Welch sails to second term

By Nancy Remsen, Free Press Staff Writer
November 5, 2008

Democrat Peter Welch clinched his second term in Congress on Tuesday, handily defeating five challengers — a marked contrast from his down-to-the-wire contest with Republican Martha Rainville two years ago to decide who would fill Vermont’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“It is very exciting, first to get a vote of confidence for the job I’ve done and second to be part of a new Congress with a new president,” Welch said shortly after speaking to the crowd of Democrats at the Hilton Burlington.

The outcome of the congressional race was clear shortly after the polls closed Tuesday when early tallies showed him winning with more than 80 percent of the of the vote compared to his rivals — all tallying in single digits. The other candidates were independents Mike Bethel and Cris Ericson, Progressive Thomas Hermann of Barre, Liberty Union candidate Jane Newton and Jerry Trudell, running under the Energy Independence label.

Hermann, a 29-year-old Iraq war veteran turned war critic, was the most visible of Welch’s opponents. He was recruited to run by war opponents who said Welch had failed to keep his 2006 campaign promise to fight against continuation of the war with every vote. Welch began facing criticism from Iraq war opponents within a few months of taking the oath of office in 2007. A protest in March 2007 at his Burlington office led to six arrests for trespassing.

During this fall’s campaign, Hermann focused on two recent votes he claimed showed Welch had supported war funding and broken his promise.

Welch disputed Hermann’s characterization of the votes, noting one bill included timetables for troop withdrawals and the other was a general government funding bill.

Welch defended his anti-war record, noting it included six votes for measures that would have forced the president to adopt timetables to bring troops home and nine votes that denied the president unrestricted war funding.

Welch also pointed to examples of his initiative as a first-term representative. He persuaded 50 lawmakers to sign a letter he wrote calling on the U.S. attorney general to rewrite the nation’s interrogation policies. Upon learning of reports of substandard care of veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., he jumped to demand a congressional investigation.

Hermann admitted his candidacy had been a long shot. “I was running to win,” he said, “but also to push the issue forward. If you want to end this war, you have to vote all the funding down.”

“I feel I made enough of a splash that Congressman Welch will listen to me,” Hermann continued. He looked forward to discussing issues with Welch over a cup of coffee.

The major factor in Welch’s easy re-election was the lack of a Republican opponent. One political observer said Welch scared off Republicans with his big campaign war chest — $828,000 as of last April.

There was talk that former state auditor Randy Brock might try to unseat Welch, but Brock chose to run for the state Senate. Welch received sufficient write-in votes in the September primary election to win the Republican nomination. On the ballot Tuesday, he was labeled as Democrat/Republican.

Welch suggested Republicans had less need to challenge him because of his approach to the job. “I worked hard and listened to all Vermonters,” he said. “I reached across party lines for pragmatic solutions.” Welch focused on the future in the remarks he delivered to the Democratic gathering at the Hilton. He said the election was about making important changes — reviving the middle class, fostering a new energy economy and restoring the nation’s standing in the world.

“The job we will have in Congress is translating desires for change into legislation,” he said. “We have to act boldly,” he continued, “but be open to ideas from our critics.”

Contact Nancy Remsen at 651-4888 0r nremsen@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com