As Mayor, Bernie Sanders Was More Pragmatic Than Socialist

[baran]

This was posted in GDP yesterday & don't see it cross posted here to this group. I thought it was a very good article in the 11/25/15 NY Times giving background on how Bernie became successful as the mayor of Burlington (and giving a clue as to how he'd deal with an obstructionist Congress).

“But Mr. Sanders had more local concerns. Chief among them: the powerful board of aldermen, now called the City Council. Of the 13 aldermen, 11 opposed him and blocked everything he tried to do. They were convinced that Mr. Sanders’s whisker-thin victory had been a fluke and were determined to stifle him. They fired his secretary. They refused to let him appoint his own cabinet. The city clerk opened his mail.

The voluble Mr. Sanders did not sit idly by. The Burlington Free Press described that first year as “one long shouting match.” He finally gained his footing in March 1982 when he mounted a campaign against some of the aldermen who faced re-election. He mobilized voters, a tactic that would become a Sanders hallmark. And on Election Day, most of the old guard Democrats were tossed out, bolstering his progressive coalition of ‘Sanderistas.’”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251849264

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/us/politics/as-mayor-bernie-sanders-was-more-pragmatic-than-socialist.html?_r=0

[gordyfl]

1. Bernie Would Use the Bully Pulpit

Yes, and I think as President he would use the bully pulpit to bring in more progressive members of Congress. That's why, if we want to fix what's going on in Congress, we must start by electing Bernie Sanders.