Vermont Public is independent, community-supported media, serving Vermont with trusted, relevant and essential information. We share stories that bring people together, from every corner of our region. New to Vermont Public? Start here.

© 2024 Vermont Public | 365 Troy Ave. Colchester, VT 05446

Public Files:
WVTI · WOXM · WVBA · WVNK · WVTQ · WVTX
WVPR · WRVT · WOXR · WNCH · WVPA
WVPS · WVXR · WETK · WVTB · WVER
WVER-FM · WVLR-FM · WBTN-FM

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@vermontpublic.org or call 802-655-9451.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Explore our coverage of government and politics.

Sanders' DNC Speech Was Unusually Gracious, Says Longtime Observer

The Democratic National Convention has seen a second night of rousing speeches in efforts to unify the party and rally around Hillary Clinton, now the official Democratic nominee for president and the first woman ever to hold that designation in U.S. history.

In a tight race with Republican nominee Donald Trump, many political observers feel the followers of Bernie Sanders may ultimately decide Clinton's fate, if they can be persuaded to support Clinton in large enough numbers come November.

University of Vermont professor of of politics and political behavior Garrison Nelson called Sanders' speech unusually gracious.

"For Bernie, who's not been known to be a gracious loser back of the days when he was at Liberty Union candidate getting 1, 2, 3 percent of the vote, but this time he was. His speech, I thought, was very statesman-like. And frankly, had it not been Donald Trump, I'm not sure would have been quite as statesman-like," Nelson said.  

Nelson says if Hillary Clinton was facing a Republican opponent that Sanders could live with, he might not have been so positive.

But the questions remains whether the so-called Bernie-or-Busters will support Hillary Clinton.

"The hardcore, you're not going to turn them around. But then again there are people who kind of root for defeat, and have this kind of fantasy that somehow by making conditions worse you increase the consciousness of the population," Nelson said. "The pretty oppressed people aren't going to vote for Trump because Trump's a bigot. But they may sit it out, and if they sit out they're going to be going to cost Hillary maybe two points. And two points might make the difference in a race this close."

Nelson thinks Sanders supporters who are considering voting for Trump aren't listening to Sanders' message.

"Or aren't listening to Trump's message which is xenophobia and white nationalism," he said. "Frankly, these people want conditions to get worse. I guess then you could vote for Donald Trump. That is remarkably self-defeating and terms of their overall goals in terms of bringing about change."
 

A graduate of NYU with a Master's Degree in journalism, Mitch has more than 20 years experience in radio news. He got his start as news director at NYU's college station, and moved on to a news director (and part-time DJ position) for commercial radio station WMVY on Martha's Vineyard. But public radio was where Mitch wanted to be and he eventually moved on to Boston where he worked for six years in a number of different capacities at member station WBUR...as a Senior Producer, Editor, and fill-in co-host of the nationally distributed Here and Now. Mitch has been a guest host of the national NPR sports program "Only A Game". He's also worked as an editor and producer for international news coverage with Monitor Radio in Boston.
Latest Stories