Why Bernie Sanders Doesn’t Like Talking About Criminal Justice
This piece was reported through The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that covers the U.S. criminal-justice system.
When Bernie Sanders ran for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in 1981, he was even more of an underdog than he is now in his bid for the presidency.
An outsider born in New York City, Sanders was facing a popular five-term incumbent. He had already failed twice in bids for the U.S. Senate (1972 and 1974) and twice more as a candidate for governor (1972 and 1976). His brand of socialism was not faring too well in Vermont, where many voters leaned populist but were decidedly blue-collar on social issues such as guns, crime, and policing.
They may have agreed with him on jobs, but they were not likely to tolerate his apparently critical view of law enforcement—like the time he walked around Chicago posting fliers denouncing police brutality while a cop trailed behind him,
