Ironically, their would-be knight in shining armor comes from Long Island. Traditional industries such as logging are being eroded by recent environmental regulations. The controversial Act 60, passed by the legislature in 1997 at the behest of the Vermont Supreme Court, angered some residents by Robin Hooding money away from richer school districts and giving it to poorer ones. Even shopping malls have caused friction - they're popular with natives seeking cheap goods and jobs, but reviled by outsiders trying to escape suburban sprawl. The flatlanders seemed to be trying to create a liberal utopia, a social experiment, on the backs of natives who have long cherished the libertarian tenets of property rights and local autonomy.
Civil unions seem in some ways to be the final insult.
In addition to the challenge from Dwyer, he faced a progressive third-party candidate in Anthony Pollina, a former staffer for Vermont's only US representative, the socialist Bernie Sanders. Pollina challenged Dean on the left, arguing that civil unions were insufficient and that he would support full-fledged gay marriage. In addition to the heated Dwyer-Dean campaign, two other races stood out as a way to weigh in on civil unions. Although Flanagan's campaign worked hard to focus on issues such as health care and campaign-finance reform, his spokesman Liam Goldrick concedes that civil unions affected the race. The US congressional race, perhaps most of all, pointed out to conservatives the extent to which the Green Mountain State had changed.