Read Online Outsider in the White House by Bernie Sanders, Huck Gutman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Bernie Sanders, Huck Gutman
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skewered by WCAX at one time or another. Positive stories are ignored, negative stories are played up. There is no easy way of dealing with this. Itâs hard to win a fight against someone behind a TV camera. We need to keep thinking about it.
Health
In modern politics, the personal becomes the political whether we like it or not. And I am facing personal difficulties that could have troublesome implications for the upcoming campaign. Ever since the end of the last campaign, my voice has been hoarse, sometimes almost inaudible. Once, on the floor of the House, I could barely complete a speech. I must drink water constantly while Iâm talking, and I canât speak publicly without a microphone. More and more my voice seems unnatural and strained. Personally, it is getting to be a real drag, and I think it is hurting me politically.
Doctors have diagnosed the problem as a nodule on my vocal cords, and recommend surgery. I have never had a serious medical problem in my life. I havenât spent a night in the hospital since I was born. I donât want a doctor scraping away at my vocal cords and making me sound like Donald Duck.
Iâm trying for a ânatural cure.â I drink all kinds of weird teas. Iâve taken homeopathic remedies. Iâm supporting the cough drop industry. Iâm trying to change my way of speaking. Itâs all very interesting, but none of it is working.
I donât want to do it, but if my voice doesnât get better soon, Iâm going to have the surgery. I canât go through the campaign like this. A reporter recently asked me, âDo you have throat cancer?â Every time Iâm on the radio someone asks me about my voice. If people think that I am in poor health, Iâm not going to win this election.
Message
It may seem surprising, but of all the challenges ahead the decision of what my overall campaign message will be is the easiest to address. For two years Iâve been listening to the garbage of Gingrich and his right-wing friends. And for two years Iâve been fighting them. This campaign is going to be about the Gingrich agenda.
If elected, Ms. Sweetser will vote for Gingrich as Speaker of the House. If Vermonters want massive cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, veteransâ programs, and environmental protection, together with huge tax breaks for the rich, Ms. Sweetser is going to be elected the next representative from Vermont. Frankly, I donât think thatâs going to happen.
Nonetheless, I know that Sweetser will be a very tough opponent. She is bright, articulate, attractive, and very popular. Further, she has an unusual history indicating a great deal of courage and strength. Kevin J. Kelley described Sweetser in a November article in the Vermont Times , a weekly newspaper:
Susan Sweetser brings several assets to her race against Congressman Bernie Sanders. Foremost among them is her standing as one of the most popular young politicians in Vermont. After only a single term in the legislature, the 36-year-old Republican finished first in 1994 in the crowded and highly competitive field of candidates vying for state senate seats from Chittenden County. Sweetser is a rising star likely to shine brightly for many years in stateâand possibly nationalâpolitics.
Sweetser is still associated in the public mind mainly with her courageous decision in 1989 to reveal that she had been raped nine years earlier. In acknowledging that she had been sexually assaulted, Sweetser defied the social taboo that requires women to remain silent and not to challenge the unwarranted sense of shame felt by many rape victims.
Having helped initiate a candid discussion on a sensitive subject, Sweetser went on to campaign tirelessly on behalf of âvictimsâ rights.â She founded Survivors of Crime, Inc., a group that advocates tougher penalties and preventive measures in regard to crimes of violence. Sweetserâs
Health
In modern politics, the personal becomes the political whether we like it or not. And I am facing personal difficulties that could have troublesome implications for the upcoming campaign. Ever since the end of the last campaign, my voice has been hoarse, sometimes almost inaudible. Once, on the floor of the House, I could barely complete a speech. I must drink water constantly while Iâm talking, and I canât speak publicly without a microphone. More and more my voice seems unnatural and strained. Personally, it is getting to be a real drag, and I think it is hurting me politically.
Doctors have diagnosed the problem as a nodule on my vocal cords, and recommend surgery. I have never had a serious medical problem in my life. I havenât spent a night in the hospital since I was born. I donât want a doctor scraping away at my vocal cords and making me sound like Donald Duck.
Iâm trying for a ânatural cure.â I drink all kinds of weird teas. Iâve taken homeopathic remedies. Iâm supporting the cough drop industry. Iâm trying to change my way of speaking. Itâs all very interesting, but none of it is working.
I donât want to do it, but if my voice doesnât get better soon, Iâm going to have the surgery. I canât go through the campaign like this. A reporter recently asked me, âDo you have throat cancer?â Every time Iâm on the radio someone asks me about my voice. If people think that I am in poor health, Iâm not going to win this election.
Message
It may seem surprising, but of all the challenges ahead the decision of what my overall campaign message will be is the easiest to address. For two years Iâve been listening to the garbage of Gingrich and his right-wing friends. And for two years Iâve been fighting them. This campaign is going to be about the Gingrich agenda.
If elected, Ms. Sweetser will vote for Gingrich as Speaker of the House. If Vermonters want massive cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, veteransâ programs, and environmental protection, together with huge tax breaks for the rich, Ms. Sweetser is going to be elected the next representative from Vermont. Frankly, I donât think thatâs going to happen.
Nonetheless, I know that Sweetser will be a very tough opponent. She is bright, articulate, attractive, and very popular. Further, she has an unusual history indicating a great deal of courage and strength. Kevin J. Kelley described Sweetser in a November article in the Vermont Times , a weekly newspaper:
Susan Sweetser brings several assets to her race against Congressman Bernie Sanders. Foremost among them is her standing as one of the most popular young politicians in Vermont. After only a single term in the legislature, the 36-year-old Republican finished first in 1994 in the crowded and highly competitive field of candidates vying for state senate seats from Chittenden County. Sweetser is a rising star likely to shine brightly for many years in stateâand possibly nationalâpolitics.
Sweetser is still associated in the public mind mainly with her courageous decision in 1989 to reveal that she had been raped nine years earlier. In acknowledging that she had been sexually assaulted, Sweetser defied the social taboo that requires women to remain silent and not to challenge the unwarranted sense of shame felt by many rape victims.
Having helped initiate a candid discussion on a sensitive subject, Sweetser went on to campaign tirelessly on behalf of âvictimsâ rights.â She founded Survivors of Crime, Inc., a group that advocates tougher penalties and preventive measures in regard to crimes of violence. Sweetserâs
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