8/11/2019 Profile in Courage | Vermont Times | Feb. 9, 1994

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C ourage n.: The attitude off acing and dealing with anythingrecognized as dangerous, difficult or painful.Bernie Sanders has led his life like a man convinced hehas a rendezvous with destiny. And this winter, Vermont'sfrozen landscape is the silent backdrop for the most importantgut check of 01' Bernardo's life.

Will Bernie Sanders risk his steady and hefty paycheck, and the federal pension another term in the House would bring, toengage Senator Jim Jeffords? The race so many Vermonterswould savor would become the biggest political bloodlettingthese Green Mountains have witnessed since Dick Snellingtook a shot at Patrick Leahy in the 1986 U.S. Senate seat race.

Bernie's passionate supporters from across the state have been calling his Burlington headquarters to olTertheir encour-agement. They want to know if their hero - Vermont's gift fromBrooklyn, maverick of mavericks - is going to go for the gold.Democrats want to know. Douglas Costle of Woodstock wantsto know. Peter Welch wants to know. And more than anyoneelse on earth, Republican Jim Jeffords, Vermont's original

maverick, wanta to know.But unlike the others on the list, Jeezum Jim hasn't beentwirling his thumbs patiently waiting for the official announce-ment from the Sanders media machine. He's been running for re-election since January of 1993 with the conviction that whenthe starter's pistol is fired, Bernie will be there in the next lane.And he's got $500,000 in the bank - proof he's not taken anyone

or anything for granted.What's going on in 01' Bernardo's mind? Not that Bernie Sanders ever reveals much of his inner

mental process, but he's got to be asking himself several basicquestions.

1. Can I beat Jim Jeffords? As Douglas Costle observed, "Jim JelTord's support is a mile

wide and half an inch deep." On the other hand, Bernie has a political movement already named after him - the Sanderistas.What's remarkable about them is their variety. Bernie peopleinclude your graying '60s baby boomers, grandmas and grandpaswho are scared oflosing their life savings in a hospital intensivecare unit; hunting woodchucks who take a shine to Sander's"give 'em hell" style; and upper middle-class liberals who'vemade it, but know in their hearts the system sucks. 01 Bernardo's

support is wide and it is deep. He got it the old-fashioned way. Heearned it.2. Why should I give up a seat in the Bouse where, in

point of fact, I've been so extraordinarily effective?Okay, so the guy has a really big head. Everybody knows.

Those consumer information labels on carpets that he's takencredit for, belong in a trophy case in the basement. Big deal. Buthe has organized the House Progressive caucus and the Berndoes get ca1 la from the President. In the U.S. Senate he'd be inthe elite "100 Club."

For him, it's a six-year term. He doesn't have to keep runningfor election every two years in a constant test of one's abillty to

juggle while rollerblading. Six years is a long time. Already theword from Capitol Hill is that Bernie Sanders is a hot gossip itemamong U.S. Senate staffers. His arrival in the upper chamber would mean Minnesota's left-wing Senator, Paul Wellstone,would finally have someone who understands him.

3. Can I raise the hucks?A lame question. The answer is - absolutely! These days Jim

JelTords ison Big Labor'shit list. That means truckloads ofun ionPAC money goingto Sanders. After all, The Bern went to the mstfor them on NAFTA. Besides, Sanders is a certifiable Vermont

folk hero. I'm surprised he hasn't got the Ag Department "sealof quality" tattooed on his chest yet. Lefties across this greatland, from Hollywood to Manhattan know of our local livinglegend and will gladly reach for their checkbooks when the timecomes.

The other consideration - one Bernie will never admit to -is that before the end of the first round, he'll tar and feather Jim

JelTords for having a megabucks bankroll. Sanders will sure!ydemand a campaign spending cap - a demand Jeffords will probably accept rather than get pigeonholed as The Big Spender out to buy the election. Once JelTords surrenders his bankrollwhat's he got left? His vote for the Brady Bill has depleted his political ammo.

4. What if I lose?Relax. Write a book. For one thing, Bernie could come back

and run for mayor of Burlington the following March. I realizeit's more than 50 percent pay cut, but still it's ~nough to keep paY10gthe mortgage on the Killarney Drive hacienda and haveenough left over to fIX the swimming pool. And there's always1996. By then everyone should be getting pretty tired of D.r.Dean. Or else there's always academia and a nice professorship10political science.

Those are the questions that have to be going through Mr.Sanders' headright now. The final decision willbe more a test for the heart rather than the head. It's about courage.

If Bernie takes a pass at this juncture it will be a telling signof the condition of his heart. Ifhe blinks now, then he concedeshi~career has maxed out. 01' Bernardo once described himself asa. warrior." The day he stops fighting for greater glory IS the dayhis political downfall begins.

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