The Early Political Education of Bernie Sanders
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In the mid-1960s, just after college, Bernie Sanders, his then-wife, and his brother, together bought an 85 acre plot of land in Middlesex, Vermont, just outside the state capitol.
A new Vermont Public Radio special entitled "Becoming Bernie" traces Bernie's life from his early days as a student at Brooklyn's James Madison High School through his college days at the University of Chicago, and those long years he spent trying to launch a political career in Vermont.
It was slow going, but after a series of failed campaigns for state office, Sanders was narrowly elected Mayor of Burlington in 1981.
“Twelve votes is not exactly a landslide victory," he noted in his victory speech. “However, it appears that we’ve won. It appears that there’s going to be fundamental changes in this city for the low income and working people.”
But even after he was elected, Sanders still faced a great deal of resistance from the city's political establishment.
For voters curious about the political style of this man who has positioned himself as a long-time outsider, his struggles and shifts in strategy as a politician in Vermont paint a vivid portrait of an idealist who was forced learned, early in his career, the importance of compromise.
John Dillon, news director at Vermont Public Radio, walks us through Sanders's long career.
What you'll learn from this segment:
- How Bernie Sanders struggled to get a foothold in Vermont politics.
- How he built a coalition necessary to win the Burlington mayor's race.
- The bipartisan nature of his tenure in Burlington.
