Just Maybe There is Hope Yet!

I was reading the Bennington Banner article, "Suicide bill goes down in House" by Neal Goswami, Staff Writer (March 22, 2007), and couldn't help thinking that maybe there is hope for us yet.

The article is regarding the assisted suicide bill that was recently before the House in Vermont, but that isn't what got my attention. It was the comments made by two of the representatives involved in the vote -- Representative Mary Morrissey, R-Bennington, and Representative Anne Lamy Mook, D-Bennington.

Goswami reported Representative Morrissey as saying:

"I think the people's voices were really heard in the state of Vermont," she said. Earlier in the day, Morrissey had criticized legislators and the media for using a Zogby International poll that showed 82 percent of Vermonters supported the measure.

"There is just something that is not adding up in regards to H.44. I have listened to committee testimony, television commercials. Polls continue to state that 82 percent of Vermonters support it," Morrissey said. "I guess if Vermonters read it or hear it often enough, they will believe it. Certainly all of us in the building know that poll often can be taken with leading questions."

Goswami further reported:

Morrissey questioned legislators and media reports stating that a majority of Vermonters supported H.44, An Act Relating to Patient Choice and Control at the End of Life. Morrissey also said she was disappointed that an amendment that would have called on Vermonters to vote on the issue was defeated in committee.

"What are we so afraid of in this building or body to not ask the people of Vermont?" said Morrissey. "Are we afraid of the misleading statements that 82 percent of Vermonters support it won't hold up to a vote? I guess I can only wonder."

I was totally impressed! A representative that not only didn't listen to the polls, but questioned them and said so in public? One that actually suggested that if the media, and others, reported those figures often enough that people might come to believe them, even if their accuracy was in question? But better yet, she questioned why the hesitation to prove the poll results with a vote by the people?

My being impressed didn't end with her.

Goswami wrote,

Rep. Anne Lamy Mook, D-Bennington, voted against the legislation after most of the constituents that contacted her said they did not support it.

"I truly believe in the concept of choice that H.44 gives one, but I am very mindful of the word representative in front of my name and responded to the wishes of my constituents," said Mook.

A representative that responds to the wishes of her constituents instead of voting per her own person beliefs! ?!?

What is all this? Is it contagious? Is there a chance it will spread and infect all politicians and those who vote them in? One can only hope! One can only hope! But just maybe there is hope for us yet!