15 Quotes From People Who Knew the Young Bernie Sanders

[UglyGreed]

?1449852472

Judith Sargent, activist in the pro-labor, anti-war Vermont third party in the ‘70s

“He was unusual for a political activist at that point because he was willing to include not only women, but children.”


http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/12/11/1459243/-15-Quotes-From-People-Who-Knew-the-Young-Bernie-Sanders?_=2015-12-11T11:39:16-08:00

[WillyT]

1. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[lewebley3]

21. That was then: this is now: at 73 nice but few accomplishments

[reformist2]

22. Are you kidding? Speaking out for what is right for 50 years? That's quite an accomplishment.

[George II]

30. We keep hearing about things like "speaking out for 50 years" but precious FEW accomplishments.

I've been speaking out for almost 60 years, but not qualified to be President.

[beam me up scottie]

37. George I've met Bernie Sanders. I've voted for Bernie Sanders.

Bernie Sanders is a friend of mine. George, you're no Bernie Sanders.

[cosmicone]

38. I'm Bernie Sanders. Wait. I'm not.

I cannot refuse to answer questions about ISIS and storm out of the stage.

[beam me up scottie]

39. *yawn* Non sequiturs are so borin...

[roguevalley]

44. yeah. he has no big fuck ups. he doesn't talk out his ass either. he's got character too.

He's decent as hell. And he never sold his soul. That's why people love him. Her? Crickets ...

[beam me up scottie]

48. It's all they've got.

Since they have nothing legitimate to use to impugn the man's character they make up shit, throw it at the wall and hope it sticks.

And they wonder why people have to hold their noses around them.

[abakan]

73. That sounds like a troop of monkeys!

If you don't understand the reference: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018577487

[beam me up scottie]

85. Lol! That is hilarious!

And yes, they are like monkeys who only know how to react by flinging feces when they get upset.

[Hortensis]

76. "Early Bernie" had his FIRST steady job at age 40.

And that was after he was elected for the first time, not when he was a hiree and easily let go. I like Bernie, and I really don't mind someone taking a few decades to stabilize and find something he's good at, or at least hold onto, but I'm mentioning this for some balance because the OP is an extremely edited list of quotes.

So, how about this: From youth to 40, Bernie was usually low income, downright poor much of the time, often unemployed though apparently only once on unemployment (most jobs didn't qualify him for it), and flitting from job to job.

At 23 Bernie graduated with a four-year degree (and got married).
They wanted to live off the land, and gave it try before divorcing a couple years later.

Ensuing jobs included
Aide in psychiatric hospital.
Teaching preschoolers.
Property tax clerk.
Registration clerk for food stamp program.

1970-1980, when not working he campaigned, sent unpaid or solicited political screeds to many media, visited many places, ran for senate and governor twice each -- once achieving a whole 6% of the vote.

During this period Bernie also shared parenting of a son (who is apparently doing fine and loyal to him), renting a little house for him to visit. Quotes from visitors about that house include: “Pretty sparse,” "stark and dark,” and "The electricity was turned off a lot,” “I remember him running an extension cord down to the basement. He couldn’t pay his bills.”

Other jobs included:
Carpenter, briefly (reportedly a bad one)
Freelance writer (including that plodding screed about male-female relationships)

Quotes from people who knew him also include, “He was always poor” and “Virtually unemployed” and “Just one step above hand to mouth." It was in this period that he used his unemployment benefit for a few months, after which he became for “the doing away with all time limitations for unemployment benefits.” Other quotes include, “I don’t know what he did for money,” everything was always campaigning."

In 1977, tired and beginning to gray, Bernie started making low-budget films, about social and economic injustices of course, and struggled on economically.

In 1981, Bernie ran for mayor of his town and through a bit of a fluke combined with his usual intensity, he won, and achieved his first steady income of some $33K+ per year. And the rest is history.

Now, I would vote for a person with this history, but anyone who expects it to play well with conservatives in the habit of idealizing a "Christian" work ethic and using worldly success to judge a person's worth is fooling himself.

The only reason Bernie's not already being portrayed as next thing to a jumped-up skid-row bum by the sleazy sites so often copied in here to bash Hillary is that they want him to cut into her support first.

[beam me up scottie]

86. Good thing you're here to carry water for the "sleazy sites" then, eh?

You all just couldn't let a positive thread go by without smearing the feces around.

Stay classy.

[Hortensis]

88. I'm sorry you feel Bernie's background is fecal

and should not be discussed, Scottie. I disagree. It is a part of him and part of what has made him what he is.

[beam me up scottie]

89. Right, you're just here to spread your ... er truthiness around.

[Hortensis]

91. Just trying to toughen you up for the fight, Scottie.

The man wasn't in prison, on drugs, beating women, after all. Bernie just spent unusually long finding his feet 40 years ago! And that's too much to handle?

If you react this way to simple truths about Bernie's background posted by another Bernie admirer, how on earth are you going to handle the versions the Right plans to dish with the $1 billion they'll spend to defeat our nominee?

[theislander]

55. Amen!

[Kentonio]

61. He has a long list of accomplishments at every elected level he's worked at

You however seem to be asking why an independent hasn't achieved great things nationally. Well don't worry, he's about to.

[R B Garr]

65. We hear a lot about "morals" too.

Look at the responses in this thread touting their morals. That's what's behind most of this bandwagon.

People have their own morals and don't like being preached to. Most of their so-called "issues" are just moral interpretations. Notice no one cares now that Bernie is pro drones. I guess that's not an "issue" anymore since Bernie is for them.

[MannyGoldstein]

67. And what are Hillary's greatest accomplishments?

What battles has she fought and won?

[George II]

71. I thought this thread was about Senator Sanders.

[MannyGoldstein]

77. It's started out being about Bernie as a young man

So what's your point? That you'd prefer not to answer my question?

[George II]

80. I'd prefer that we stick to the topic, Manny.

[MannyGoldstein]

82. Given that you already moved it off-topic

Last edited Sat Dec 12, 2015, 07:40 PM - Edit history (1)

I don't see how your prefence is consistent with your actions.

[George II]

83. How did I move this off-topic?

[MannyGoldstein]

84. LOL! nt

[George II]

90. There you go, make an "accusation" then refuse to explain it. Deja vu all over again. Thanks!

[lewebley3]

59. No its not anyone can speak out: Their Dem's in my family that have

spoken longer. Sanders had not had much results

[thesquanderer]

23. I suspect he's already done more than most of us ever will (n/t)

[George II]

31. And?

[lewebley3]

58. If Sander was effective: you would not suspect: You would know

[thesquanderer]

63. I would not presume to know...

how accomplished you or any other given DU member might be or become.

However, I think it's a pretty safe bet that, as mayor, congressman, senator, activist, inspirational presidential candidate to hundreds of thousands (millions?) raising the profile of numerous important issues, there are few if any of us on DU who will achieve as much.

[lewebley3]

68. This discussion is about public people: Sanders resume is very thin in this area

[thesquanderer]

69. Bigger than Obama's was. Or Bill Clinton's. Or Jimmy Carter's.

In the unlikely event he were to win, at swearing in, Sanders would probably be the most experienced, accomplished Democratic president since LBJ.

[lewebley3]

74. Obama was one of a Kind: Sanders is no Obama: Obama didn't wait til 73

[thesquanderer]

81. And Bill Clinton? And Jimmy Carter?

Also, Sanders is one of a kind in his own way.

There is a large group responding to him in ways similar to how many responded to Obama, too.

And there's nothing wrong with running at 73.

[lewebley3]

93. Sanders: is the same as Nader, MCgovern, Kucinch, etc losers

[thesquanderer]

94. Can't argue with logic like that! (n/t)

[a2liberal]

24. Bernie Sanders: Effective

[lewebley3]

57. Effective: at being a nice guy: but never getting things done:

[a2liberal]

64. Would you care to counter the claims of the ad, rather than

post your trademark non-sequitor one-liners?

(Not sure why I'm even taking the bait...)

[lewebley3]

66. My so called non-sequitor: are just fact you don't want to hear:

[a2liberal]

72. lol

Anybody reading this thread can see who is presenting facts and who is making blanket claims without any support. Anyways, I'm done here, feel free to have the last content-free word.

[lewebley3]

75. I just checkmated you in this argument

[beam me up scottie]

87. "checkmated"?

That sounds uncomfortable.

[Ferd Berfel]

27. This supports the claim that Bernie is THE REAL DEAL

It supports the notion of his consistency

It shows that Bernie believes in what he does and says and doesn't triangulate or wait for polls to tell him what to say.
Damned refreshing.

[lewebley3]

56. Many people are the real deal: but don't have the talent and experience to lead

Hillary is a real deal Dem, she has been working for Dem's since
she left college: her and Bill didn't just talk a good game: They
got into the game. Sanders sat out his political career in a small
one party state.

[Ferd Berfel]

70. Hillary is still the Goldwater Girl. She is the Corporate Deal.

She strikes me as a disenfranchised 'moderate' republican. SHe is too far down the wall street corporate rabbit hole to ever have my trust. They will be pulling her strings more so than any other democrat in the race.

The Kabuki has no chance of diminishing under a Clinton administration. ENding the Kabiki at least has a chance under a Bernie administration.

[AzDar]

2. K & R

[arcane1]

3. Kos? That right-wing rag?

[Docreed2003]

32. I damn near choked on my whiskey...

The other night when I saw that posted in another thread. I didn't even bother to respond because the post said dkos should be dismissed because it was a bunch of political junkies, and I wanted so bad to say WTF is DU? The pretzel twisting logic of some folks is just astounding.

[Hiraeth]

4. 11) from Michael Monte, Burlington government-worker before and after Sanders’ mayoral terms

”Bernie was never anti-growth, anti-development, or anti-business.

He just wanted businesses to be responsible toward their employees and the community. He wanted local entrepreneurs to thrive. He wanted people to have good jobs that pay a living wage.

If you could deal with that, you could deal with Bernie and Bernie would deal with you.”

[tk2kewl]

25. freakin commie

[Hiraeth]

28. and ... just look at his hair !!

[merrily]

5. He had his two year old son on his lap at a work meeting in 1970, one year before Ms. Magazine began

publishing. If that doesn't speak volumes, I don't know what does.

All the willful ignorance, spinning, nitpicking and double standards in the world are not going to convince me he is not a good person.

[Docreed2003]

33. +10000

[LiberalArkie]

6. Allen Gear, a Republican member of the Board of Aldermen since 1979

“He’s done things I don’t think we Republicans could have done...

“He’s taken a lot of very Republican ideas and put them in place. Such as combining all of the garages of the various city departments and putting them into a single public-works department, initially a Republican proposal, to gain efficiency in handling city rolling stock ...

“He’s put a lot of modern accounting practices and money-management practices into place that are good Republican business practices.”

[Hiraeth]

8. beat me to it. I will delete. This one is very good and shows why he has cross over appeal.

[LiberalArkie]

9. I think so, it would very hard for any of the Republicans to run against him on

Republican values. I don't know how many real Republicans are out there any more though.

[Hiraeth]

10. They are out there, I think. Just laying low and enjoying the holidays.

Probably watching in a stunned silence.

The Silent Majority
The silent majority is an unspecified large majority of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly. The term was popularized by U.S. President Richard Nixon in a November 3, 1969 speech in which he said, "And so tonight—to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support."

[Armstead]

11. Great sampling

What I wish could get through the filters is that's he actually very practical, and solution oriented in real world terms. That -- combined with his idealism -- would make for a refreshing and great change in the nation's leadership.

[99Forever]

12. Great stuff.

Thanks UG.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, UglyGreed.

[cosmicone]

14. Are there any who remember his writings? n/t

[RoccoR5955]

19. Factual or fiction writing?

Don't spray me, okay?

[cosmicone]

20. I'll just leave it at "writings" .... n/t

[Scuba]

36. It appears the Hillary in your sig line has insecticide-resistant fleas.

[RoccoR5955]

41. graffiti, random scribblings, doodles too?

I figured while you are at it, might well include everything, okay?
Or don't you have anything specific?

[beam me up scottie]

47. It's the latest tactic from camp weathervane, third time I've seen that tonight.

The memo said that every time something positive is posted about Bernie they need to bring up his "writings" and pretend that means something.

I believe we're supposed to act outraged instead of pointing and laughing at their lame attempts to derail the thread.

[RoccoR5955]

54. Oh, okay I get it. n/t

[Hissyspit]

60. Give it a rest.

Non-controversy.

[cosmicone]

62. What non-controversy?

Care to elaborate?

[merrily]

15. ;

11)

Michael Monte, Burlington government-worker before and after Sanders’ mayoral terms

”Bernie was never anti-growth, anti-development, or anti-business.

He just wanted businesses to be responsible toward their employees and the community. He wanted local entrepreneurs to thrive. He wanted people to have good jobs that pay a living wage.

If you could deal with that, you could deal with Bernie and Bernie would deal with you.”

[JDPriestly]

16. These statements explain why Bernie has been elected and re-elected over and over

and will be our nominee.

Bernie is very "frugal."

He is a problem-solver. He solves problems by referring back to the values that ground him and then thinking what he should do about a problem. He is a very rational person. That's what I like about him so much.

He can be moved by his emotions, but he checks himself. In his early speeches, you could see him pause and think and sort of check his statement to make sure it was based on his values and expressed what he really thinks.

He is just amazing. We will be so lucky once he is president.

Also, he believes in bringing people together. He is the leader we need now. We need to be brought together. Bernie will work to do that. He will find a way to remind us all of our deeply shared values and come together.

People are shocked at how highly many of us think of Bernie. They think it is some sort of political cult. It isn't. It's about shared values. There is nothing personally about Bernie that draws us to him EXCEPT his principles and values of fair play, of working together, of improving life for all of us and for making our society as excellent as it can be.

While campaigning for Bernie, the enthusiasm of young people struck me as unusual. I have never seen anything like it. So, skeptic that I am, I asked a young woman, maybe 20 or so why she liked Bernie. She answered: "The issues."

Bernie's stances on the issues are so affirmative, so right,, so morally and practically correct. That's why we like him. And the reason he is so strong on the issues is that he thinks about his values and then decides where he stands on the issues. He is not sticking his finger into the air and feeling the collective temperature on the issues. He goes back to the fundamental American values that we all, Republicans and Democrats, all believe in and then he asks which possible policy best serves those values. And he has worked on this method for so long that it comes naturally to him.

What a great man. I do think that Bernie will be the best president we have ever had.

[sorechasm]

40. Nice post JDPriestly! With each interview Bernie expresses our shared values with practical solution

Activist and University of Chicago student Mike Parker

“[Bernie] was very smart and very policy oriented…

“He would say, ‘What can government do to solve this problem?’ Or, ‘What policy could be the kind of thing we should be asking for?’

Knowing someone like him was part of the inspiration for [the activism] we’re doing [now].”

He has changed the language of this campaign, and so has already won.

[Thespian2]

43. Thanks again...

and again and again...Your words are clear, precise, and correct...

[Stardust]

46. Beautiful post. (nt)

[RiverLover]

52. "Its about shared values" & "the issues" & morals...

Thank you for sharing your thoughts here, JDP. So well-stated.

No, we're not a cult. Just a large number of people who believe in doing the right thing for the right reasons. Bringing the US back to being run for her people, not solely corporate profits, is not a radical thing at all. Just a fight for Democracy.

Its the right thing to do.

This has to end~

[Bubzer]

17. Awesome!

[madokie]

18. This is a good one LOL

Burlington resident to Mayor Bernie Sanders as he was making the rounds to speak to his citizens and hear their complaints:

“I saw you on TV the other night, with my son…

“And my son says to me, ‘That Mayor Sanders, he’s a communist, you know.’

And do you know what I say to him?

I say to my son, ‘Don’t go around saying such things where intelligent people can hear.

They’ll think you are stupid.’”

Bernie, our next President

[thereismore]

26. He even included that Pancho Villa sitting in the background!

[Docreed2003]

34. Great post...thanks for sharing...

Sadly the detractors are already showing up. Instead of just ignoring or, gasp, say something remotely nice, they can't help but come in and crap all over a great post. This is fantastic, thank you for sharing!

[MariaThinks]

35. I recommend this

[Thespian2]

42. K & R!!!

[Wibly]

45. 15 quotes from people who knew

Young Trump, or Young Cruz, or Young Jeb. . .

[Betty Karlson]

49. K&R for exposure. eom

[Enthusiast]

50. Kicked and recommended!

[bigwillq]

51. K and R

[tblue37]

53. I like #12:

Will Raap, founder of the 750-member Burlington-based Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility

http://www.thenation.com/article/bernies-burlington-city-sustainable-future/

“Bernie realized that the economy doesn’t have to be dominated by bad guys {emphasis added}.

He saw that and he fostered it.”

From the comments:

(Exchange starts at) 2:36

Bernie talking summer camp and trying to teach the kids some Vermont history.

(Kids talking at the same time) “I was born stupid... and ugly”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute… come here”

“You think you’re dumb?”

“Yep”

“Well, I’m the mayor of this city and I don’t think you’re dumb”

<iframe width="454" height="250" src="

" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[sorechasm]

79. "And don't give up on yourself..." He told the child who thought himself stupid.

What a heart.

Thank you tblue37. That was adorable.

[Douglas Carpenter]

78. knr

[in_cog_ni_to]

92. kick n/t