Not all Vermonters are feelin’ the Bern.
Nearly a week after 5,000 people crowded the Burlington waterfront to watch Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) kick off his presidential campaign, roughly 35 gathered across the street Monday night at Main Street Landing to show their support for former secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Lopsided though those numbers may sound, Holly Jones of Shelburne reassured her fellow Clintonites that they were hardly a reflection of Clinton’s true support in Vermont.
“There was a lot of talk because he had 5,000 people down there,” Jones said. “But I can tell you what: She would get 10,000 people, if not 20 or 30 — and that’s the truth!”
Beach Conger of Burlington agreed.
“Cheer for Bernie! Vote for Hillary!” he said.
The hour-long event, which featured speeches from Gov. Peter Shumlin and former governor Madeleine Kunin, included plenty of talk about the “everyday Americans” to which Clinton and her surrogates have constantly referred this campaign season.
“Hillary Clinton, when she announced her campaign, pledged to be a champion for everyday Americans and that she would work hard to earn every vote,” her New Hampshire press secretary, Harrell Kirstein, said before the program began.
But few of those gathered Monday evening in the half-filled room could be considered everyday Vermonters. Rather, many were Democratic muckety-mucks, such as Rep. Tim Jerman (D-Essex Junction), former state senator Hinda Miller, former Shumlin chief of staff Bill Lofy, former Vermont Democratic Party spokesman Ben Sarle and Burlington Democratic Party assistant treasurer Andrew Champagne.
Leading the charge was Brandon Batham, whom the Clinton campaign hired in April to serve as its Vermont “grassroots organizer.” The Los Angeles native lives in Marlboro and got his start in Vermont politics last summer working on Sen. Becca Balint’s (D-Windham) primary election campaign. He went on to serve as the VDP’s southern Vermont field organizer last fall.
After playing two campaign-produced videos on a projector and taking a photo of those gathered for the event — “One, two, three, say, ‘Hillary!'” — Batham encouraged audience members to stay involved.
“Take a clipboard. Shoot me an email. I’ll send you signup sheets and voter registration forms. Get people plugged in. Get people excited about this campaign,” he said. “2008 was great … because of that. People were electrified going into the polling place. Voting was sexy. We’ve got to make voting sexy again!”
But even Clinton’s top supporters in the state appeared to acknowledge that, at least in Vermont, Sanders may be the sexier candidate.
“I know that many Vermonters are rightly proud of their almost-native son,” Kunin said, adding that she’s “glad that Bernie is running, because his ideas are important.”
Shumlin said much the same.
“We all know in Vermont that we love Bernie. Bernie is a friend and an extraordinary voice for Vermont. I’m proud that he’s running for president. I think it’s a proud moment for Vermont, and as governor Kunin said, he’s going to raise issues that are really important to this campaign,” Shumlin said, adding that he is also friends with the latest entrant into the Democratic primary, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley.
“But the question for us at this time is very simple,” Shumlin continued. “Who of the candidates running for president has the ability to hit the ground running and can continue to lift up the economy for the American people that have been fighting and struggling to get a fair shot at a good wage and a good life for themselves and their families? And it is Hillary Clinton.”
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Another Flatlander Commandeers Control of the Vermont Democratic Party !
Brandon Batham, the Windham County Democratic Committee chairman “chose not to invite candidates who have run without the Democratic Party label at any point within the last five years.” Hell Brandon five years ago YOU were still a big California Progressive, who died and left you in charge?
You don’t believe me? Here is a brief bio on the latest flatlander to commandeer control of the Vermont Democratic Party (from the VDP website) and don’t overlook the part about him hustling for Hillary over Bernie this year – OMG !
Brandon was born and raised in Southern California, and moved to Marlboro, VT in 2012, where he studied at Marlboro College.
Prior to his move to Vermont, Brandon worked for progressive Democratic political candidates in California. Along with a number of local and state legislative races, he served on the field team for Congressman Brad Sherman in 2012, and the communications teams for former Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel’s 2013 bid for Mayor of Los Angeles and 2014 bid for Congress. From 2011 – 2012, he also served on the Board of Trustees for the Los Angeles Community College District, which manages the nation’s largest community college district.
Since moving to Vermont, Brandon helped run the 2014 campaign for Windham County State Senator Becca Balint, worked as the Vermont Democratic Party’s Field Organizer for Southern Vermont in fall of 2014, and served as the Statewide Grassroots Organizer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. He currently serves as the President of Vermont Theatre Company, a non-profit community theater organization based out of Brattleboro, and is the Chair of the Windham County Democratic Committee and a member of the Vermont Democratic Party’s Executive Committee.
You just can’t make this stuff up !
Free lasagna! Free ice cream! Free college! Free healthcare! Who gets the check?
Hey, just some questions:
“Bernie has been showing up at Vermont town meetings”
Ok. But accomplishing what — other than repeatedly delivering the same ill-tempered rants against the so-called “right wing reactionaries”?
“initiating more safety nets for real people”
I’m not sure what this means. What does initiating safety nets mean? Can you identify all the “safety nets” he’s “initiated”?
“You can thank people like him when you have social security in your 70’s”
Can you say in concrete terms how he’s saved social security?
Just askin’.
You, and your dog, aren’t wholeheartedly supported senators of a state. Bernie has been showing up at Vermont town meetings, voting against military pension cuts, and initiating more safety nets for real people. You can thank people like him when you have social security in your 70’s.
Anything signed into law? Just asking… My dog and I could sponsor a bill.
Anyone wondering what Bernie Sanders’ “real accomplishments” have been, can easily check them here. Assuming they really want to know:
https://www.govtrack.us/…
Some of his most recently sponsored bills include…
S. 731: Social Security Expansion Act
Sponsor: Sen. Bernard “Bernie” Sanders [I-VT]
Introduced: Mar 12, 2015
Referred to Committee: Mar 12, 2015
S. 268: Rebuild America Act of 2015
Sponsor: Sen. Bernard “Bernie” Sanders [I-VT]
Introduced: Jan 27, 2015
Referred to Committee: Jan 27, 2015
S. 922: Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act
Sponsor: Sen. Bernard “Bernie” Sanders [I-VT]
Introduced: Apr 14, 2015
Referred to Committee: Apr 14, 2015
S. 2905: Carbon Pollution Transparency Act of 2014
Sponsor: Sen. Bernard “Bernie” Sanders [I-VT]
Introduced: Sep 18, 2014
Referred to Committee: Sep 18, 2014
S. 2899: Responsible Estate Tax Act
Sponsor: Sen. Bernard “Bernie” Sanders [I-VT]
Introduced: Sep 18, 2014
Referred to Committee: Sep 18, 2014
S. 1373: College for All Act
S. 1371: Inclusive Prosperity Act of 2015
S. 1364: Medicaid Generic Drug Price Fairness Act of 2015
S. 1366: A bill to amend the charter of the Gold Star Wives of America …
S. 1206: Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Exist Act
S. 1041: End Polluter Welfare Act of 2015
S. 964: Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2015
State Senator Becca Balint has emailed me and stated that “All donations to my campaign from CA were personal friends of mine–college and high schools friends and some of their spouses.”
I appreciate that Senator Balint offered this information and I wanted to share it with all readers.
To: knowyourassumptions
Sometimes its better not validate something with a formal response and your post certainly qualifies. Best wishes to you!