There is at least one point in favor of Sanders. He, at least, gives lip
service to working people instead of assuming that the so-called middle
class is the only class of people worth addressing.
On 7/20/2015 2:33 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > Bernie Sanders Takes His Populism to the Red States and Draws Huge
Crowd
________________________________________
Bernie Sanders Takes His Populism to the Red States and Draws Huge Crowd
By Zaid Jilani [1] / AlterNet [2]
July 19, 2015
Today, Sanders took his Southwestern tour to Dallas and Houston. In Dallas,
he spoke to nearly 10,000 people. The senator condemned the Democratic
Party's political strategy in the South, saying that it has "conceded half
of the states in the national level." He said that when "childhood poverty
in Texas is 27 percent, we've gotta take it on. When 34 percent of people
living in Texas have no health insurance, we've gotta take it on." The
people sitting in the bleachers behind him took to their feet to applaud
when he said it makes more sense to invest in "jobs and education" rather
than "incarceration," something that has become a feature of his stump
speech.
Sanders' speech in Phoenix on Saturday night brought together an estimated
eleven to twelve thousand people - one of the largest political rallies in
the city's history (by comparison Barack Obama got 13,000 in January 2008
[3]). The crowd gave Sanders standing ovations at numerous points, such as
when he condemned police violence, called for tuition-free college, and
demanded that American provide for the veterans of its wars. It's worth
noting that, in contrast to Donald Trump's homogeneous audience, Sanders'
crowd was extremely diverse; there was heavy representation of young
Latinos, with one activist introducing the Senator before his speech.
Bernie is campaigning across the Southwest to show he has broader appeal
than just the safe blue-state regions of the country. It is an echo of the
swing through the South that Sanders did in 2013, when he was still
considering his candidacy.
"I really strongly disagree with this concept that there's a blue state and
red state America," he told In These Times in an interview that year. "I
believe that in every state in the country the vast majority of the people
are working people. These are people who are struggling to keep their heads
above water economically, these are people who want Social Security
defended, they want to raise the minimum wage, they want changes in our
trade policy. And to basically concede significant parts of America,
including the South, to the right-wing is to me not only stupid politics,
but even worse than that-you just do not turn your backs on millions and
millions of working people."
Although the majority of the address in Phoenix was similar to the remarks
the senator has given around the country, there were a few innovations. "God
bless Pope Francis," he joked. "Some people think my economic views are
radical, you should check out this guy." He also ended his address on a note
of optimism, pointing out that while some may say this country can never
have truly universal health care, this is the same country that in the span
of two and a half years successfully defeated both the Germans and Japanese
in the Second World War.
Watch the video of Sanders' address below:
In Houston, Taylor Channing, a 25 year-old from Houston who has been
volunteering with his local Bernie Sanders group, was thrilled by Sanders'
visit.
"It's funny because whenever I found out the other day that he was coming to
Houston, I mean it freaked out we weren't expecting such a gift or such an
early visit to one of the reddest states in the nation," he exclaimed. "I've
never seen such a response to a progressive campaign in my lifetime. I
thought the response I saw to Obama was huge but this is just, I mean it's
just, it's insane."
For Channing, this Southwestern tour is a sending a message to the entire
country about the Bernie Sanders' attitude towards politics. In his mind,
Sanders is saying "I have no druthers about showing up in what is perceived
to be a conservative bastion and just being who I am and seeing how the
people respond."
By the looks of the response in Phoenix and the expected response in Texas
Sunday evening, this strategy is working.
Zaid Jilani is an AlterNet staff writer. Follow @zaidjilani [4] on Twitter.
Share on Facebook Share
Share on Twitter Tweet
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [5]
[6]
________________________________________
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-sanders-takes-his-populism-red-
states-and-draws-huge-crowd
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/zaid-jilani-0
[2] http://alternet.org
[3]
http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/01/31/75657-obama-rally-draws-13-000-in
-phx/
[4] https://twitter.com/zaidjilani
[5] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on Bernie Sanders Takes His
Populism to the Red States and Draws Huge Crowd
[6] http://www.alternet.org/
[7] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > Bernie Sanders Takes His Populism to the Red States and Draws Huge
Crowd
Bernie Sanders Takes His Populism to the Red States and Draws Huge Crowd
By Zaid Jilani [1] / AlterNet [2]
July 19, 2015
Today, Sanders took his Southwestern tour to Dallas and Houston. In Dallas,
he spoke to nearly 10,000 people. The senator condemned the Democratic
Party's political strategy in the South, saying that it has "conceded half
of the states in the national level." He said that when "childhood poverty
in Texas is 27 percent, we've gotta take it on. When 34 percent of people
living in Texas have no health insurance, we've gotta take it on." The
people sitting in the bleachers behind him took to their feet to applaud
when he said it makes more sense to invest in "jobs and education" rather
than "incarceration," something that has become a feature of his stump
speech.
Sanders' speech in Phoenix on Saturday night brought together an estimated
eleven to twelve thousand people - one of the largest political rallies in
the city's history (by comparison Barack Obama got 13,000 in January 2008
[3]). The crowd gave Sanders standing ovations at numerous points, such as
when he condemned police violence, called for tuition-free college, and
demanded that American provide for the veterans of its wars. It's worth
noting that, in contrast to Donald Trump's homogeneous audience, Sanders'
crowd was extremely diverse; there was heavy representation of young
Latinos, with one activist introducing the Senator before his speech.
Bernie is campaigning across the Southwest to show he has broader appeal
than just the safe blue-state regions of the country. It is an echo of the
swing through the South that Sanders did in 2013, when he was still
considering his candidacy.
"I really strongly disagree with this concept that there's a blue state and
red state America," he told In These Times in an interview that year. "I
believe that in every state in the country the vast majority of the people
are working people. These are people who are struggling to keep their heads
above water economically, these are people who want Social Security
defended, they want to raise the minimum wage, they want changes in our
trade policy. And to basically concede significant parts of America,
including the South, to the right-wing is to me not only stupid politics,
but even worse than that-you just do not turn your backs on millions and
millions of working people."
Although the majority of the address in Phoenix was similar to the remarks
the senator has given around the country, there were a few innovations. "God
bless Pope Francis," he joked. "Some people think my economic views are
radical, you should check out this guy." He also ended his address on a note
of optimism, pointing out that while some may say this country can never
have truly universal health care, this is the same country that in the span
of two and a half years successfully defeated both the Germans and Japanese
in the Second World War.
Watch the video of Sanders' address below:
In Houston, Taylor Channing, a 25 year-old from Houston who has been
volunteering with his local Bernie Sanders group, was thrilled by Sanders'
visit.
"It's funny because whenever I found out the other day that he was coming to
Houston, I mean it freaked out we weren't expecting such a gift or such an
early visit to one of the reddest states in the nation," he exclaimed. "I've
never seen such a response to a progressive campaign in my lifetime. I
thought the response I saw to Obama was huge but this is just, I mean it's
just, it's insane."
For Channing, this Southwestern tour is a sending a message to the entire
country about the Bernie Sanders' attitude towards politics. In his mind,
Sanders is saying "I have no druthers about showing up in what is perceived
to be a conservative bastion and just being who I am and seeing how the
people respond."
By the looks of the response in Phoenix and the expected response in Texas
Sunday evening, this strategy is working.
Zaid Jilani is an AlterNet staff writer. Follow @zaidjilani [4] on Twitter.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [5]
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.[6]
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/bernie-sanders-takes-his-populism-red-
states-and-draws-huge-crowd
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/zaid-jilani-0
[2] http://alternet.org
[3]
http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2008/01/31/75657-obama-rally-draws-13-000-in
-phx/
[4] https://twitter.com/zaidjilani
[5] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on Bernie Sanders Takes His
Populism to the Red States and Draws Huge Crowd
[6] http://www.alternet.org/
[7] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
