As Seven Days reported
The line of the day, surprisingly, didn’t come from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) but from Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). “I am not going to vote for $25 billion for a dumb-ass wall!” he thundered, referring to President Donald Trump's proposed barrier along the United States' southern border. The crowd leaped to its feet and roared.
VT Digger was on the scene as well, noting
Leahy accused Trump and the Republican Congress of “treating America like a leveraged buyout” that will “leave a shell company behind.”
“They want to make it a country for the oligarchs,” Leahy said. “Oh, I’m sorry, Bernie, I’m taking your speech away.”
According to Seven Days
It was that kind of an afternoon in the gymnasium at Hardwick's Hazen Union High School, an unlikely venue for a gathering of Vermont’s entire congressional delegation. After all, we’re talking about a town of 3,000 that’s, honestly, kind of hard to get to. Worth the effort, but an unlikely gathering place for top-shelf national politicos.
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Spirits were high, mainly because of the august company, but also because of congressional Republicans’ epic failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act the day before. “I woke up this morning feeling pretty good” was Sanders’ opening line. The sentiment was clearly shared by everyone on hand.
Welch — a member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which had primary jurisdiction over the bill — recalled its curious gestation.
“The Affordable Care Act was published 30 days in advance,” he said. “We held 79 hearings. There were 14 months of debate. Remember when Republicans said ‘Read the bill’? This time, we were saying, ‘Write the bill!’”
It was a moment of well-earned schadenfreude for the delegation. Still, as Leahy noted, “These are scary times. When I talk to people, I can hear the fear and concern in their voices.”
Vt Digger explained that the location was no accident.
Trump got the highest percentage of votes in the Northeast Kingdom region where rural, white working class residents are struggling the most to make ends meet. He finished with 49.1 percent of the vote in the three counties, compared with 29.8 percent statewide, and in many towns he beat his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton by double-digit margins.
Vermont’s representatives emphasized the importance of reaching across ideological lines, Seven Days observed
“Listen to Trump voters,” said Welch. “They’re not all bad people. They’ve been sold a bill of goods by Trump.”
“Get the word out all over the country,” added Sanders. “When people in Oklahoma and Mississippi understand what Trump’s agenda means, they will oppose it.”
Sanders noted that people who rallied against the American Health Care Act deserved the credit for defeating the GOP proposal:
“In Vermont and all over the country, in rallies and town meetings, people stood up and told the Republicans, no we’re not going to give billionaires tax breaks and throw 24 million off health insurance, it ain’t gonna happen.”
“We have to keep fighting. We’re looking at a grotesque budget coming down the pike.”