As Democrats and the liberal press nationwide celebrated Joe Biden’s triumphant “Super Tuesday” against Bernie Sanders, the consensus was that the former vice president would make a far stronger opponent to Donald Trump than self-styled socialist Sanders.
Not so by a long shot, says Vermont’s former GOP Gov. Jim Douglas, a centrist, who served as governor of the Green Mountain State from 2002-2010.
“Bernie can energize a crowd and mobilize volunteers more than anyone I’ve seen,” Douglas, 68, told Newsmax in Burlington, Vt. on Tuesday, “He’s on par with Donald Trump.”
Douglas, who also served as Vermont’s secretary of state and state treasurer, has known Sanders since he was elected mayor of Burlington in 1981.
“And if ‘Team Trump’ thinks he’s easier to take out than Joe Biden, they have another thought coming,” he told us, “Bernie would generate more enthusiasm than any other potential nominee.”
Sanders, in Douglas’ words, “could get a standing ovation by ordering a ham sandwich. He has been building his base for decades, appearing regularly for years on a nationwide, liberal talk show and effectively utilizing an online fundraising machine that was pioneered by [former Vermont Gov. and ’04 Democratic presidential hopeful] Howard Dean.”
Douglas, who now teaches at his alma mater, Middlebury College (Vt.), emphasized that “Bernie’s message resonates among younger voters. He’s convinced them that he would give away more free stuff and tax the rich to pay for it. And that’s an appealing line to those who have their futures ahead.”
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