On Saturday, after Bernie Sanders was so rudely prevented from speaking to a crowd gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Medicare and Social Security, I headed to the campus of the University of Washington to their indoor sports arena, Hec Edmondson Pavilion. The 12000 seat complex was filled with no empty seat to be had, and people packed in like sardines on the floor. The event was Bernie Sanders. Senator Sanders has attracted record crowds even in predominantly red states like Arizona and Texas.
An hour before the doors opened there were already long lines of people at all four corners of the building. When the doors finally opened we all streamed in and about fifteen minutes before show time a wave got started, then shouts of “Bernie! Bernie” ensued followed by, “Let’s go, Bernie!”
A few speakers came before Senator Sanders, the first one being Lynne Dodson who spoke passionately about raising the minimum wage to $15/hour state wide. She also brought up the anniversary of Michael Brown and stated emphatically that black lives DO matter. This brought raucous cheers and a standing ovation She stated that violence is also attacks on minorities, mass incarceration, low wages and businesses sending American jobs overseas to increase their profits. Restricting voting rights and denying people medical care were also mentioned as acts of violence
Also mentioned was the fact that Senator Sanders came to Seattle for a $200 per person event at the Comet Tavern instead of $1000 and up per plate for a dinner at some millionaire’s mansion. Senator Sanders came to speak to the people.
When Senator Sanders took the stage he began with reminding everyone he began his campaign three and a half months ago and the momentum is growing. There were 12,000 inside and another 3000 outside who couldn’t get in. He said he was asked why he was able to get so many individual donations, to which he replied that people were sick and tired of economic injustice and wanted change. Corporate greed was destroying this country and the media has refused to address the issue. Then he stressed that we all have to pull together. The country belongs to us all, not just a handful. We live in the wealthiest country but all the wealth is in the hands of a few and it’s worse than it was in 1929. Senator Sanders made a campaign promise that he would close the loopholes that allow the wealthiest corporations and individuals to stash money in overseas accounts to avoid paying taxes. He added that real unemployment is not the five percent the media reports, but is more like ten percent because people who have given up looking for work and people working part-time but looking for full-time aren’t counted. For Hispanics the unemployment count is closer to thirty percent and for African Americans the rate is fifty-one percent. He added that investing in jobs and education made more sense than spending money on incarceration. When he said he wanted this country to have the most educated people in the world, not the most incarcerated, almost everyone rose to their feet and cheered. He stressed that wages must be raised and would push for a national minimum wage of $15 an hour.
Senator Sanders then mentioned the republicans so-called family values tell women they don’t have the right to control their own bodies. Women don’t have the right to buy contraception. They believe certain people do not have the right to marry and republicans want us to remain the only developed country that does not offer free medical services to its people. If elected president, Senator Sanders would introduce legislation that would mandate ten paid vacation days for everyone as well as guaranteeing sick leave. He then talked briefly about repairing our crumbling and aging infrastructure and that fixing it would not only make America safer, it would create good jobs. And he added that he would do everything to stop bad trade policies that benefit only the richest corporations and push for trade policies that benefit families. Banks that are deemed too big to fail when we bailed them out will be deemed too big to exist.
Senator Sanders then mentioned Citizen United and vowed to have it overturned. The fact that SCOTUS told the richest corporations they could now buy the American government was not democracy. He added that any nominee to the Supreme Court would have to agree to overturn Citizen United. This brought more shouts of, Bernie! Bernie! Senator Sanders also wanted to see publicly funded elections so candidates wouldn’t have to beg the richest corporations for campaign funds.
The Voting Rights Act getting gutted by SCOTUS was also mentioned. This has made it harder for people of color, the poor and elderly to vote. The republicans trump up phony pretenses about voter fraud when there is no voter fraud. He described them as political cowards because they’re just targeting people who don’t agree with them.
When Senator Sanders spoke on education he stressed he wanted to make all public colleges and universities tuition free. The government shouldn’t be profiteering off of student debt. This also brought people to their feet. One thing Sanders didn’t say was that he’d eliminate all student debt currently outstanding, something so many of us desperately need.
Then the senator discussed climate change. The scientific community tells us that global warming is the biggest threat we face today. Global warming is real and man caused. The US must lead the way towards development of clean, renewable energy sources.
Senator Sanders then stated he wanted this country to eliminate the for profit medical insurance industry and go to a single payer, Medicare for all system.
On immigration, senator Sanders wanted to expand immigration reform and push for a path to citizenship for those who want it.
He ended by saying that what he wanted was not a utopian dream, but a goal we can reach if we all pull together.
Again the crowd was brought to their feet for a resounding standing ovation. Senator Sanders, left the stage and walked amongst the crowd on the floor, shaking as many hands as possible.
With more than a year until the election, we do indeed have a lot of work to do. Go, Bernie.
– Photos property of Holly Homan, all rights reserved.
