Bernie's home-state blues

[riversedge]

Bernie's home-state blues


By Daniel Strauss

02/23/16 05:05 PM EST
...........................

Vermont’s distinctive political landscape has enabled Sanders’ go-it-alone approach. Voters are accustomed to options other than the two major parties — among them a vibrant Progressive Party — and the state Democratic has chosen not to run opponents against Sanders on the party line. But by running as an independent, Sanders has failed to forge relationships with party figures or built up a reservoir of good will among Democratic leaders.

"I mean he was clearly an independent, he didn't want to be identified as a Democrat," said Vermont Democratic Party vice chairman Timothy Jerman, one of the few high profile unaligned Democrats left in the state.

A Republican veteran of Vermont’s small-state political scene spoke even more bluntly about the disconnect.

"Until recently, Senator Sanders wasn't really engaged in the Democratic Party in any kind of meaningful way. And so this guy's got like a 40 year record in public service in Vermont. But a pretty short stint of it being part of the Democratic Party," said the consultant, who asked for anonymity to speak freely. "And it seems to me that his involvement is really more about his need and access to the party establishment, more than it is about his interest in helping to advance the party priorities or strengthen the party."

Some Vermont Democrats pointed not just the fact that Sanders hasn't always associated with the Democratic Party, but also that he can sometimes be difficult to work with.

"I guess one way to phrase it is he doesn't play well with others. Even when I was governor, after I defeated him, I found him hard to work with, yes," said Kunin, the former governor and ambassador to Switzerland.



Kunin added that Sanders "was very single-minded then but to be fair, he was not a radical mayor in the ways today that his rhetoric would suggest. I mean he did the job that mayors should do."......................

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-vermont-democratic-support-219631#ixzz415GWbdrL

[Vattel]

1. lol

[GreatGazoo]

2. 83%+ approval from his home state

Highest approval rating for ANYONE in government right now

http://theweek.com/speedreads/590697/bernie-sanders-highest-approval-rating-senator

[democrank]

3. Superdelegate U. S. Rep. Peter Welch from Vermont just endorsed Bernie.

Bernie won about 71% of Vermont`s vote in his last election. He`s in very good standing with people of this state.

[cannabis_flower]

4. Perhaps

he means that Bernie doesn't roll over to people who are trying to cater to special interests and give in.

[islandmkl]

5. well, hell...THAT is convincing...

why do those stupid people in Vermont, you know, the voters, keep electing him?

[NurseJackie]

6. Interesting read.

"The more you know ..."

[dr60omg]

7. Ah YES

I understand why the Senator has had a short stint with the Democratic party particularly since it moved to the right during the DLC in reality he caucuses with democrats but has maintained a commitment to the ideas of a more progressive left wing democratic party as in FDR and even LBJ's great society (well except for Vietnam).

That being said he still enjoys the highest senate approval rating in the nation
And also he won his last election by 71 or maybe 77 percent that is pretty extraordinary