COMMENTARY: Where’s Phil Scott?

April 9, 2025  |  By Rep. Larry Satcowitz

I was at the Hands-Off rally in Montpelier on Saturday. It was an amazing display of solidarity and showed the determination we need to oppose what's going on in our nation's capital. 

The size of the crowd gave me hope that we are at the start of a true resistance movement that will thwart the billionaires and fascists that are currently in control of our federal government. I heard many wonderful speeches, inspiring and necessary. 

There was one topic though that I hoped would be addressed by at least one of the speakers, but I didn’t hear it: Where’s Phil Scott? I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, when I got home, I wrote the speech that I would have given if I had been on the podium this past Saturday:

“The Democratic Party is united in its opposition to Donald Trump, but every time a Democrat, like me, stands up, exactly no one is surprised. 

But opposition to Trump should not be a partisan issue. He is destroying our democracy. He is destroying our economy. And he is actively undermining our national security. These should not be partisan issues. There is currently no Republican governor, senator or representative who has the courage and integrity to loudly, boldly, and vigorously stand up to our Mad King. It is long past time for our Governor Phil Scott to forcefully resist this administration. Any Republicans who speak out against this travesty do so with a special kind of authority as they are not Trump’s political opposition. I would remind you that Trump and Scott are on the same team.

Vice President J. D. Vance recently visited Vermont for a ski weekend. That was a wonderful opportunity to send a strong message to the administration in Washington. Instead, our governor welcomed him to our state while hundreds of Vermonters lined the streets to protest his arrival. Why? Is Phil Scott afraid of the president’s ire? Should we be afraid? That is exactly what the president wants. He wants us to be afraid. He revels in our acquiescence. 

The longer we take to speak up, the more powerful he becomes, and the harder it will be for us to resist. We need to be strong now. We need to be defiant now. We need to be really, really loud now.

In recent weeks we have seen the capitulation of major universities, of top law firms, and – with his deafening silence – our Governor Phil Scott. This is how fascism gets its way. Yes, bravery is hard, but weakness will be our undoing.  

Phil Scott can choose his own words, but we demand he oppose the cruelty of the administration in Washington in the strongest possible terms. We demand he oppose its recklessness in the strongest possible terms. We demand he oppose its outrageous corruption in the strongest possible terms, and we demand he oppose the systematic undermining of our rule of law in the strongest possible terms. We are in the middle of a national emergency.”

Phil Scott frequently reminds us that he is the governor of all Vermonters. All of us. Well, Phil, we need you now. We’ve never needed you more. Where are you? Why aren’t you here, with us, right now? 

Please join me: Where’s Phil Scott? Louder, please: Where’s Phil Scott? Louder again, so he can really hear us: Where’s Phil Scott?”

I dearly hope I never need to give this speech, but unless we hear from our governor soon, I’m ready.

Rep. Larry Satcowitz, D-Randolph, represents the Orange-Washington-Addison House District and is the ranking Democratic member on the House Environment Committee.