History was made on Old Route 66 tonight along with around 3500 other venues nationwide involving around 100,000 grass roots supporters of Vermont Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders. Yours truly attended one of a few Tulsa for Bernie meetings, the one held at the Transport Workers Union Local 514. I along with some 140 other attendees got a boost of populist enthusiasm from a WiFi telecast of the Senator himself in which he summarized why he is running for President.
The attendees at the TWU venue appeared to be a solid cross section of the local working class community. There were young, old, working, retired, believers, non-believers, gay, straight, transgendered, able-bodied, not-so-able bodied, politically active seasoned campaign veterans and first time visitors to a political event! Duly note that nobody paid any of these people money or any sort of favors to attend this event. Also note that none of these people had to sign any sort of loyalty oath or sign over their soul to any conjured up supernatural entity.
Reporter Randy Krehbiel of The Tulsa World covered the event. Yours truly was asked for an interview and I was able to impart why I support Sen. Sanders. I expressed that a lot of things, which the Senator reiterated in his broadcast stump speech, have a wide and popular appeal. Things such as the 40 hour work week, overtime pay, paid vacation, a living minimum wage, affordable health care, family leave, and affordable college education are among other things which have defined a segment of Americans since the 1940s. Its that shrinking socioeconomic group which certain GOP Presidential candidates seemingly have recently become enamored: The Middle Class.
There were other issues on which the Senator touched, like combating institutional racism and income inequality which are going to be recurring themes in the course of this campaign. At the end of the telecast the text number was posted: 82623. The Senator’s campaign organization took off this evening. As one who has been to DFA Campaign Academy twice, I can say grass roots organization begins with in the home and in the neighborhood and in the precinct. If a decided majority of citizens can lose their fear of gay people and tolerate same sex marriage then I have hope that losing their fear of “socialism” won’t be far behind. I do not know the validity of this assertion but it was said this is the largest grass roots movement this early ever in a campaign cycle. I do know that tonight I saw a true populist who spoke directly to a lot of people and hit all the right nerves. There is a world of difference between a populist articulating a resonating message and a demagogue stoking the flames of intolerance. Let that contrast sink in and realize that it is over fifteen months to the 2016 General Election. Also remember that governing is a results based endeavor and that results do in fact matter. I do believe we are in for an interesting run.