Before there was Bernie 2020 and CNN town halls, there was Burlington, Vermont Mayor Bernie Sanders and Bernie Speaks to the Community.
Sanders, now Vermont's Independent senator and a presidential frontrunner, spent his mid-1980's mayorship hosting on his own public access TV show. These remarkable episodes used to only be available on VHS at a local library, but thanks to Politico, they're now on YouTube for your enjoyment.
Bernie Speaks is comically low budget, with earlier episodes opening on a shot of the show's name written in marker. Some episodes feature Sanders at city meetings or meeting with prominent Burlingtonites. But other gems feature Sanders, with the same wild white hair and hunched shoulders he still sports today, channeling "Dan Rather" — his words — and shoving a wired microphone at mall punks and Boy Scouts.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In one winning episode, Sanders meets with a group of kids who live in housing projects and asks them about drugs. "I like coke!" one kid shouts, but when Sanders probes further, he says "I like Coca-Cola." "Oh, Coca-Cola," Sanders continues, obviously disinterested, then asks "anyone ever seen cocaine?" They say no, but Sanders goes on to insist that "I bet you do" know people who "use drugs." He then asks "who here smokes?," to which one kid says "I don't smoke because I'm a little kid. I'm only 5 years old."
Politico's Holly Otterbein is sure to point out that Sanders' show wasn't all fun and pony rides. It's "part of Sanders' four-decade end run around the media," in which he "figured he should bypass reporters and simply star in his own show," Otterbein writes. And it's the same strategy every candidate uses today when they trade scrutinizing interviews for freewheeling on Facebook Live and Twitter. Read more at Politico.
-
Quiz of The Week: 23 – 29 AugustQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Could robotic dogs help clear landmines?Podcast Plus, what can we learn from a new approach to urban renewal? And how much power rests with political spouses?
-
Six major costs to cut as children go back to schoolSchool supplies can be pricey but there are ways to keep costs down
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other citiesspeed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
