Sen. Sanders: From young war protester to veterans' advocate
WASHINGTON — About 20 years ago, Vietnam veteran John Miner met with Bernie Sanders to discuss veterans’ issues and left feeling worried.
Sanders, a rumpled-looking, self-described Democratic socialist from Vermont who had been elected to the House in 1990, was “very liberal” and “had that wild look about him,” said Miner, of Bennington. And his questions seemed uninformed. Miner didn’t think veterans would get anywhere with Sanders.
But Miner and other veterans say they’re fully behind Sanders as he plans the agenda of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which he’s chairing this Congress. It’s Sanders’ first full committee chairmanship.
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Vietnam veteran Ed Laviletta conceded that politically, he and Sanders are “strange bedfellows.” A conservative Republican, Laviletta, of Highgate Center, disagrees with Sanders on defense spending and won’t talk to him about Vietnam, because “it would end up in a shouting match.”
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“We’ve had our fights, our disagreements, but it’s never on the VA,” said Laviletta, a former state commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars. “His new chairmanship is right on. I’d pick him over anyone in Congress.”
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http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20130311/NEWS03/303110008/1095/Sen-Sanders-From-young-war-protester-veterans-advocate