Outsider in the House - Softcover

Sanders, Senator Bernie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1859841775 ISBN 13: 9781859841778

Publisher: Verso, 1998

Synopsis

For the past 30 years, Bernie Sanders has been making American political history and becoming a hero to the progressive left. Long before his groundbreaking election to the US Senate, Sanders dreamt of bringing radical social change to America. This vision was a driving force behind his eight years serving as mayor of Burlington, as well as his 1991 election as the first independent candidate in the House of Representatives.

In Outsider in the House, Sanders tells the story of his remarkable career as a progressive socialist and outspoken dissident, using his experience to expose the bias and injustice within one of the worlds most powerful political systems. From his fight for a livable minimum wage, to campaigning on behalf of fair electoral politics, Sanders sheds light on his struggles with both the left and right. True to his renowned optimism, he concludes by making much-needed suggestions for tackling contemporary issues, an uplifting take on the potential for democracy to deliver political and social justice.

About this title

Review:

Bernie Sanders of Vermont uses the story of his 1996 reelection campaign to paint the picture of what it's like to be the first Independent elected to the House of Representatives in 40 years and the only one ever elected to four consecutive terms. Outsider in the House provides a good look at such recent political skirmishes as the Gulf War, NAFTA, and health care reform. In his concluding chapter, Sanders puts forward explicit proposals for tackling such issues as bridging the gap between rich and poor (develop a truly progressive tax code, he says); campaign reform (establish automatic voter registration, end soft money, cap total election expenditures and provide free TV time for political ads); and balancing the budget (drastically cut defense and corporate welfare).

About the Author:

Bernie Sanders was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. He is the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history. Early in his career, Sanders was director of the American People’s Historical Society. Elected Mayor of Burlington by 10 votes in 1981, he served four terms. Before his 1990 election as Vermont’s at-large member in Congress, Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York.

Huck Gutman, a long-time political collaborator of Sanders, is Professor of English at the University of Vermont.

About this edition

• Publisher: Verso
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1859841775
• ISBN 13: 9781859841778
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 244