Monday, June 1, 2015
"By the way, on broader issues, what I think when we talk about issues, Chuck, we need a lot more debates in this campaign," Sanders told moderator Chuck Todd. "I hope very much that we can begin with the Democratic candidates at least as early as July, and also Republicans in those debates, as well."
Sanders did not explain on the show how such bipartisan primary-season debates would work — nor why they would be a good idea. But in a press release issued by his campaign later that day, spokesman Michael Briggs elaborated.
"Early debates involving both Democrats and Republicans also could revive interest among ordinary voters in the democratic process," Briggs wrote. "One way to get disillusioned voters to participate in elections would be to make it clear that there are major differences between a progressive agenda and the reactionary platform of the Republican Party. That is why Sanders suggested debates including Republican candidates as well as his Democratic rivals for the nomination."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Meet the Press , Chuck Todd , presidential debates , Recommended Reading , Image , Web Only
Friday, May 29, 2015
"A man goes home and masturbates his typical fantasy. A woman on her knees, a woman tied up, a woman abused," Sanders begins. "A woman enjoys intercourse with her man — as she fantasizes being raped by 3 men simultaneously. The man and woman get dressed up on Sunday — and go to Church, or maybe to their 'revolutionary' political meeting."
The long-forgotten piece found a new audience this week after Mother Jones unearthed it as part of a Sanders profile it published Tuesday, just before the two-term senator formally kicked off his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mainstream news organizations such as CNN, Slate and The Hill quoted liberally from it, mostly without characterizing its contents. Vox called it "bizarre." Several conservative organs touted its coverage — or lack thereof — as proof-positive of a media double-standard: Had a Republican candidate written such words, argued Breitbart News senior editor-at-large Ben Shapiro, he or she would have been sidelined from the election.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Vermont Freeman , essay , article , Recommended Reading , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Here's the full video of his campaign kickoff, which featured a speech from author and environmental activist Bill McKibben, music from the Zydeco/Cajun band Mango Jam, and free Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
Video courtesy of Channel 17.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Video , Image , Web Only
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
“The lesson to be learned is that when people stand together, and are prepared to fight back, there is nothing that can’t be accomplished,” Sanders told several thousand supporters who waved newly printed “Bernie for president” placards.
“I am proud to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America,” Sanders said, to loud applause.
With a wide array of national and local media on hand, Sanders spoke from a stage with Lake Champlain gleaming behind him. He had a stunningly perfect, if a tad warm, day for showing off the city he once ran.
The message he delivered to that national audience would not surprise anybody who’s heard Sanders speak for the last four decades. “Enough is enough,” he bellowed. “This great nation and its government belong to all of the people, and not to a handful of billionaires.”
He added, "This campaign is going to send a message to the billionaire class. And that is: You can’t have it all. You can’t get huge tax breaks while children in this country go hungry. That is why we need a tax system which is fair and progressive, which makes wealthy individuals and profitable corporations begin to pay their fair share of taxes."
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , 2016 presidential campaign , Hillary Clinton , Presidential Campaign , government reform , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only
The crowd, you fear, will be full of overly earnest volunteers, connected bigwigs, fawning hangers-on and prima donna journalists. The speech will be full of finely honed, red-meat sound bites. And doesn't everyone know how this is all going to play out, anyway?
And then you meet Jennifer and Jonathan Tornabe.
The Tornabes aren't Bernie fanatics — they only moved to Burlington a couple years ago, from Plattsburgh. They have never volunteered for a campaign, never attended a political rally, never donated to a candidate — they aren't even sure they've even voted.
And yet the Tornabes may have been the first people to arrive at Waterfront Park for Tuesday's announcement, camping out under a shady tree five hours before events were scheduled to begin, to make sure they could be in position.
Their reason: They wanted to hear what Bernie had to say.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Waterfront Park , Burlington , Presidential Campaign , Image , Recommended Reading , Slideshow , Web Only
We're keeping an eye on social media as the buzz builds. Take a look (and if you're already over it, check out our Bernie Sanders Drinking Game):
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Burlington , campaign trail , Image , Video , Web Only
OK, that's not true.
He'll almost certainly deliver the same speech he's given since he first ran for Senate in 1972. (It didn't work so well that year. He won just 2.2 percent of the vote.)
If you've heard it all before, consider spicing it up a bit. Bring a road soda to the shore of Lake Champlain and play the Bernie Sanders Drinking Game — brought to you by none other than Seven Days. If you miss the speech and find yourself bored at home, play the game to Sanders' 8.5-hour faux-libuster or our Bernie Beat archive of historical Sanders coverage.
What are the rules? It's simple. Drink every time Sanders:
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Drinking Game , Presidential Campaign , government reform , Recommended Reading , Image , Web Only
The hire is a coup for Sanders, who has struggled to generate the enthusiasm enjoyed by fellow progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Until last week, Ehrenberg served as state director of Run Warren Run, a group founded by the national progressive groups MoveOn.org and Democracy for America to persuade Warren to enter the Democratic primary.
The former New Hampshire AFL-CIO political and legislative director calls himself a longtime Sanders supporter and says he informally advised the senator's early exploratory efforts in New Hampshire. After spending the past four months unsuccessfully attempting to draft Warren, Ehrenberg formally joined the Sanders campaign last Wednesday.
"The Elizabeth Warren draft effort was a terrific idea, and I'm glad we did our best to try to get her in the race," Ehrenberg says. "I think many people still have hope that she will run, but I think the chances are less every day and every time she says she's not running. So I think we should begin to take her at her word."
Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs confirmed the hire Tuesday, saying Ehrenberg would serve as New Hampshire field director.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , Kurt Ehrenberg , Run Warren Run , Image , Web Only
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Leahy recommended Miller for the job in February. Obama's nomination now puts the decision in the hands of the U.S. Senate, which must confirm his appointment to the federal prosecutor post.
If confirmed, Miller would replace Tris Coffin, who took the job in 2009 and returned to private practice this year. Eugenia Cowles has been serving as acting U.S. attorney since Coffin's departure.
Miller has been a lawyer in the Burlington firm of Sheehey Furlong & Behm PC since 1999, serving as partner since 2002.
His wife, Liz Miller, is departing this month from her job as Gov. Peter Shumlin's chief of staff.
Tags: Patrick Leahy , Eric Miller , Barack Obama , Liz Miller , Image , Web Only
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will host a campaign kickoff next Tuesday afternoon at Burlington's Waterfront Park, his campaign announced Wednesday.
Vermont's independent senator announced three weeks ago via email that he would seek the Democratic nomination for president and held a brief press conference outside the U.S. Capitol later that day. Next week's event promises to be a more celebratory affair, featuring free Ben & Jerry's ice cream — of course — and music by Mango Jam, the Vermont-based Zydeco/Cajun band.
Feel free to bring your hula hoops, glow sticks and goo balls.
Tags: Senator , Bernie Sanders , Presidential Campaign , kickoff , waterfront park , Peter Shumlin , Image , Recommended Reading , Web Only