The Left-Wing Freak Show - Analyzing Liberalism in Vermont

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, Free University of Berlin, language: English, abstract: In a campaign ad aired in early 2004 by the conservative Club for Growth, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, the former governor of Vermont, was scolded by two supposedly average American people who advised him to '[...] take his tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Timesreading, body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show back to Vermont, where it belongs.' The quote became quite famous for it apparently hit the nail on the head with its characterization of the divide between conservative and liberal America, the latter being perfectly epitomized by the state of Vermont. While the dramatic exaggerations of campaign ads are rarely based on facts but on feelings, the notion that politics in Vermont are decidedly liberal still prevails among Americans and observers from abroad. They are supported by such facts as a self-declared democratic socialist, Bernie Sanders, being elected United States senator in 2006, after already having served as a member of the House for 15 years. Sanders defeated his Republican opponent by an impressive 2-to-1 margin in the 2006 midterm elections. Voting records and public opinion polls on issues such as gay marriage or environmental issues indeed suggest that Vermont is not only a stronghold for the Democratic Party, but for liberal ideology in all its forms. Even though everyone seems to acknowledge that Vermont is a liberal state, one crucial question has not yet been given much attention by media outlets and researchers alike: Why is it, that Vermont is so liberal? In fact, it seems quite puzzling that such a small, rural, and landlocked state should be a stronghold of cosmopolitanism and political awareness. This research paper therefore intends to analyze whether political liberalism is in fact a prevalent political view in Vermont and, if so, why.