"Once you get off of the social issues abortion, gay rights, guns and into the economic issues,"

[GulfCoast66]

30. The man has lived in Vermont for the past 50 years and has been in office for 35 years...

Some outsider.

He was involved with civil rights activities, some at person risk when a young man. But being raised in Brooklyn and living in Vermont his entire adult life makes for a pretty cool life. And perhaps sheltered.

He has 25 year on me, but I was raised in the deep south to a family who has been down here for like 300 years.

You can not separate racial, gender or any other oppression issues from economic issues. My Grandparents and uncles were pretty comfortable in the 50's and 60's. Easy to do when you can afford a gardener, maid for your wife and other services really cheap because the people doing those jobs were forced to work at substandard wages and live in ghettos so you can be middle class and have servants. And if they object? Well they couldn't vote and there was always, let's say, informal justice. Minimizing that is fucking disgusting.

My family loved all those government programs and voted straight ticket for the Democratic Party. Until the Civil Rights Act, that is.

We cannot allow our party to be crucified on a cross of Economic Populism.