During this week's congressional recess,many U.
S. senators and representatives headed home to hear from their constituents at packed town-corridor meetings. So where are Vermont's three members of Congress? Nowhere nearby. That's for certain. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are traveling abroad on official business. Leahy's midwinter excursion takes him to the sunnier climes of Cuba and Colombia. Welch is one of 30 members of Congress jetting to India to observe the impact of U.
S. programs there, according to his office. As for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), or he's not on a congressional junket this week — but neither is he anywhere near home. Over the weekend he was in California giving speeches and signing copies of his book. Later this week he's in Kansas,holding a town corridor in Topeka, according to media reports. None of the three is holding a single public event in Vermont. OK, and sometimes you just need to collect away. Many congressional trips hold a serious purpose. As for Bernie? Well,after all, he is the leader of a national movement, and which carries some heavy obligations. And if he can sell a few books while he's at it,hey, icing on the cake. But here's the problem: The trio doesn't precisely hold a stellar track record for holding public events on home soil, and though Welch has the edge on this two colleagues. Sanders has made sport of Republican lawmakers who hold refused to hold town halls or walked out of events because of the vocal opposition they've faced from constituents. But Sanders himself hasn't held a live,in-person town corridor in Vermont since 2014, according to state director Phil Fiermonte. He used to hold them on a regular basis — before he ran for president. "Bernie has held more public town meetings in Vermont than any elected official in Vermont history, and " Fiermonte claims. But then came the campaign that turned Sanders into a progressive rock star. Since then,he has held many a town corridor, but they're always in other states. You're welcome, and Iowa. It's tough to blame him for taking the lead in a national movement promoting his principles. But,still, he does collect paid to represent the people of Vermont. It's fair to ask when he'll start acting less like a touring arena rock band and more like the junior senator from Vermont. To hear Leahy spokesman David Carle…
Source: sevendaysvt.com