All in for Bernie: How Bernie Sanders Is Changing The Face Of Vermont's Democratic Party

[cali]

<snip>

In Vermont, though, the Democratic Convention was an unabashed Sanders love fest. Town delegates voted almost unanimously to endorse his candidacy. And the legacy of the Sanders’ candidacy here might be the unification of the left, not its division.

Haslam says establishment Democrats in Vermont so far haven’t been up to the task of delivering on things like livable wage, universal health care or substantive tax reform. Haslam says the advent of Sanders joining the Democratic Party will change that.

“I think what Bernie has done around the country, and certainly in Vermont, has really opened up the Vermont Democratic Party to be an arena for change in this country,” Haslam says.

“If Bernie is not the nominee, it’s going to be challenging,” says Terje Anderson, a Sanders supporter who won election to the powerful post of Democratic National Committeeman Sunday.

Anderson beat out longtime Patrick Leahy staffer John Tracy for the post. Tracy voted for Hillary Clinton in the primary. Leahy is one of only four Vermont superdelegates who favor Clinton. And Anderson’s victory is itself evidence of the Sanders supporters’ new influence over the internal machinery of the state party.

Anderson says he’s optimistic that the fragile union between Sanders’ followers, and the party they’re feeling out, will strengthen over time.

“There used to be incredibly bad blood in Burlington and statewide between Bernie and Democrats, and then we look at 86 percent” of primary voters who supported Sanders, Anderson says.

And the role of that 86 percent on the Vermont Democratic Party could shift the course of politics in this state for years to come.
http://digital.vpr.net/post/how-bernie-sanders-changing-face-vermonts-democratic-party#stream/0

[think]

1. Bernie has a forged a new path for progressives to follow. Here's hoping that the path is followed

far and wide....

[cali]

2. It's a big deal that Tracy was beaten by a Bernie supporter for the DNC seat

[think]

3. Didn't mean to gloss over that. Yes. It's very important that a Bernie supporter got a DNC seat.

Got a long way to go but it's a great start...