Article Title: Senator Jim Jeffords: Chump or Champ?

Edition: June 2001
Category: General Interest
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Chump

Paul Giuliani, who lives up on Towne Hill Road, has nailed a blue-and-white "Jeffords" campaign lawn sign upside down -- onto a massive maple tree in his front yard, along the road.

Talking about Jeffords' decision to go independent after serving in elected office as a Republican for a quarter of a century, he said, "This is perfidious, disloyal, and totally shifts the balance of elected power, and that thwarts the will of the voters." He suggested that Jeffords should have resigned instead and tested his new identity with Vermont voters in a special election.

Giuliani, who is an attorney in town and a lifelong Republican said he's been getting plenty of phone calls and some approving "toots" from passing motorists since he hammered the upside down Jeffords sign onto his tree.

Giuliani said he heard the Jeffords speech on the way home from work, and decided he needed a Jeffords sign.

"I went first to the Republican headquarters -- they didn't have any; I checked with Jimmy Johnston, he didn't have any, and neither did Jack Lindley." Giuliani then routed around in his garage and dug up two from last campaign season.

"I crawled up there, with nails and hammer, and put that sign up," he said.

"This is demoralizing for the Vermont Republican Party, he said. But when you have lemons, you make lemonade: this may be an opportunity to reform the party in Vermont."

Champ

Eva Bonime and Christie George, both of Brooklyn, New York drove up to Montpelier to visit friends over the Memorial Day weekend. Before they left the city, the women snipped lengths of masking tape and formed a rough sign that stretched across the back window of their car. It read: "Jeffords Rocks."

They weren't even out of Brooklyn before their sign drew comment. "Some guy passed us," Bonime said, "then backed up and rolled down his window and asked 'hey, is that a rock group?' And he was serious!"

The women decided making a political point would liven up the ride. "We thought for our six-hour ride we'd try to spark some inter-car dialog," said George.

On the way up, the women got a couple of honks from approving fellow motorists. But just outside of Waterbury, Connecticut, someone passed them with a note scrawled on a napkin pressed against the window. It said: "Not!"

The women said that the Bush administration had swung to the right since getting elected. They cited Bush's cuts in funds for international family planning and his reversal of a Clinton administrative directive that would have further protected workers from stress-related injuries.

Bonime said, "It's nice to have something good happen in Washington," Bonime said. "It's good someone's shaking things up a little."

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