During half a century in public life, Mr. Sanders has dependably denounced "Oligarchy" and proclaimed himself a "Democratic socialist." But his definition of the term has radically changed.
By the time Mr. Sanders won his first election-as mayor of Burlington, Vt., in 1981-he had become an independent.
Mr. Sanders endorsed the SWP's presidential nominee in 1980 and 1984, spoke at SWP campaign rallies during that period, and in 1980 was part of its slate of would-be presidential electors.
The SWP promoted a foreign policy openly hostile to U.S. interests, and Mr. Sanders expressly endorsed some aspects of it.
"Mr. Sanders did not campaign as a Socialist," the New York Times reported in 1981, quoting the mayor-elect: "I'm not going to war with the city's financial and business community." In "Why Bernie Sanders Matters", biographer Harry Jaffe writes that as a candidate "Sanders went out of his way to assure homeowners he would not raise their taxes." Perhaps because he knew Burlington's aldermen-and the voters-would balk at radical domestic measures, he projected his ideological ambitions abroad. If he did that as president, the consequences would be real.
"He has since become a dictator, and I think that's unfortunate," Mr. Sanders said last month.
"The world has come around to see things like he does," longtime Sanders staffer Phil Fiermonte told Mr. Jaffe in 2015.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-socialist-evolution-of-bernie-sanders-11580673878
By the time Mr. Sanders won his first election-as mayor of Burlington, Vt., in 1981-he had become an independent.
Mr. Sanders endorsed the SWP's presidential nominee in 1980 and 1984, spoke at SWP campaign rallies during that period, and in 1980 was part of its slate of would-be presidential electors.
The SWP promoted a foreign policy openly hostile to U.S. interests, and Mr. Sanders expressly endorsed some aspects of it.
"Mr. Sanders did not campaign as a Socialist," the New York Times reported in 1981, quoting the mayor-elect: "I'm not going to war with the city's financial and business community." In "Why Bernie Sanders Matters", biographer Harry Jaffe writes that as a candidate "Sanders went out of his way to assure homeowners he would not raise their taxes." Perhaps because he knew Burlington's aldermen-and the voters-would balk at radical domestic measures, he projected his ideological ambitions abroad. If he did that as president, the consequences would be real.
"He has since become a dictator, and I think that's unfortunate," Mr. Sanders said last month.
"The world has come around to see things like he does," longtime Sanders staffer Phil Fiermonte told Mr. Jaffe in 2015.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-socialist-evolution-of-bernie-sanders-11580673878
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