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In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders: Presidential Run Is Not About Hillary, It’s About The ‘Collapsing’ Middle Class [View all]karynnj
(59,510 posts)before he did it.
Here is an article from 7 Days, an independent VT paper, that is mainly about a UVM professor who is a close friend of his. There are wonderful stories about Sanders, who once roomed with him. (I hope some read the entire delightful article.)
Short clip:
"It was Sugarman who recognized that, while Sanders did poorly in statewide races, he did increasingly well in Burlington.
I think you can win, he remembers telling Sanders, but we have to make this about concrete issues: neighborhoods and snow removal and things that people actually care about. And he became an unbelievable student of this stuff.
In 1981, when Sanders was elected mayor by just 12 votes, it was Sugarman who oversaw the vote recount to make sure Sanders victory wasnt stolen.
Later I asked him, Whats in it for me? Sugarman recalls. He said, You get to be commissioner of reality. It was an unpaid position."
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/the-wondering-jew/Content?oid=2242436
Last fall, the Burlington Democratic party had an event celebrating the two Burlington area former Governors, Howard Dean and Madeline Kunin. When Dean spoke, he spoke of the current mayor being the first Democratic mayor in decades -- since Bernie Sanders won. He also spoke of when he knew Sanders might win. He ran into his mailman and the man told him he could see that Sanders cared for people like him. (Dean said his wife voted for Sanders, while he voted for the party's Democrat. ) Dean also spoke of how the Progressive party did move the Democratic party in VT to the left. (This is from memory - take comments with a grain of salt.)
There are some real VT posters here - Cali comes to mind - who really know far more about this history than a very recent transplant. The point that I am making is that Sanders may well succeed in at least raising the issue of the decline of a middle class. At this point, it could be premature to rule out that he or someone else running on the issue - ie someone who can play "RFK" to his "McCarthy" - could actually win. One clue that this could have some resonance is the low approval of both parties may suggest that people want something else.