From: 10514w@coos.dartmouth.edu (John Lamperti)
Subject: BERNIE SANDERS: FIRST INDEP IN CONGRESS IN 40 YEARS (INTERVIEW) (IV)
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: University of Missouri
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1992 20:45:11 GMT

		 ************************************
	    BERNIE SANDERS INTERVIEWED BY DAVID BARSAMIAN
		   CREATING A NEW POLITICAL AGENDA
		 ************************************
		    Transcribed by Joseph Woodard
		     From Z magazine, March 1992
		 ************************************

IN 1990 Bernie Sanders became the first independent elected to
Congress in 40 years. He was a four-time Mayor of Burlington,
Vermont's largest city.

==================================================================

BARSAMIAN: 

	You've said that the political task of the future is to
	build a grass roots movement fusing all of these disparate
	groups the environmental group, the women's movement, etc.
	What are the ingredients present objectively to do that?

SANDERS:

	I think what it takes is leadership which can bring people
	together on issues where there is a common agenda and also
	to make the point over and over again that functioning
	separately is not going to have success. If you're going to
	continue to have George Bush style government which
	represents the rich and the powerful, you're not going to
	only have government which ignores the rightful needs of
	women, but that's a government which ignores workers'
	rights, minority rights, etc. The big hurdle that people
	have got to understand -- and we need good leadership to do
	this -- is that the fight is not for women's rights, for
	environmental protection, but for political power.

	The fact of the matter is that on every issue facing the
	vast majority of working people, whether it is tax reform,
	national health care, cutting military spending and
	reinvesting in the United States for our environment, our
	infrastructure, our education, George Bush is horrible. And
	either you can continue to go up to his table and beg and
	say, do you think we can have a few dollars for Head Start?
	Oh, Mr. Bush gave us some money for Head Start, he's a nice
	guy. Or else you say, wait a minute, who is this guy
	representing? Who is this government representing? The vast
	majority of the American people? No. The rich and the
	powerful? Yes. Either you're prepared to stand with other
	people who are not getting a fair shake or you're going to
	nickel and dime him. That's what the issue is, and I'm
	absolutely convinced that we've got to get those groups
	together. Basically, what we have to understand, if you work
	for a living, if you're not getting a fair shake from
	government, you ' ve got to stand together with other
	working people, middle income people and poor people. If you
	have a different point of view on this or that issue than
	somebody else, fine. You can argue that point of view. But
	don't go off running away by yourself.



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