[blind-democracy] Re: Bernie Sanders Takes His Populism to the Red States and Draws Huge Crowd

  • From: Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2015 15:54:26 -0400

It may have something to do with the fact that his background is working
class. His family was Jewish, working class, and he grew up in Brooklyn.
He's a bit younger than I am, but our childhood experiences are probably
similar. One doesn't forget that, unless one puts forth a lot of effort to
do so.

Miriam

-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger Loran
Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
Sent: Monday, July 20, 2015 3:18 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Bernie Sanders Takes His Populism to the Red
States and Draws Huge Crowd

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-populis
m-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-populis
m-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





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