Mary Wilson, 53, of Westminster traveled to Putney to participate in Senator Sanders’ town meeting on July 31. It was her first such experience.

“I just wanted to hear what he had to say. No issue in particular. Just wanted to hear him speak,” Wilson said.

Minutes before Bernie began speaking to the 200 people who filled the second floor of the 19th century church, Wilson was enjoying the last few bites of her dinner, provided by the Putney Food Co-op. “The food is great, I’m chomping away,” she said.

In Putney, Vermonters asked Bernie about legislation that will reform Wall Street; the federal stimulus bill, which created or saved 7,000 jobs in Vermont, weatherized more than 1,600 homes, and financed 72 highway projects including 20 bridges throughout Vermont. People also asked about how the national debt would be confronted, inquired about the obstructionist tactics of the Republican Party and questioned the role of the central bank.

“My conservative friends say, ‘We have a deficit and we have to cut, cut, cut,” Senator Sanders said. “There are ways of dealing with the deficit without decimating the middle-class.”

Bernie agreed with the premise behind a question that advocated for bolstering the progressive tax structure on the wealthiest Americans. “Fundamentally, if we are going to succeed as a nation, we have to deal with that greed out there.” America’s heroes are teachers and fireman in communities throughout the county, not billionaires in boardrooms, he said.

Howard Prussack of Westminster West, Vt. said he came to Senator Sanders’s town meeting to “Get it direct from Bernie: Where we at?”

“I guess I really trust Bernie and I was looking to find out what’s going on,” Prussack said after the meeting concluded.

The nation’s health care system has been overhauled, the federal stimulus program is creating jobs and legislation to reform the practices on Wall Street has been passed, but problems remain. The country faces a $13 trillion debt and Republicans are routinely employing the filibuster to stifle progresses. The nation’s woes left some attendees a little discouraged.

Prussack said he hoping for some unexpected good news. “But, I guess, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear,” he said.