This is a short diary but I was SHOCKED to hear about this tonight.
There will be a Bernie Sanders for President entry in the Madison Regatta Parade in Madison, Indiana on Friday. Madison is well-positioned between Louisville, Cincinnati and Indianapolis. Unfortunately the Regatta is no longer the event it used to be and will get minimal media coverage in those markets.
I've written a few diaries about Madison before. I wrote about our amazing bridge project made possible by the stimulus, and of course about me almost getting arrested for calling out Mike Pence's hypocrisy when he came to the dedication ceremony. I also wrote about the hilarious failure of the Americans for Prosperity bus tour when it came to Madison. Madison is also very close (20 miles) to the epicenter of the HIV outbreak that has gotten so much attention recently.
Madison is a small town (pop. 12,000) in a rural county in southeastern Indiana. It is a conservative area. We are in the Indiana 6th (R+12), "represented" by Luke Messer. Mike Pence graduated from nearby Hanover College (the president of which, in a moment of great schadenfreude, called him out over RFRA). It also is a place where people don't tend to be very politically active. So I was absolutely shocked to see the Bernie Sanders movement has arrived in Madison.
For the record, I like Bernie a lot but I haven't decided if I will support him. I worry about his ability to win a general election. If nothing else, though, I am glad he is in the race to force a discussion of progressive ideas.