Lots of folks think of Vermont as some quaint, groomed liberal, pastoral well to do place. Yes, there is that. And then there's The Kingdom- The Northeast Kingdom. It's rural and ragged and poor. It's inhabitants scrape by on logging, dairy farming and working at the Ethan Allen Mill for shit wages. (there's also a lot of recent innovation which is exciting). The denizens of the Kingdom are less educated than most Vermonters. They're more conservative (even though, yes, they voted in every town for Obama in 2008 and 2012- but Bernie can take a fair amount of credit for that too). The Kingdom was the epicenter of the "Take Back Vermont" movement that sprung up during our battles over civil unions over a decade ago.

Anyway, even conservatives here (we don't register by party in Vermont) vote for Bernie. Why? For one thing, Bernie has tirelessly held town meeting for years and years. The kind where he really communicates and listens and then everyone eats potluck. He focuses on economic, not social issues. He has long shied away from gun control issues and that's hugely important. sorry, but it is. People here really do cling to their guns.

Howard Dean gets this too. The Kingdom has been a valuable learning experience for Vermont politicians and what they learned is translatable to the rural south.