July 22, 2008 - 12:33pm
Persistence pays for Sanders
By Wally Edge
Category: US Senate, House, Governor, LocalTags: Bernie Sanders, Richard Spelling, Stella Hackel, Peter Smith, Paul Poirier, John CarrollTop Story: Opinion
For Bernie Sanders, persistence has paid off. With every statewide run since 1972, he was able to increase his percentage of the vote, until ultimately winning a seat in the House in 1990 and later a U.S. Senate seat in 2006.
His political career started off with a series of defeats in the 1970's as he ran for statewide office as a Liberty Union candidate. In his first gubernatorial run in 1972, Sanders finished a distant third with just 1.1 percent of the vote. In the 1972 special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat, he again finished third with 2.2 percent. Two years later, when Democrat Patrick Leahy first won a seat to the U.S. Senate, Sanders placed third with 4.1 percent of the vote. His best showing was a third place finish in a gubernatorial challenge in 1976 where he drew 6.1 percent of the vote against Richard Spelling (R) who won with 53.4 percent of the vote while Stella Hackel (D) came in second with 40.5 percent.
His political fortunes began to turn around in 1981 when he was elected mayor of Burlington by a 10 vote margin. In 1986 he ran for governor -- this time as an Independent -- and finished third with 14.5 percent of the vote. After four terms as mayor, he voluntarily left office in 1989, and building upon his popularity, the Independent ran for the open U.S. House in 1988 and finished second to Peter Smith (R) by 41 percent - 36 percent. The Democratic candidate, Paul Poirier, drew 19 percent of the vote, potentially playing the role of spoiler to the Independent. Finally in 1990, Sanders defeated Smith by 56 percent to 40 percent to win the state's At-Large Congressional seat.
With the exception of 1994 when Republican challenger John Carroll came within 3 percentage points of defeating Sanders, the incumbent was easily re-elected by over 20 percent margins between 1992 and 2004. Sanders was easily elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 with 65.4 percent of the vote.
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"What the state has told us is they do not want us having any interaction with the consultants or Entergy staff. We've been frozen out."
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-Brattleboro Reformer, 10/10/08
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Sanders' is past his time! Time for a change!
It is clear that Sanders' has lost touch with reality and has repeatedly shown that he is "down with the old crowd" not wanting to make changes that would benefit the people of both VT and this nation.
For example, despite decisions by the US District Court for the Eastern District of California and the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Cicuit in Taylor v. Westley which found that California's abandoned/unclaimed property system (like every other state in the nation together with the way federal agencies like the US Postal Service) handle abandoned/unclaimed property was illegal because it failed to give constitutionally ample notice before and after the seizure by the states, Sanders has refused to lead change by simply introducing legislation to correct these defects! He likewise has refused to ask any federal agency to investigate this entire area despite the overwhelming evidence of "hanky-panky" going on between state/federal officials and campaign contributors in the financial industry!
He likewise has refused to intercede to stop widespread violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act where federal agencies such as but not limited to the US Postal Service, Federal Highway Administration, and others have refused to provide or force other state/local agencies to comply with ADA by not supplying a sufficient and reasonable number of parking spaces allocated to the handicapped as requierd.
Lastly, he has demonstrated a complete lack of dealing with constitutent issues but instead helping those who contribute to his campaign. While federal law permits this kind of treatment of non-givers, Sanders has milked the rich at the cost of the majority of taxpayers.
It is about time that we boot Sanders and put him out to the retirement pasture for good!
Sanders should not be in office
Sanders makes people work for him for free and he treats people preferentially. Is this the type of "Independent" you want in the house?
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