U.S. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders held a virtual statewide Town Hall Wednesday evening. A number of topics were discussed, but Vermont’s senior senator gave no indication as to his future political plans.
More than 365 people attended the virtual and phone-in Town Hall Wednesday. Senator Sanders opened the session with an overview of work occurring in Washington on a number of issues.
“I don’t have to tell anybody that we are living in a very difficult moment in history," said Sanders. "We are dealing with the horrific humanitarian disaster in Gaza. You know we’re dealing with Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and all that that means. We are dealing with the existential threat of climate change. We’re looking at a tax on the foundations of American democracy. We’re looking at a very aggressive attack on women’s rights. We’re seeing, sadly, increased levels of bigotry in our country. We’re dealing with a health care system which in many ways is broken. The cost of college is too high, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. So there are a whole lot of issues that are out there.”
Only the first name and home towns of questioners were broadcast. Stephanie from Essex watched last week’s Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension committee hearing chaired by Sanders on long COVIDand said she struggles with the condition.
“It’s not just the health care costs," noted Stephanie. "We’re going into debt right now because I can’t work. So any light you can shed on where we can, what we can do.”
"This is a new disease caused by a new pandemic," Sanders replied. "I will be introducing legislation substantially increasing federal funding to the NIH to get the money out to better understand the causes of long Covid. We’re not going to be able to treat it effectively unless we understand the disease. And also to get as many treatment protocols as we can.”
While the closure of the Montpelier Post Office has been a focus since that city flooded last July, Ernie in Woodstock told Sanders he has had problems with his rural postal service for much longer.
“Beginning a little less than two years ago we began to have serious mail delivery issues," Ernie reported, "as are Vermonters in many other municipalities. What is your office doing to ensure Vermonters receive better postal service?”
“You know if you were to raise an issue that gets me really, really upset it has to do with the Post Office," quipped Sanders. "You got leadership at the Postal Service of a gentleman named Mr. DeJoy, who was originally appointed by Donald Trump, who really I think is doing everything he can to privatize the postal service. It’s not within my jurisdiction technically but I think we have a way maybe to bring Mr. DeJoy in to ask him why he has been so unresponsive to people all over this country.”
There were no questions and the 82-year-old Sanders, whose six-year term runs through the end of the year, made no comment about his future plans. Dave in Morrisville had read a recent magazine article about Hitler’s rise to powerand told Sanders he is worried that the current presidential campaign mirrors that history.
“After reading that article I think it’s a blueprint for what Mr. Trump is trying to do right now," Dave felt. "I’m scared for this country.”
“Tonight I am a United States Senator and I don’t want to be terribly partisan but I share your concerns," Sanders reflected. "And what Trump has done, I think of all of the dangerous things that he has done, the most dangerous is he is destroying people’s faith in democracy. And that is the worst thing that you can do. Trust me that in the next number of months I will be, I suspect, running around the country doing what I can to prevent him from getting elected.”
