The media is making quite a fuss over the withdrawal of Vermont Senator James Jeffords from the Republican party. I say: Good riddance and who cares!

For one thing, strict party line votes are nowhere near as common as IDEOLOGICAL votes. It is far more instructive to look at a senator as being liberal or conservative, regardless of party affiliation. Right off, I could name three more suspiciously liberal Republican senators--strangely enough all from New England.

How about Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe from Maine, and good ol' Lincoln Chafee from Rhode Island? And New England is not the only place to find liberal Republican senators.

About all that does change immediately is that Tom Daschle becomes the majority leader and the committee chairmen become Democrats. This is only cataclysmic to the egos of the respective Republican senators, and has little effect on we the people.

Was the incredibly weak Trent Lott a great majority leader? Did the Republican committee chairmen pass any tax cut legislation? Isn't this whole affair really just a celebration of a kind of meaningless tribalism, merely keeping score in a game that nobody else cares about?

The Dems were ALREADY poised to block judicial appointments, and convinced the media and a large portion of the public that "bi-partisanship" meant that the Republicans should give in on everything, even when they had control. Now, if there had been a real majority leader, and something (anything) were accomplished since January, there MIGHT be a case for all this hand-wringing. The fact is, that with few exceptions, nothing will change.

Frankly, what is more interesting to me is how Vermont, the state that used to be typified by an independent self-reliant sort, dressed in a Johnson Woolen Mills hunting coat, trudging through the snow tapping his maple trees for sap, could be transformed into a socialist, politically correct enclave. And, how did New Hampshire, its neighbor state, with many apparent geographical and historical similarities, avoid this fate?

Can you handle the truth? It was the Ben and Jerry effect.

Ben and Jerry are former New Yorkers who came up to Vermont to get away from the hassles of the big city, bringing with them all their carefully honed New York liberal, socialist ideas. Among other things, Ben and Jerry are supporting the "Free Mumia Jamal" movement, a ridiculously misguided effort on behalf of an obviously guilty (his case having been many times reviewed), convicted Philadelphia cop killer. Think about that the next time you indulge in their overpriced, high fat concoctions.

It turns out that a large number of new Vermonters came from New York and California, anxious to transplant their "progressive" miasma on the unsuspecting public. Unfortunately, the migration numbers were not high enough to rid these large states of sufficient Lefties to make a difference in California or New York politics, but it sure turned the tide in tiny Vermont.

Before the guys in the Johnson Woolen Mills hunting coats knew what hit them, they were living in a People's Republic. Some of them are fighting to "Take Back Vermont," but that might not be possible. After all, socialism is like a religion for many of these newcomers, and they have made a career of being activists. Our Johnson Woolen Mills hunting coat guys have mostly made a career out of making a living. They're not happy, believe me, but they're overwhelmed. Heck, they voted for this Republican Jeffords!

On the other hand, New Hampshire has it worked out. With "Live Free or Die" as the license plate motto, and with no state income or sales tax, there just wouldn't be a future for socialism. The thousands who fled Taxachusetts for New Hampshire weren't about to see their new haven turn into their old home state.

As for Vermont and the way it's been heading, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys must be spinning in their graves.

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