Read Bernie Sanders' 1970s-Era Essays in Mother Jones

[Surya Gayatri]

The presidential candidate's old writings were rambling, raw, and sometimes misinformed—but undeniably Bernie.
—By Tim Murphy
| Mon Jul. 6, 2015 10:08 AM EDT

Last month Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent socialist seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, repudiated a 1972 essay he wrote for the Vermont Freeman, an alternative newspaper, which included depictions of a rape fantasy from male and female perspectives. On Meet the Press, he dismissed the article as a "piece of fiction" exploring gender stereotypes—"something like Fifty Shades of Grey."

Yet as the New York Times recently reported, during his years as a contributor to the Freeman in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sanders often wrote about sexual norms, as he presented a broader critique of repressive cultural forces that he believed were driving many Americans literally insane. His early writings reflect a political worldview rooted in the fad psychology and anti-capitalist rhetoric of the era and infused with a libertarianesque critique of state power. Sanders feared that the erosion of individual freedom—via compulsory education, sexual repression, and, yes, fluoridated water—began at birth. And, he postulated, authoritarianism might even cause cancer.

Yet he insisted that individual acts of protests could turn things around—a belief that would give rise to his political career.

"These articles were written more than 40 years ago," Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs said in an email to Mother Jones. "Like most people, Bernie's views on many issues have changed over time."

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/bernie-sanders-vermont-freeman-sexual-freedom-fluoride
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Really interesting glimpse of the young Sanders before his political career was launched. Much more at the Mother Jones link.

[safeinOhio]

1. That was a long time ago

and he was very young.

The first presidential candidate Clinton volunteered for was Republican Barry Goldwater, in 1964, when she was in high school. She was a Young Republican and attended the 1968 Republican convention. I think she even had an essay published supporting Goldwater.

Not that long ago Perry and Trump were Democrats.

I don't think any of that should be held against anyone today.

[Surya Gayatri]

2. IMHO, anything that ANYONE says before the age of 20-25

should be thrown out of the court of public opinion.

We're all half mad at that age.

[frazzled]

3. He was in his 30s, though

in the early 1970s. He wasn't some bright-eyed kid.

Look, these old writings are irrelevant on one level. And yes, people's positions evolve. This is not about positions, though. In a presidential campaign biography matters. It matters a lot. And writing rather crackpot stuff that was well out of the mainstream even at that time (being anti-compulsory education, believing "authority" causes cancer) is part of a candidate's biography that speaks to personality or character issues. If people perceive, rightly or wrongly, that you are the type who is susceptible to crackpot theories, it's an issue.

So biography and character matter in a presidential race. And Sanders is going to have to come up with something better than "youthful indiscretion" (unless we redefine youth) to explain them away. He's going to have to address these writings head on and convince people that his march away from fringe to more mainstream ideas was a real process.

[Surya Gayatri]

5. I didn't realize he was already in his thirties at the time. And, you're right about the fact that

he'll be required to do more to explain these "eccentric" views, and distance himself from them, if he wants to be considered a serious candidate by the general electorate.

"If people perceive, rightly or wrongly, that you are the type who is susceptible to crackpot theories, it's an issue."

"He's going to have to address these writings head on and convince people that his march away from fringe to more mainstream ideas was a real process."

[restorefreedom]

4. wow. a freedom advocate who was pissed at the establishment in the 70's.

(kerthunk)

can someone help me up?