新聞人物：誰是伯尼·桑德斯
美國佛蒙特州參議員伯尼·桑德斯剛剛在新罕布什州的民主黨總統候選人初選中擊敗勁敵希拉里。BBC中文網為您介紹這位美國政壇人物。
伯尼·桑德斯是在2015年5月宣佈參選的，他本身是一名獨立人士，而非正式登記註冊的民主黨成員，因此被一份政治雜誌描述為「技術上允許但非常罕見」的一位候選人。
有人認為，桑德斯在一些民主黨的辯論中呼籲進行「政治革命」並向富豪階層開刀，因此成為一位明星人物。
桑德斯出生於紐約布魯克林區，父母均是猶太人。他曾經說過，由於出身寒微，使他很小就感覺到階級的差異。
後來，桑德斯在芝加哥大學就讀，在六十年代和七十年代參與反戰運動以及公民權利運動，包括1963年的華盛頓大遊行。
在越戰期間，他雖然年齡很大，但仍申請拒絕入伍資格，不過，由於年齡問題，有關申請被拒了。
1971年，桑德斯開始步入政壇，並代表自由聯合黨競選佛蒙特州參議員但敗選，該黨鼓吹社會主義觀點，而且反對越戰。隨後，桑德斯也曾多次代表自由聯合黨競選佛蒙特州州長，但均以失敗告終。1988年，桑德斯與娶了現任妻子歐米拉。歐米拉曾擔任佛蒙特州著名的私立大學伯靈頓學院的院長，被視為是桑德斯政治生涯中的「關鍵的智囊」。兩人從各自前一段婚姻中共有4個孩子。
1990年，桑德斯成功獲選為美國眾議員，也是40年來首位獲選的獨立候選人。此後，他一直出任該職，直到2007年獲選為參議員。
桑德斯自進入華盛頓政壇之後，就一直批評共和黨和民主黨政治人物向富有的捐款者及企業獻媚。為此，他也經常被看作是一隻「虻」，也就是不斷挑戰權勢的人。他也成為美國議會史上任職最久的獨立議員。
2010年，桑德斯曾發表了長達8個半小時的長篇演講，試圖阻止布什政府延續其稅務政策。他認為，有關稅務政策對富人有利，並會加大美國的收入差距。
2013年，桑德斯出任美國參議院退伍軍人事務委員會主席，協助推出解決退伍老兵照料不足問題的方案。他同時也強烈反對伊拉克戰爭。
此外，桑德斯對北歐國家的社會福利政策推崇備至，包括全民保健及新生嬰兒父母的有薪假期等，他還支持高等教育完全免費。
不過，桑德斯在槍支管制問題上的立場經常受到批評，其中包括他對布拉迪法案的反對。該法案要求查核購買槍支者的背景及設置等候期等。對此，桑德斯則辯護說，他的立場反映了佛蒙特州選民的意願。
（編譯：李文/責編：歐陽成）
Who is Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders?
- 21 January 2016
- US & Canada
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Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is Hillary Clinton's closest rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, even surpassing her in some polls. So who is he?
Former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have once been the presumed Democratic nominee for president, but 74-year-old Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been steadily gaining on her in the polls. One CNN poll has him 27 points ahead of Clinton in New Hampshire.
Mr Sanders jumped into the race back in May as a long-shot candidate (he is an independent, not a registered Democrat, which Politico calls"technically permissible but highly unusual").
In the last quarter of 2015, he raised $33 million to Mrs Clinton's $37 million, but without the aid of a political action committee and mostly in small amounts from individuals.
Some say Mr Sanders emerged as the star of some of the Democratic debates so far with his call for a "political revolution" and a taming of the billionaire class. He gets a consistent amount of buzz post-debate on social media, including the most new Facebook followers and more hits on Google than Mrs Clinton.
So, who is he and what does the "Democratic socialist" candidate stand for?
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Mr Sanders was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents. He once said his humble upbringing in a tiny apartment made him class-conscious at an early age.
He attended the University of Chicago, and in the 1960s and 1970s participated in antiwar and civil rights activism, like the 1963 March on Washington.
He applied for conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War, though he was too old to be drafted by the time his application was rejected.
Mr Sanders entered politics in 1971 when he ran for Vermont Senate as a Liberty Union candidate, a party with antiwar and socialist roots. He lost that race as well as several subsequent campaigns to become governor.
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His first major political success came when he was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont, in 1980, beating the six-term incumbent by 10 votes. He served four terms.
It was during this time that he met and married his current wife, Jane O'Meara Driscoll, the former president of Burlington College once described as a "key adviser" in his political career. Combined, they have four children from previous relationships.
He was first elected to the US House in 1990, the first independent to do so in 40 years. He served there until he ran for and won a seat in the Senate in 2007. During the campaign, a younger Barack Obama stumped for him.
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Since he first arrived in Washington, Mr Sanders criticised Republican and Democratic politicians as being beholden to wealthy donors and industries - for this he was sometimes dismissed as a gadfly. He is the longest-serving independent in congressional history.
In 2010, he famously stood and spoke for eight-and-a-half hours to attempt to block the extension of Bush-era tax policies that Mr Sanders said benefited the rich and worsened the nation's income gap.
He became the chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs committee in 2013 and helped negotiate bipartisan solutions when former soldiers complained of dangerouslydelayed and inadequate care around the country. He was a staunch opponent of the Iraq War.
He is fond of praising the social policies of Nordic countries, like universal health care and paid leave for new parents. He espouses making institutions of higher learning free.
Mr Sanders has been attacked for his voting record on gun control, including his opposition to various forms of the Brady Bill, which required background checks and waiting periods for gun purchasers. Mr Sanders defends his record saying it reflects the priorities of his Vermont constituents.
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