Look at the youth! Bernie's been speaking his heart and mind for decades.

1)

Judith Sargent, activist in the pro-labor, anti-war Vermont third party in the ‘70s

“He was unusual for a political activist at that point because he was willing to include not only women, but children.”

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2)

Betty Clark, member of the Liberty Union Party in the ‘70s

“He just had a difference about him. He was not like the rest of us kooks, who didn’t know what we were doing. He had more ideas, and he spoke better.”

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3)

Activist and University of Chicago student Mike Parker

“[Bernie] was very smart and very policy oriented… “He would say, ‘What can government do to solve this problem?’ Or, ‘What policy could be the kind of thing we should be asking for?’ Knowing someone like him was part of the inspiration for [the activism] we’re doing [now].”

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4)

Robin Kaufman, an activist who met Bernie in college and still keeps in touch

“Bernie’s Brooklyn accent was something else.”

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5)

Todd Gitlin, an early leader for Students for a Democratic Society at UChicago

“[Sanders and other Yipsel activists] had a kind of stern independence… “There was a feeling about them that they were sort of pros, they took politics seriously. They were the anti-utopians. They were impatient about fancy as-if thinking and sort of hard-headed about who to reach.”

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6)

Peter Diamondstone, cofounder of the Liberty Union Party

“We were lost as a political party. [Then Bernie showed up and nominated himself to run for Senate, saying] ‘I’ll do it— what do I have to do?’ “He was a mouthpiece, he was an orator— we called him ‘Silvertongue.’”

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7)

Nancy Barnett, an artist who lived next door to Sanders in 1987 Burlington

“He was living in the back of an old brick building, and when he couldn’t pay the [electric bill], he would take extension cords and run down to the basement and plug them into the landlord’s outlet… “His cars were always breaking down. He was extremely frugal.”

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8)

Burlington poet and novelist T. Alan Broughton

”He always turned out to be the reason why you watched those televised debates, which were otherwise so boring.”

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9)

Long-time friend Richard Sugarman

“That’s what distinguished him from leftists who were more invested in the symbolism than in the outcome. “[He was concerned with] how society should go forward.”

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10)

Greg Guma, a writer and activist who knew Sanders in Burlington

“He became what we call up here a ‘Vermont Exceptionalist.’”

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11)

Michael Monte, Burlington government-worker before and after Sanders’ mayoral terms

﻿”Bernie was never anti-growth, anti-development, or anti-business. He just wanted businesses to be responsible toward their employees and the community. He wanted local entrepreneurs to thrive. He wanted people to have good jobs that pay a living wage. If you could deal with that, you could deal with Bernie and Bernie would deal with you.”

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12)

Will Raap, founder of the 750-member Burlington-based Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility

“Bernie realized that the economy doesn’t have to be dominated by bad guys. He saw that and he fostered it.”

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13)

Allen Gear, a Republican member of the Board of Aldermen since 1979

“He’s done things I don’t think we Republicans could have done... “He’s taken a lot of very Republican ideas and put them in place. Such as combining all of the garages of the various city departments and putting them into a single public-works department, initially a Republican proposal, to gain efficiency in handling city rolling stock ... “He’s put a lot of modern accounting practices and money-management practices into place that are good Republican business practices.”

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14)

Huck Gutman, long-time friend from Vermont

"His concerns have always been about families and their economic problems, and when people say that Bernie is consistent, that is what he's consistent about... “Bernie and I go for walks every weekend. We have long talks. And it's always about economics and politics."

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15)

Burlington resident to Mayor Bernie Sanders as he was making the rounds to speak to his citizens and hear their complaints: