeptics, and anti-choice candidates.

Where someone goes for counsel, and the ability to change their mind once they get new data that challenges their previous political brand is a huge part of how I judge efficacy and mental competence.

If someone attacks anyone who brings new evidence or data to light that doesn't support their own dogma, then I don't think they're going to be a capable leader. I don't find stubborn, defensive rigidity of thought to be a sign of strength.

[Hortensis]

46. Yes. All ideologies should be supportable by truth.

A statement of personal belief that something is wrong can be a complete, honest, and respectable argument.

But trying to increase support by lying about facts and science is inexcusably dishonest.

And electing people who try to deceive us and expecting good government isn't just irrational on our part, it's very stupid

.

[ehrnst]

33. If they disregard science and the mainstream medical community, of which Fauci is one,

what does that say about their judgement?

That's one reason that I won't support a climate science denier, or an anti-Planned Parenthood candidate.

Who is giving them counsel, if they are going to ignore entire bodies of scientific and medical research?

Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin) argued that eliminating the philosophical exemption would restrict parental rights, while Sen. David Zuckerman (P/D-Chittenden) questioned the science of vaccinations. He said that while conducting his own research on the matter, he came to believe that the pharmaceutical industry is foisting vaccinations on the public to make money, not fight disease.

"For me, as long as there's the extreme financial conflicts of interest out there that are driving much of this debate and discussion, I have to maintain the individual right for someone to do their own research as well and make that decision," Zuckerman said.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/sick-em-paid-leave-gets-a-long-delayed-vote/Content?oid=2557416

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

30. I'm glad there were few anti-vaxxers when I was a kid.

Not many questioned the value of a smallpox inoculation, or a shot or sugar cube to fight polio.

[ehrnst]

32. That's as anti-science as a climate change denier, or anti-choice hard liner. or anti-Fauci fanatic.

Sen. Norm McAllister (R-Franklin) argued that eliminating the philosophical exemption would restrict parental rights, while Sen. David Zuckerman (P/D-Chittenden) questioned the science of vaccinations. He said that while conducting his own research on the matter, he came to believe that the pharmaceutical industry is foisting vaccinations on the public to make money, not fight disease.

"For me, as long as there's the extreme financial conflicts of interest out there that are driving much of this debate and discussion, I have to maintain the individual right for someone to do their own research as well and make that decision," Zuckerman said.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/sick-em-paid-leave-gets-a-long-delayed-vote/Content?oid=2557416

[EllieBC]

39. I'm really glad that when I was a kid there wasn't this movement.

And schools REQUIRED vaccinations. Kind of sad that in a time of more information so many have latched on to the disinformation of the anti-science anti-vaccination crowd.

[RhodeIslandOne]

43. Phil Scott will likely be re-elected.

This is the sort of nutty candidate you get when smart politicians see the writing on the wall and don’t bother to run.

Of course the guy is already the Lt Governor, so the endorsement is not out of left field.