The self-described democratic socialist kicked off his long-shot run for the White House in his adopted hometown of Burlington, a lakeside city full of characters who might not have passed the pre-selection process for Hillary Clinton’s tour of round tables.
And while Sanders, the state’s independent U.S. senator, may be way behind in national presidential polls, in Burlington, he’s a local hero.
In the afternoon, a “people’s assembly” of hundreds of Sanders supporters gathered in City Hall Park, where dreadlocked guitarists played in the morning and patrons browsed at the nearby Hempest, which advertises itself as the largest organic hemp product store in the world...
The liberal bastion is an enthusiastic base of support for the senator, who is looking to harness disaffected liberal voters in a primary fight with Clinton, the heavy front-runner. But it’s also a risky backdrop that can play into what Sanders advisers readily admit are counterproductive stereotypes that Sanders is an extremist who isn’t a legitimately electable alternative to Clinton.