By Nathan Allen
posted
Jun 27, 2012
RUTLAND- Senator Bernie Sanders chose Rutland for one of his
first campaign events of the 2012 season. Sanders met with the
public and answered questions Saturday, June 23, at the
Unitarian Church in Rutland. He used the opportunity to discuss
"what's at stake" for his upcoming reelection bid. "We must
continue the fight: to create millions of decent paying jobs, for
health care for all, to protect Medicare and Medicaid, for a
deficit reduction plan that is fair, to end the war against women,
to protect the environment and reverse global warming," he said
during the speech.
Elected to the United States Senate in 2006 after serving for 16
years in the House of Representatives, Senator Sanders is proud to
represent Vermont in Washington D.C. He is a self-described
champion of the middle class and "an independent voice,
fighting for families." Bernie (as most Vermonters
fondly call him) is the longest serving Independent member of
Congress in the history of The United States. In a poll conducted
by Public Policy Polling in 2011, he received a job approval rating
of 67% in Vermont, making him one of the nation's most supported
officials. This is in stark contrast to Congress as a whole which
currently suffers a 17% approval rating nationwide, (Gallup poll,
June 17, 2012).
When Bernie took the stage he was welcomed with a standing ovation
from the nearly full church. He was joined by Bill Carris, the
state Senator from Rutland, and three women who there to "discuss
something we rarely do in this country: reality", as Bernie put it.
This panel was made up of a union organizer for childcare workers,
a local teacher and a working mother struggling to make ends
meet.
Panelist Ellen Green is a teacher at Rutland High School and she
noted Bernie's support of teachers as well as other public
employees. Green complimented his opposition to the No Child Left
Behind program. She explained the futility of NCLB, saying "all of
the schools in Vermont will be considered 'failing schools' by 2014
because of how high-stakes testing and adequate yearly progress
works. Schools must show a systematic improvement on standardized
tests year after year. What if we have an exceptional class one
year who scores very high, but the next year he have an average
class that scores very well. This kind of scenario demonstrates the
futility of No Child Left Behind."
Sanders speech began in earnest with some troubling statistics. "In
America today we have by far the most unequal distribution of
wealth of any major country on earth. In America today the 400
wealthiest people have more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of
the country. That's 400 people with more wealth than the bottom 150
million people.
The top 1 percent of the population owns 40 percent of the wealth
in this country, but what is more surprising than that is what the
bottom 60 percent has: The bottom 60 percent controls less than 2
percent of the wealth in this country.
This is what I am talking about when I say that America is in
danger of developing into an oligarchy. If we don't get our act
together and get it together soon, we are going to be looking at a
system of government that is run by a few wealthy and powerful
people."
Sanders went on to offer some solutions that included ending Bush
era tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and closing
loopholes that prompt businesses to move jobs overseas. He also
mentioned supporting the middle class by allowing them to organize
into unions and repealing the decision made by the Supreme Court
that recognizes corporations as people. "There are many
corporations who are paying very little or no Federal taxes, it has
to change," Sanders said.
The Senator also spoke about Wall Street and how the consolidation
of wealth and power has led to economic collapse. "These crooks
destroyed the American economy, caused massive suffering for the
American people, they operated illegally, and how many of these
guys are in jail? The answer is none. The problem now is that Wall
Street regulates the Congress and not the other way around. It was
deregulation that got us into this mess. We are not going to grow
the middle class, create jobs, or heal the economy until this is
dealt with."
Sanders said he would be doing appearances, similar to this one in
Rutland, in the months leading up to the election. He mentioned
using these campaign stops as opportunities to educate voters about
how to vote for their best interest.
Sanders concluded his speech warning the audience of the very real
possibility that November could see a Republican President along
with a Republican majority in both chambers of Congress. "This
would be disastrous," he said. "The stakes in this election are
enormous. We are at a pivotal moment in American history and we are
truly fighting for the survival of the middle class in this
country."
Questions from the audience were encouraged but the Senator was
running short on time as he was scheduled to appear at an event in
Bennington later that day. One passionate group, however, was
determined to voice their cause. They had been outside before the
speech protesting the wind farm on Grandpa's Knob. Lisa Garcia
appealed to Bernie and explained that they felt the wind farm was
neither "green" nor sustainable and was motivated by big business
and corporate profits. Garcia said support of "Corporate Wind" is
not helping the middle class and only serves the 1
percent.
Bernie responded that he had no control over where, exactly, wind
farms are placed but he reiterated his support for all forms of
alternative energy including wind.
Carol Geery, one of the protesters, agreed with Bernie in theory
but not with the Grandpa Knob project, saying "wind is certainly a
viable source of alternative energy but we must be more careful
where we put the turbines. This project is unsafe for the land and
unsafe for the animals and people nearby." Carol also stated that
more wind farms, on a much smaller scale might benefit individual
communities better than one large project like the one on Grandpa's
knob.
The reaction to Sanders speech was overwhelmingly positive.
Supporters lingered afterwards to thank Bernie and ask brief
questions.
Kevin Murphy travelled up to see Bernie from Massachusetts where he
is working on the campaign for Elizabeth Warren (Democratic
Candidate for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts). Murphy enjoyed the
speech and said it was worth the trip. "He's one of the last real
genuine Progressives," Murphy said of Sanders. "There aren't a
whole lot of us left. I thought Bernie hit on most of the important
points today. We need to message better. We've let the
Conservatives buy the dialogue. We're not selling Progressivism...
Bernie's success next term will depend on what he has to work with.
He is certainly intelligent and passionate enough."
Tagged:
Senator Bernie Sanders, Unitarian Church of Rutland
