Read Online Outsider in the White House by Bernie Sanders, Huck Gutman - Free Book Online

more Vermont individual contributors than any other candidate), we are determined to raise substantially more in Vermont. Our supporters don’t have a lot of money and we can’t hold $500-a-plate fundraisers. But we can do much better than in the past.
    Staff
    Finding people skilled in the intricacies of campaign work is more difficult than it sounds. Most people do not sit at home for a year and a half, waiting to work on a campaign. Sometimes you luck out and get experienced, mature people in between jobs. Sometimes you don’t. One of the problems with our last campaign was that our staff was young and inexperienced and they didn’t get along terribly well. They were all terrific and hard-working people, but there were clashes of personality. In fact, as I later learned, chairs occasionally went flying across the room. This time we wanted to hire a more mature and compatible staff.
    Style
    I had not run a good campaign in 1994, and when I assessed its weaknesses I had to acknowledge that it was me, not the staff, that was the major problem. My style of campaigning had been too passive. I had been reluctant to respond quickly and vigorously when I was attacked. My attitude was: “The people aren’t going to believe this nonsense. They know what I stand for. I don’t have to respond to every stupid criticism.” Wrong. This time we would respond immediately and forcefully. Further, we would not allow ourselves to be on the defensive. My opponent had served four years in the state senate, and had a record. We would let Vermonters know about it.
    Guns
    During the 1994 campaign the National Rifle Association (NRA) had played a very forceful role against me. They distributed widely a “Bye, Bye, Bernie” bumper sticker, held press conferences and public meetings, placed radio ads, made phone calls—and it was effective. There is no question that we lost many working-class men in that election because we handled the gun issue badly.
    Vermont is a rural state in which tens of thousands of people enjoy hunting and own guns. During hunting season thousands of kids go out with their fathers and mothers to hunt and enjoy the outdoors. Vermont is an “outdoor” state—and hunting is a key part of that way of life. I am pro-gun, and pro-hunting. But I don’t believe that hunters need assault weapons and AK-47s to kill deer. I voted for the ban on assault weapons, which brought the wrath of the NRA down on me.
    For this campaign, we devise a three-pronged strategy on the gun issue. First, according to a number of polls, the vast majority of Vermonters (and Americans) support the ban on assault weapons. Susan Sweetser’s position—the straight NRA line, which is opposition to all gun control—is way out of touch with what Vermonters believe. We are going to make that clear. Second, we will bring into the campaign a number of hunters who support my position on the ban on assault weapons. Third, we will ask friends who disagree with the ban to publicly support my candidacy by stating that guns are only one issue among many. As one NRA friend told me, “You can’t buy an AK-47 without a job. Let’s get our priorities straight.”
    Media
    For most of my political life I’ve had a problem with WCAX-TV, the largest television station in the state. Pure and simple, it’s a Republican station. The owner of WCAX is a wealthy, conservative Republican and major contributor to the state party. Unsurprisingly, the news division often reflects his views. The station is not a right-wing wacko operation; many of its political stories are fair and accurate, and it has a number of good reporters. But overall, and in a consistent way, there is a very clear Republican bias to its reporting, which usually becomes more conspicuous as election time draws near. And I’m not the only target. Other Progressives, liberal Democrats, Senator Leahy—all have been