Bernie Sanders on the Today Show 1981

[Uncle Joe]

Sanders in 1981 defeated Gordon Paquette, Burlington’s five-term Democratic mayor, by just 10 votes. The then-39-year-old Sanders ran as an independent and, while he didn’t campaign as a socialist, he made no secret of it, either. Elected just months after Ronald Reagan was elected to the presidency, Sanders’s victory caught national attention.

The 1981 Today segment, titled “Socialism in New England,” shows journalist Jane Pauley declaring, “Face it, you don’t find too many socialists in elected office in this country.”

It then cuts to Phil Donahue, who is sitting down with the newly-elected Sanders. He says that many people were surprised at Sanders’s narrow win. “My goodness, how could this happen in good old conservative Vermont?” Donahue asked.

“Well, in Vermont, being conservative is different, perhaps, than being conservative elsewhere in the country,” Sanders said.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. That's Democratic-Socialism, not Socialism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism

Democratic socialism is a left-wing[1] economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy,[2] with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management[3] within a market socialist, decentralised planned, or democratic centrally planned socialist economy.[4] Democratic socialists argue that capitalism is inherently incompatible with the values of freedom, equality, and solidarity and that these ideals can only be achieved through the realisation of a socialist society.[5] Although most democratic socialists seek a gradual transition to socialism,[6] democratic socialism can support revolutionary or reformist politics to establish socialism.[7] Democratic socialism was popularised by socialists who opposed the backsliding towards a one-party state in the Soviet Union and other countries during the 20th century.[8]

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

2. Bernie, from the beginning of his political career, has always led the way in promoting Democratic values...

independent of what "label" you care to place on his brand of politics... regardless, you gotta love him!!