by Mike Smith In this country we have the right to assemble and stage lawful protests. Usually the purpose of a protest is to draw attention to a certain issue and raise awareness, with the ultimate goal of having more people gravitate to your cause and broaden your support. For this reason protesters need to be careful that they do not alienate those who otherwise might be sympathetic to their point of view.
But some protesters can be too intense, perhaps even intimidating or sometimes frightening, which prevents them from attracting broader support. That’s when the use of a protest becomes counterproductive. When the intensity, rhetoric and actions of the protest don’t match that of the general public, then protesters appear to be out-of-line and over-the-top. Unfortunately, those that are so ideologically wedded to their cause rarely see it that way.
The State House protest over health care reform during this year’s inaugural ceremonies was a case in point. Staging a protest that disrupted the ceremonies and then resulted in the prolonged occupation of the House chamber certainly brought attention to the protesters. But did it bring any additional support? If the goal of the protest was to bring about comprehensive health care reform, then that didn’t happen. In fact, some legislative observers have said the protest clearly hurt the cause of reform.
Last weekend opponents of a natural gas pipeline in Addison County staged a protest in Montpelier. Over the course of two days protesters blocked traffic that led to the closure of a main thoroughfare, and then they chained themselves to an entryway of a state office building. Did these actions expand their support? Probably not.
Opponents of the pipeline need to convince more Vermonters to support their cause by having a cogent and adequate answer to the following question: How is Vermont expected to grow economically when the energy infrastructure that promotes growth is the very infrastructure the protestors are trying to prevent from being developed? If their ultimate objective is to stop or reverse economic growth, they should just say so. Although a no-growth message is harder to deliver successfully in Vermont nowadays, it is clearer and more authentic.
Reasonable people can agree that we should lower carbon emissions and invest in clean energy options as much as possible: but it cannot be an all-or-nothing proposition.
Vermont’s economy is currently growing slowly, and this slow growth has led to ongoing economic distress in some areas of the state. For many Vermonters costs are rising far faster than wages. In fact, just about 50 percent of Vermonters cite the economy or fiscal issues as their top area of concern in a recent poll.
Given our state spending trends, the state of Vermont, literally, cannot afford to have a no-growth strategy. Only growth will allow us to avoid devastating cuts to programs and services.
And politicians that try to straddle both sides of this issue will find themselves entangled in the illogic of their position.
Other energy infrastructure projects — like wind and solar proposals — are becoming as controversial to many as the gas pipeline is to others. So where does it leave us as a state when most sources of energy — fossil fuels, wind, solar and nuclear — draw this kind of opposition?
Some believe that the best way to express their views whether it’s health care reform or a pipeline expansion is with anger and disruption. But our state needs to have a conversation about how we meet our very real need for affordable energy and the corresponding infrastructure that delivers that energy in order to grow our economy and alleviate rising costs. And protesters need to recognize that most Vermonters will gladly grant them their right to protest, but they will also expect them to participate in this conversation. Of course engaging in the tough conversations about how to solve our great challenges is much harder than chaining yourself to a door or singing songs in the well of the Vermont House of Representatives.
Mike Smith was secretary of administration and secretary of human services under former Governor Jim Douglas. He is the host of the radio program “Open Mike with Mike Smith,” on WDEV. He is also a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT radio and is a regular contributor to the Times Argus, Rutland Herald and Vermont Business Magazine.