Re: [Marxism] Socialist Leads U.S. Senate Race in Vermont

[Bert <itsbert@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I expected this rhetoric from Bernie and this is why I did not attend this
gig.  The only reason I might have been enticed to go was the free dinner
but I would have had to spend a good part of a quarter tank of gas to get
there and back.  Since Bernie has run for Congress he hasn't laid claim to
his Socialist "roots"; I think he was put out when the media portrayed him
by asking who that homeless guy was in Congress.  Since then his apparel
has "improved" and his disheveled hair is less dis.

Over the years Bernie has stepped away from the left and become much more
of a Centrist.  Several years ago Bernie hosted a "town meeting" about
military benefits and he invited the American Legion, Veterans for War (er,
I mean VFW) and several other veterans groups.  One group "forgotten" was
Veterans for Peace.  When Green Mountain Veterans for Peace [GMVfP] showed
up we were asked to leave this "public" forum.  When the Boy Scouts did the
processional to present the American flag and announce the "Pledge of
Allegiance" we [GMVfP] SAT in the front row staring at Bernie.  He neither
acknowledged our presence throughout the proceedings nor apologized for
"forgetting" our constituency.

Ever since then if I identify myself as  member of GMVfP in any
correspondence with Bernie I get no response, whereas if I write to him or
talk to him as a constituent at large he will give me at least a minimal
response depending on my query.

Though, I do feel he is talking down to me.  I think he has passed that
trait to his step-daughter, too.
Sincerely,
At 04:02 PM 5/31/2005, Pieinsky wrote:
> Joe -- Sorry to be a downer here.  But I haven't heard Bernie talk about
> socialism or being a socialist in many years.  Yes, he can give a ringing
> populist rap about Bush's attacks on the welfare of people on behalf of
> the well-to-do, but he never addresses the need for transcending
> capitalism as a system.  I was present myself at the aforementioned May
> 1st Barre, Vermont Labor Hall dinner, where Bernie spoke.  It was a
> typical Bernie speech, which brought the crowd to its feet as the article
> describes.  But two things struck me: (1) He talked only about the "middle
> class" as being hurt by Bush and having its standard of living reduced and
> not about the working class -- and this at a labor dinner;  (2)  In his
> litany of bad things Bush has done, he said nothing about the Iraq War,
> either in general or in terms of its consequences for "middle class" or
> working class people.  Why?  Was he fearful of alienating possible voters
> for his Senatorial campaign because they might be pro-war?  I think he has
> a very narrow economistic idea of who workers are and what they think
> about things.  Also, when talking about trade issues like NAFTA, he said
> that he was an "internationalist".  Good. But he defined that, as any old
> liberal might, as "helping" people in other countries, not as standing
> shoulder-to-shoulder with them in the struggle against capitalism and
> imperialism.  I and a couple of other people, who have seen Bernie's
> behavior down through the years, did not get up out of our chairs to
> cheer.   Several years ago, I was one of a number of people who sat-in at
> Bernie's office in Burlington to protest his support for the war against
> Yugoslavia.  He had us arrested.
>
> Furthermore, if you try to talk with him in person, he's an arrogant
> asshole.  Give me Dems e.g. Wellstone or Feingold, any day.
>
> best,
> jay
> www.neravt.com/left/
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Bert Thompson
P. O. Box 508
Johnson, Vermont  05656

802 635.7023

itsbert@xxxxxxxxxx

"I was trying to explain last night to a non-Catholic just how dumbstruck
many reformist Catholics are by the elevation of [John] Ratzinger [to
pope].  and then I found a way to explain.  this is the religious
equivalent to having had four terms of George w. Bush only to find that his
successor as president is Karl Rove.  Get it now?"

-- Gay journalist Andrew Sullivan at AndrewSullivan.com  April 19







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