Rob Roper

Rob Roper is a freelance writer covering the politics and policy of the Vermont State House. Rob has over twenty years of experience with Vermont politics, serving as president of the Ethan Allen Institute (2012-2022), as a past chairman of the Vermont Republican State Committee, True North Radio/Common Sense Radio on WDEV, as well as working on state statewide political campaigns and with grassroots policy organizations.
Cash money bills

Economic “Assisted” Suicide or Murder?

When Agency of Natural Resources secretary Julie Moore testified to the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee back in January 2023 that the cost of the Clean Heat Standard program would be $2 billion over the first five years, 2026-2030, — an amount that she said would result in an additional 70¢ per gallon for home heating … Read more

Flushing-Money-down-the-toilet

“Please, Sue Us!”

Of course, we knew this was coming. In fact, they told us so. It was one of the very first Behind the Lines stories back on January 30, 2023 (I started this column on January 11th of that year) that shared the video clip of The Conservation Law Foundation’s Chase Whiting testifying to the Senate Committee on Natural … Read more

debt-forgiveness-taxes

Who Will Save Us from Crippling Education Taxes? Not This Crowd!

The Democrat/Progressive supermajorities that voted to override Governor Scott’s vetoes of laws that resulted in the massive property tax bills most Vermonters are receiving this month are now spinning the line that they did the responsible – nay courageous — thing by kicking the can down the road and appointing yet another panel of (mostly) … Read more

Money cash

Make Big Oil Pay? Court Says Nope!

Just this past May, the Vermont legislature passed Act 122 (S.259), the Climate Superfund Bill also known as “Make Big Oil Pay!” The idea behind it is that Vermont taxpayers will blow $600,000 hiring a bunch of consultants and bureaucrats to manufacture a sciencey-looking, totally serious – no really — accounting of the damage done … Read more

Vermont logo with chinmey

Clean Heat Standard Will Hurt Poor Vermonters on LIHEAP Heating Assistance

The Equity Advisory Group (EAG) to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) heard testimony on July 9th from Richard Giddings of the Department of Children and Families about how the Clean Heat Standard law would impact low-income Vermonters who receive home heating assistance in the winter. The news was not good for LIHEAP (Low Income Heating Assistance … Read more

Vermont logo with chinmey

“Green” Energy Policy Punishes Those on Home Heating Assistance

The Equity Advisory Group (EAG) to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) heard testimony on July 9th from Richard Giddings of the Department of Children and Families about how the Clean Heat Standard law would impact low-income Vermonters who receive home heating assistance in the winter. The news was not good for LIHEAP (Low Income Heating Assistance … Read more

Cartoon hit with taxes

No, a 14% Property Tax Increase is Not a Decrease.

If you thought the biggest, most brazen political lie from this past week was “Joe Biden is sharp as a tack,” you would be wrong. That prize has to go to Vermont state Representative Mike Mrowicki (D-Putney), who said in an op-ed that he and the Democrat/Progressive supermajority “…lowered property tax rates — with a yield bill that’s fiscally responsible.”

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Who’s Banning Books Now?

The legislature passed just this year S.220 – An act relating to Vermont’s public libraries. The ostensible need for the law was summed up by the WCAX headline, “Vermont Senate advances bill to discourage book banning.” This was, in great part, a reaction by our legislators to parents around the country objecting to highly sexualized materials … Read more

Who Wins “Biggest Dunce” Award for the Biennium?

This is the 150th Behind the Lines post since I started this page eighteen months ago at the beginning of the 2023-2024 legislative biennium. Thanks to everyone who has subscribed, shared, and grown the audience over the past year and a half, and welcome to many new subscribers who have joined in the last few weeks!

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A Truckload of Manure

The rhetoric surrounding the passage of the Clean Heat Carbon Tax (Act 18) was full of talk about “social justice,” a “just transition,” “engaging traditionally marginalized communities,” and “moving at the speed of trust.” Yeah, well, shocker, that was a truckload of manure!

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Howard Dean vs. Phil Scott? Yes, Please!

Howard Dean made news the other day when he reminded Vermonters he was still alive. The dude is bumping up against the actuarial tables at 76, after all, and anyone born the last year Dean held public office is now of legal age to drink, which would come in handy if the increasingly radicalized Leftist activist returned to power.

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Supermajority Votes for Even Higher Health Insurance Costs

Ask people why Vermont is unaffordable, and health insurance is one of the main pillars of our unaffordability crisis, along with education property taxes, the cost of housing, and energy prices. These highly regulated by our legislature plans go up every year by amounts far in excess of inflation. For 2024 alone, the Green Mountain … Read more

Woman Palestinian flag jihad pixaby

Night Cap: The New Klan with a Nazi Twist

Watching enormous crowds of Americans shouting blatantly racist chants in support of an agenda that is unapologetically genocidal, and backed by internationally recognized terrorist organizations – met with at best indifference and at worst the active support of our elite institutions of government, news media, education, and entertainment — I can’t help but think, this … Read more

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