Editor,

For Speaker Shap Smith to remove from the House Health Care Committee someone who was clearly asking the tough questions that were needed to protect Vermont voters comes as a slap in the face not only to 18-year veteran Republican Representative Mary Morrissey of Bennington, but also to all Vermonters.

Gov. Shumlin came close to losing the fall election due to concerns about health care financing. What more is needed for the voice of the people to be heard? It has become increasingly apparent that Rep. Morrissey was right all along about single-payer cost unsustainability. She deserves better – and so do Vermonters, who would have benefited from Rep. Morrissey’s perspective on this important committee.

The high-level decision to silence an outspoken single-payer opponent does not bode well for the promised post-election “transparency,” and neither does the governor’s lame explanation for the transfer.

Martha Hafner
Randolph, VT