The real political news in Vermont has been buried under recent headlines announcing the retirement of Sen. Jim Jeffords: The Vermont House has approved the most radical health care proposal ever to gain majority support in a state legislative chamber. In its early days in the Union -- after 14 years as an independent republic -- Vermont was a bastion of 18th century radicalism dedicated to principles of "liberty and property." But shaped by the state's traditional town-meeting democracy, succeeding generations of Vermonters tempered this radical individualism. Until recently, however, Vermonters had steadfastly resisted big-government collectivism. This great leap forward...