Sunday, June 12, 2016
Speaking Sunday outside his Burlington home, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) vowed to take his “campaign for transforming the Democratic Party” to its convention this July in Philadelphia. But he wouldn’t quite say whether he would continue seeking the party’s presidential nomination.
“Well, we are going to take our campaign to the convention with the full understanding that we’re very good in arithmetic and that we know who has received the most votes up until now,” he told reporters gathered across the sidewalk from him.
Sanders made the remarks after meeting for several hours in his New North End home with nearly two dozen top supporters. The group, which included five other members of Congress and several prominent activists, emerged from the house at 5 p.m., prompting cheers from neighbors standing across the street. Sanders, accompanied by his wife, Jane O’Meara Sanders, shouted to the locals that the street “hasn’t had this many people in a long time.”
In his brief remarks to reporters, the senator called Sunday’s meeting “very exciting and productive” and said it focused on figuring out how to convert his presidential campaign into a lasting progressive movement. Echoing the words of former governor Howard Dean, he said it would require a “50-state strategy” that encouraged citizens to run for office and “demand that government starts listening to the needs of ordinary people, rather than just wealthy campaign contributors.”
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Thursday, June 9, 2016
President Barack Obama sought to bring the Democratic presidential primary to a close Thursday, endorsing former secretary of state Hillary Clinton in a video address.
“I’m with her,” he said, adopting a Clinton campaign slogan. “I am fired up and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign for Hillary.”
Obama unveiled his long-anticipated endorsement just 90 minutes after meeting with Clinton’s persistent rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), in the Oval Office. When Sanders emerged from the White House, he told reporters he planned to continue campaigning through next week’s primary in Washington, D.C., and to fight for his platform at the Democratic National Convention in July.
Sanders did not immediately offer Clinton his own endorsement, but he indicated that he would help her defeat the GOP’s presumptive nominee.
“I will work as hard as I can to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president of the United States,” he said.
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Wednesday, June 8, 2016
As Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) chartered jet landed in South Burlington late Wednesday, Joe Ament stood at a nearby intersection, waving a campaign sign at passing motorists.
“I just want to welcome Bernie home,” the Burlington graduate student said. “So he knows that he’s loved and missed — and to tell him to keep on going to the convention.”
After losing California on Tuesday and watching rival Hillary Clinton declare herself the Democratic presidential nominee, Sanders faced pressure Wednesday from top Democrats who urged him to stand down. But Ament and the roughly 80 other supporters who lined Williston Road seemed inclined to see Sanders stick it out.
“The superdelegates haven’t voted yet,” Ament said. “It’s obviously very steep, but if you believe in democracy you wait until everyone’s voted.”
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Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton declared herself the winner Tuesday night of a protracted contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
“Thanks to you, we’ve reached a milestone: the first time in our nation’s history that a woman will be a major party’s nominee for president of the United States,” she told supporters at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
But hours later at a rally in Santa Monica, her persistent rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), pledged to “continue the fight” through the final primary election next week in the nation’s capital — and beyond.
“We are going to fight hard to win the primary in Washington, D.C. And then we take our fight for social, economic, racial and environmental justice to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!” he shouted, referring to the site of July’s Democratic National Convention.
The competing declarations came on the penultimate day of voting in the primary election — after six states went to the polls. By early Wednesday morning, Clinton had been declared the winner in New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota. Sanders had been named the victor in North Dakota and Montana. Later in the morning, the Associated Press called California, whose 546 delegates made it the biggest prize of the day, for Clinton. She was leading Sanders there 56 percent to 43 percent with most precincts reporting.
Including superdelegates, who can change their mind before the July convention, Clinton had accumulated 2,755 delegates by Wednesday morning, while Sanders had collected 1,852. A candidate needs 2,383 delegates to win the nomination.
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Tuesday, June 7, 2016
But a spokesman for Clinton's last remaining opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), quickly condemned the call as "unfortunate" and "a rush to judgment."
"Secretary Clinton does not have and will not have the requisite number of pledged delegates to secure the nomination," the spokesman, Michael Briggs, said in a statement. "She will be dependent on superdelegates who do not vote until July 25 and who can change their minds between now and then."
To secure the Democratic nomination, a candidate must win 2,383 votes at the party's convention, which is set to take place this summer in Philadelphia. According to the AP, Clinton has won 1,812 pledged delegates through state primaries and caucuses, while Sanders has won 1,521.
The wire service said it had repeatedly canvassed the party's 714 superdelegates — party leaders who can vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention — and only 95 remained uncommitted. By Monday night, 571 superdelegates had pledged their support to Clinton, putting her just over the top, while 48 supported Sanders, according to the AP.
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Friday, May 27, 2016
Apparently, it really was only a dream.
On Friday afternoon, Trump retracted the commitment he made Wednesday night on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to debate the senator from Vermont. In a statement issued by his campaign, Trump said it “seems inappropriate that I would debate the second place finisher.” He also complained that television networks appeared unwilling to donate millions of dollars to charity in exchange for hosting such an event.
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"I really had no idea what to expect," Pearson said.
Within hours, Sanders had emailed his massive list of donors asking for donations to Pearson's campaign and those of seven other state legislative candidates — from South Carolina to South Dakota. That night, as Pearson was walking to dinner, he logged in to his online fundraising platform and found that the appeal had already generated $30,000 in donations.
"I just about fell over," he said. "I was totally stunned."
By Friday afternoon, that number had doubled: According to Pearson, 12,185 Sanders supporters had donated $60,500 to his campaign. That's far more than candidates typically spend to compete in the six-member Chittenden County Senate district — and more than the roughly $40,000 Pearson had hoped to raise.
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Thursday, May 26, 2016
During an appearance on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said he would be willing to debate Sanders ahead of the June 7 vote.
"If he paid a sum toward charity, I would love to do that," said Trump, who went on to note that the match up "would have such high ratings."
Sanders quickly responded on Twitter.
Game on. I look forward to debating Donald Trump in California before the June 7 primary.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 26, 2016
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Monday, May 23, 2016
Officials from the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, which selected Rutland as a relocation site after an aggressive push from Mayor Chris Louras, will brief the board at the Godnick Adult Center meeting.
Many of the aldermen have questioned the plan. They've also criticized Louras. He volunteered Rutland as a host city and spent months planning for the refugees' arrival with no public notice and little input from the aldermen or local legislators. Rival citizen groups supporting and opposing the refugees' arrival have formed.
"I am extremely concerned about the process, or lack of process," Alderman David Allaire said in an interview. "I've got constituents all over this city who are surprised and hurt and have lots of questions that are still not being answered."
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Thursday, May 19, 2016
Though he remains far behind Clinton in the delegate count, Sanders is hoping to inflict a “heavy blow” on Clinton by winning the California primary and is determined to have a vocal presence at the Democratic Convention in July, the Times reported.
The Times said:
While Mr. Sanders says he does not want Mr. Trump to win in November, his advisers and allies say he is willing to do some harm to Mrs. Clinton in the shorter term if it means he can capture a majority of the 475 pledged delegates at stake in California and arrive at the Philadelphia convention with maximum political power.
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