SANDERS ENDORSES SLATE OF VERMONT DEMOCRATS

[Donkees]

Oct. 22, 2016

Excerpts:

MONTPELIER — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., took a break from his nationwide campaign tour for Hillary Clinton, his former rival for the Democratic nomination, and returned to the Green Mountains to shower endorsements and love on his home-state slate of Democratic candidates.

Inside the red brick walls of the Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Alumni Hall, Sanders preached to a choir of roughly 250 supporters about his vision for Vermont. The ideal Vermont, he said, would offer universal health care, more educational opportunities and a civil political environment.

“We can be the model for America,” Sanders proclaimed to wild cheers. “To create that vision, to become that model, we need high quality leadership.”

At the rally, Sanders officially offered a thumbs up to every Democrat running statewide this year.

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Treasurer Beth Pearce — who is running for another two years — thanked Sanders for suggesting more progressive investment strategies. Pearce got some of the most raucous applause of the evening for her spunky presentation of the state’s wonky investment portfolio.

“We’ve got 33 million — we call that 10 percent in Vermont — we’ve got $33 million, we take it out of Wall Street, bring it here,” Pearce said to thunderous applause. “Investment in farms, invest in childcare, invest in housing and energy, investing in all the important pieces of our — of our — legacy. Our state, the fabric of our state.”

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In addition to the Friday event in Montpelier, Sanders will continue to boost Minter and the other statewide candidates in a weekend tour from Bennington to Burlington in an effort to rachet up support for her in rural areas. Scott is leading in every part of the state, according to the VPR poll besides Chittenden County.

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We cannot afford a governor who wants to put the pause button on progress,” Minter said in her speech.

She cast her opponent, Phil Scott, as a fairly conservative Republican, and she criticized the millions of dollars in ads for Scott paid bankrolled by the Republican Governors Association.

“Over $2 million already spent, and you know what, we have a message for them, Vermont is not for sale,” Minter said.


http://vtdigger.org/2016/10/22/sanders-endorses-slate-vermont-democrats/

[SamKnause]

1. I love Bernie.