April McCullum

Free Press Staff Writer

Bernie Sanders spoke at Burlington church to promote new book, "Our Revolution"

Sanders called for millions of Americans to stand against bigotry

Hundreds of devoted followers of Sen. Bernie Sanders huddled together in near-freezing temperatures Tuesday night in Burlington, hungry for hope and still trying to make sense of the election.

For many, Sanders is not simply the independent senator from Vermont, a presidential candidate or even the leader of a movement, but now represented something more abstract: comfort.

"Bernie reminds me of my grandpa in that he's honest and that he cares," said Keleigh Caruso of Bethlehem, New Hampshire, who said she was married to a Jewish woman and feels Sanders is the only person she trusts in the political system to protect her from the policies of Republican President-elect Donald Trump.

"I'm here to feel good," Barry Lemley of Burlington said as he waited to get into the First Unitarian Universalist Society church at the top of Church Street. "He's got a job to lift up American now."

"He gives me hope," said Susan Gay of Colchester, who added that she was so devastated by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's loss Nov. 8 that she could hardly get out of bed the next day. "I want to read his book."

What Sanders came to deliver was a bit of encouragement, a bit of promotion for the new book, and a lengthy prescription for more hard work.

“People are going to have to rethink their commitment to democracy," Sanders said, slouching over the pulpit toward the end of his hour-long address.

He argued that the majority of Americans agree with progressive economic policies — despite Republican gains in the election — and that they would win if they stood up against bigotry. He told supporters he "will not tolerate" anyone giving up.

“You do not have the right to do that," Sanders said. "If you want to lock yourself in some room and close the door, fine. But it’s not just you. It is your children, it is your grandchildren, it is the future of this planet, so you don’t have the right.”

The senator had greeted supporters in Montpelier and Manchester earlier Tuesday, giving Vermont towns three of the 18 stops in a national book tour that began earlier this month to promote "Our Revolution: A Future To Believe In."

His Burlington event sold out quickly, and latecomers were directed to buy $10 tickets for an overflow room at Contois Auditorium in City Hall a few blocks away. Gone was the Secret Service detail that shadowed Sanders at the height of his presidential bid. Phoenix Books, which hosted the event, hired local police officers for security.

Sanders remixed his campaign-trail speech and took up a new role as chief critic of the Democratic Party, which he has never formally joined. He spoke directly to liberals who were baffled by Trump's victory.

“’I didn’t know anybody who voted for Donald Trump. How in God’s name could he possibly have won?’" Sanders said, paraphrasing the shock some of his supporters expressed. "But that is the problem. The problem is we hang out with our friends, similar backgrounds, similar incomes, perhaps, similar educational levels."

“I know why Trump won the election," Sanders declared. The people who elected the president, in Sanders' telling, were not motivated by racism or bigotry but by pain caused by the long decline of the American middle class.

He asked his followers to put themselves in the place of a 55-year-old man with no retirement savings, or of a mother unable to afford child care.

Adam Palazzo, who lined up at the church door a full 2.5 hours before the event began, had been hoping to hear this kind of bridge-building on a personal level.

Palazzo, a Sanders supporter who lives in Burlington but originally grew up in Randolph, said many of his family members voted for Trump. He wanted to know how to relate to them around the Thanksgiving table.

"My mom called and told me there's no political discussions," Palazzo said. The directive, he knew, would be difficult to uphold.

This article was first posted online on Nov. 22, 2016.

Contact April McCullum at 802-660-1863 or amccullum@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @April_McCullum.

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