Burlington - With tireless campaigning, strong personalities, and widely divergent positions on the political spectrum, the race between incumbent independent U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, and retired Lt. Colonel Gregory Parke, a conservative Republican, could be a Hollywood movie, say, King Kong Versus Godzilla, or perhaps Alien vs. Predator.
      Bernie Sanders, 63, has represented Vermont in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1991. He currently serves on the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Committee and founded the House Progressive Caucus. Prior to his election to Congress, he was the Mayor of Burlington.
      Sanders told OITM that he welcomes the support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Vermonters in his reelection bid. "I am proud of the support we have gotten from the gay community and look forward to seeing a nation in which people are not discriminated against because of race, gender, or sexual orientation," he said. "In the last number of years we have made real progress but we still have a long way to go."
     Since going to Washington, D.C., Sanders has consistently garnered 100 percent positive ratings from the national gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. Sanders also received a 100 percent rating from the AIDS Action Council, a group representing more than 1,000 community-based AIDS service organizations.
      His congressional office maintains a written non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation, he is a co-sponsor of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), and in 1996 he was one of the few members of Congress to vote against the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
       Sanders also said he opposes efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit gay marriage through the Federal Marriage Amendment. "It is clearly discriminatory and you do not want to see discrimination embodied in the United States Constitution," he said. "Secondly, while I do not usually associate my remarks with (Vice-President) Dick Cheney's, Cheney understands that historically these types of issues have been dealt with by states and that is correct. They should not be dealt with by the federal government."
      The 2004 Republican nominee is Gregory Parke, a former Air Force pilot and self-described "Ronald Reagan Republican."
      In fundraising email messages to supporters, Parke, 50, asks for help "replacing ultra-Liberal Bernie Sanders," who, Parke says, is "leading the fight for federally-funded abortions and homosexual marriage." Parke adds that, if elected, he will promote "conservative values and principles" including "combating the homosexual agenda."
     In an interview with OITM, Parke cited the war on terrorism and the economy as reasons gay and lesbian Vermonters should support him. "Mr. Sanders has not represented the state well on the big issues that are facing the state and the nation," he said. "The biggest issue is national security."
      By his own admission, Parke has little understanding of the unique concerns of gay and lesbian Americans. "I haven't gotten education on the issues," he conceded.
       When asked to describe the "homosexual agenda" he pledged to fight, Parke cited the nationwide debate over gay marriage. "What bothers a lot of people, and myself, is that the homosexual agenda is trying to rewrite the institutions of society," he explained. "I have no animosity towards homosexuals or their lifestyle. I just don't think it is appropriate to redefine the institutions of the millennia for the benefit of a very small minority. They have the same rights as everybody else."
     Referring to gay marriage as an "oxymoron," Parke described an inconsistent position on the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. "I would probably vote for it but I don't think it is appropriate for the feds to get involved in this," he said.
     Parke says he would need to read the ENDA bill before taking a position on it. "I would probably tend to support it but I'd have to see the way it is written," he said. "I don't think it is appropriate to discriminate against anybody but I don't believe in special rights."
     Unlike the movies, the outcome of the election-year battle between Sanders and Parke will be decided not by Hollywood script writers, but by Vermont voters on November 2.

Paul Olsen, PhD, covers Vermont politics for OITM and for In Newsweekly. He lives in Colchester.