PROGRESSIVE ECLIPSE: Burlington, Bernie, and...

...the Movement that changed Vermont

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Burlington's historic 2012 mayoral race lasted six months. But in the end it took only half an hour after the polls closed to find out who won the most hotly contested race in decades.
     Meanwhile across Vermont about 50 communities -- including most of the state's largest  -- passed resolutions recommending a Constitutional Amendment to make sure that corporations don't continue to have First Amendment rights as people and money doesn't destroy democracy. The call passed by almost 80 percent in Burlington.
     "Vermont is helping to lead the nation on this important issue," said Bernie Sanders, the state's Independent US Senator, after the votes. "The resounding results will send a strong message that corporations and billionaires should not be allowed to buy candidates and elections with unlimited, undisclosed spending on political campaigns."
     The stakes felt as high as they had been three decades earlier...

Latest Chapter: Bidding Farewell
Previous chapter:Democrats Rising, Progressives in Eclipse
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     An eclipse occurs when an object is temporarily obscured. It comes from the Greek word for abandonment, downfall, or "the darkening of a heavenly body." These astronomical events often occur at times of syzygy – a straight line configuration of three celestial bodies like the Sun, Earth and Moon.

     In this case, one political entity -- the Democrat Party -- has expanded its local presence and power. Two others have become a bit obscured, partly due to external forces, but also due to decisions over the years. But eclipses are just phases in a continuing process. The sun, earth and moon keep moving along their unique paths, and so will Vermont’s diverse political parties.

                                                                                               LAST UPDATED 4/3/2012