Ben and Jerry back Burlington Bernie for the White House!! [View all]

Ice cream makers behind Cherry Garcia and Imagine Whirled Peace throw their support behind hometown boy Bernie Sanders

Having pocketed a tidy sum when Unilever bought their ice cream business for $326 million in 2000, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are not the most obvious champions of the little guy against corporate greed.


But Ben and Jerry, whose ice cream business went from a niche enterprise which started life in a Vermont petrol station to a globally recognised brand, are throwing their weight – and a couple of thousand dollars – behind Bernie Sanders.

Ben and Jerry could comfortably afford more – and that is the point.

Mr Sanders, the independent socialist Vermont senator whose election rallies are drawing thousands of people across the country, does not want massive corporate donations to fund his campaign for the White House.

Ben and Jerry agree, saying the 2010 “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision allowing companies and groups to spend vast amounts on political campaigns with almost no restrictions has paved the way for legalised bribery.

Here in the US what they always teach us in public school is that the definition of free speech is that anybody can stand up on a soap box and say whatever they want,” Ben said.

“Essentially what Citizens United has said is that a person who has a lot of money can stand up on a soap box, buy the biggest sound system in the world and drown out the voice of everybody else.

“For a business it is the best investment you can make. The return on investment is thousands of per cent. Politicians sell out pretty cheap.”

They have made their donations as individuals. Unilever, the company which now owns Ben & Jerry’s, does not participate in politics.

“Ben and I have each given Bernie a thousand dollars and we have spent probably $500 each on purchasing ice cream that has been used as a donation to the campaign. We still have some capacity to purchase more ice cream as we get more money,” Jerry said.

More here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11798713/Ben-and-Jerry-back-Burlington-Bernie-for-the-White-House.html