While Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was unable to win the Democratic Party's nomination to move into the White House by campaigning in this year's presidential contest against issues like income inequality, he is instead buying a different house -- his third, in fact.
Sanders, who targeted the 1 percent of richest Americans, apparently subscribes to the old phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do,” which he demonstrated on Tuesday by surprising the other 99 percent of Americans by purchasing a $600,000 beach-front residence in North Hero, Vermont, a move that drew harsh criticism from people in the media who supported his candidacy.
According to an article by Lindsey Ellefson of the Mediaite website, the press “Cannot Stop Snarking About Capitalism When Reporting on Sanders' New Home.”
“The Sanders family now has this seasonal home, a house in D.C. and a home in Burlington, Vermont,” Ellefson noted. “Given that Sanders works often in D.C. because he is a senator, this makes sense.”
“Surely we must believe,” she stated, “the guy deserves a little break and some nice lake-front property.”
“Kidding!” the reporter then declared. “Of course we don’t believe that! Or at least, the media doesn’t!” She then listed several examples of how the purchase of his new home is being treated by the press.
Her first example was an article written by Anna Giaritelli for the Washington Examiner, who noted:
Sanders and his wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, bought a summer house on Vermont's Lake Champlain Islands, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.
The $600,000 beach-front residence in North Hero, Vt., is the newest addition to the couple's collection of homes.
"We've traveled up to the islands many times over the years -- almost always on day trips," O'Meara Sanders indicated in a written statement released on Tuesday. "We've been impressed with the North Hero community, eaten at the North Hero House and Shore Acres and have suggested them to friends who were looking for a beautiful place to stay or have dinner.”
“The Sanders family recently sold a lake house in Maine that had been passed down from O'Meara's side of the family,” Ellefson noted. “The sale enabled them to buy the new home, much closer to their Green Mountain State residence, ... which is one of the islands" and "has a population of 1,000 people.”
In addition, Sanders' presidential campaign is sitting on quite a bit of money. As of July 21, the Federal Election Committee reported $7.8 million in cash on hand between his campaign committee and outside groups. However, those funds are not eligible for personal expenditures.
Finally, Ellefson stated: “That hasn’t stopped publications like the Daily Caller from quipping that by getting a summer home, the Democratic socialist is “[proving] capitalism is alive and well.”
Another report on the list was “They Caught Bernie,” an article written by a person named Kosar for the Political Insider site.
In his post, Kosar indicated:
Throughout the campaign, Sanders attacked the “1 percent” and promised to tax the wealthy while paying for universal health care and free college tuition for all.
But as part of the negotiations with Hillary Clinton, he demanded to be flown in a private jet. Now, if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, Sanders and his wife just bought a summer home worth at least $600,000! I wonder what Sanders’ grassroots activists think about this!
“Sanders’ new waterfront crib has four bedrooms and 500 feet of Lake Champlain beach-front on the east side of the island -- facing Vermont, not New York,” the reporter stated. “The Bern will keep his home in Burlington and use the new camp seasonally.”
“Last Tuesday, the day of the closing,” Kosar stated, “Sanders posed for a photo at Hero’s Welcome General Store on Route 2. The store, a bit south of his new abode, serves a sandwich called 'Feel the Bun' in the senator’s honor.”
“The $6.99 deli delight consists of a 'HUGE' homemade roll, sliced turkey, fresh apple chutney, hot pepper relish, lettuce, tomato and provolone cheese,” he reported.
“How many of the struggling Americans who supported Sanders’ campaign could afford a $600,000 house?” he asked. “It’s as if Sanders doesn’t really believe in what he’s spent a lifetime preaching.”
As NewsBusters previously reported, Sanders “rails against the 'billionaire class" and has called income inequality "the greatest moral issue of our time," but the senator from Vermont is "not exactly a man of modest means," according to an article written by Kerri Anne Renzulli for the TIME magazine website.
During a speech made at the Vatican in April, Sanders stated:
At a time when so few have so much, and so many have so little, we must reject the foundations of this contemporary economy as immoral and unsustainable.
Judging from the fact that Sanders owns three houses, he seems to be doing just fine in “this contemporary economy.”
