Raye,
I respect your views immensely, they are way ahead of the times. With that, I would make a rebuttal to some of your points.

As with any dialogue, both sides offer perspective. When we can get around the important differences, then we begin to arrive at solutions. My point is that the two-party system does not support the needs of the people. Vermont already has an Independent party, it is very active and resolves the opposing nature of bipartisanship. The Respresentative in Congress, Bernie Sanders, is an Independent. He has been a politician for over two decades in this capacity. If Jeffords ever resigned without a new election, then Mr. Sanders would run for Senate and win. Nobody beats him. Though, I sincerely do not believe that Senator Jeffords will quit.

: SENATE DEMOCRATS HAVE NO MANDATE TO GOVERN!!

: The Democrats were NOT elected with a majority!

: Various people from Jeffords home state have said that IF he
: ran again, he would STILL be elected!!

: If that is true, then he should do the HONORABLE thing and
: resign, have a special election called, and RUN AGAIN AS AN INDEPENDENT!!

: If his consituents are right and he would win no matter what

: he ran as... then he remove 'the stain' of NO MANDATE, and
: be elected fairly and squarely as an INDEPENDENT or a
: DEMOCRAT!!

A)

I AGREE! It would be an honorable thing to do, and it would solve the problem once and for all.

Vermont has already been experiencing the conservative backlash from the Civil Union Bill. We're getting good at conflict resolution. The Civil Union Bill allows for same sex marriages and provides civil rights to those couples, like any marriage. That law isn't changing, either. It could be taken as a litmus test for the ability of conservatives to overturn legislation in the state.

: Jeffords is WILLING to give back money to his Republican
: donors, but how can he give back 'hours' to the Republicans
: from all across the state who walked the precincts and
: manned the telephones?

B)

Jeffords gives his time and countless hours to the PEOPLE of Vermont, ALL of them, REGARDLESS of party line. It is an important point to remember! Vermont does not "accept" the party differentiation like, apparently, the rest of the country. It has consistently worked toward establishing a sense of fair representation, one that allows ALL views to be considered. This is, after all, a democracy, right?? Not a two-party system designed to divide and conquer a nation of voting people. WE ARE VERY, VERY LUCKY that Senator Leahy will be head of the Judiciary Committee.

: How can he pay back ALL the Republicans whose votes were
: STOLEN in the last election? Yes, REPUBLICANS have had
: their votes STOLEN from them!

C)

No, they voted for Jim Jeffords, not the Republican party. Many people who voted for Jeffords ARE NOT Republican. They know how he votes. He received some 70 % of the vote, far more than the Republican "party" population had to offer. Why did he get that much support from non-Republicans? Because the voters AGREE WITH THE MAN!!! He knows how to make government represent people, NOT PARTIES.

: Senator Jeffords was elected as a Republican and has NO
: MANDATE to serve in the Senate as an Independent.
: Therefore; the Democratic Senate has NO MANDATE to govern
: as the Majority Party because they were NOT elected as the
: Majority Party!

: Jeffords pulled off a palace coup! Is this what the
: Republicans in his state elected him to do?

: Jeffords single handedly created the largest
: "non-election" Senate Shift in the HISTORY of our
: nation!

: If Democrats and the liberal biased media can accuse Geoge W.
: Bush of stealing the election, then Rumor Mill News can
: accuse the DEMOCRATS and Senator Jeffords of STEALING the
: Senate!!

D)

Then why doesn't Bush ask for a reelection? If Jeffords were willing to run again, would Bush? Bush did not switch parties, yet there are still a lot of unanswered questions and ethics concerns about the election results from Florida. At least Bush could have asked for a revote in Florida.

What makes the best policy for this country, political parties, or good policy makers?

Jeffords decision was an act of good faith. He still serves the people who voted him in; he will still vote like Jim Jeffords has always voted. We ought to look very closely at why he could not agree with the tactics and methods and programs of his party line. Ever wonder what is going on in that ideological context?

: Commentary from Rayelan Allan, Publisher, Rumor Mill News
: http://www.rumormillnews.com