On July 30th, kos wrote a piece entitled, "On Bernie and me and your crazy conspiracy theories”, wherein he proceeded to collectively take the ever-growing number of Sanders Supporters to the toolshed for their antics on dailykos and elsewhere (likening them to 2008 pumas, no less) while detailing his general take on the 2016 race to date.
I have to confess that I was, at first a little off-put by kos’ entry. I mean, there has been plenty of dicey behavior by both the pro-Bernie and pro-Hillary factions. And while kos did SAY he wasn’t supporting one candidate over the other, in fairness…when you issue statements proclaiming that one of the candidates hasn’t got a chance, for good, ill or indifferent you do at least create a perception of support. So, yes I was a little miffed at first, but then I realized the most important part of his piece wasn’t any of the cherry-picked data, or the justifications that are inconsistent with his 2007-08 logic and worldview; no, it was the part I kept and keep coming back to. At the end the of his entry, our pal kos offered the following challenge:
“So worry less about me, and worry more about what you can do to build Bernie's support base. That's what Crashing the Gates was all about. And then maybe, just maybe, you can end up proving me wrong, and wouldn't that be the sweetest revenge of all?”
See how we responded, beneath the squiggle that makes me giggle.
So, that is just what invisiblewoman and I have chosen to do and have done. We have procured a permit to have a table set up at the Dane County Farmer’s Market where over the last three Saturdays we have:
1. Signed up more than 40 volunteers: Three volunteers arrived (unannounced) with chairs in hand to help out at the farmer’s market today - having simply heard that there was a volunteer spot to be had.
2. Sold or given away quite literally hundreds upon hundreds of stickers, buttons, literature pieces and bumperstickers.
3. Raised more than $200 for the campaign. A little more than 80 last week, and a little more than $120 this week. But, perhaps most importantly…
4. We have talked to scores of people about what a Sanders candidacy means to them should he succeed. We have discussed the hold that the ultra-wealthy and the corporations have on the GOP and a fair portion of the DNC (including Hillary) and how this grip defines us a nation economically, socially, and as a global actor. We ask that they share our literature and conversation with their family and friends.
But… did we stop THERE?! Nopes.
This afternoon we and another volunteer went to a community on the far east side of Madison that is characterized by having a very diverse population and rental property in order to conduct outreach. Yep, that’s right, good ol’ fashioned door-knocking. We spoke to I’d say more than three dozen people in all, conversing about Mr. Sanders and his plan for our country, and here is the surprise: Though we are told over and over by the MSM and kos too, that Sanders cannot win minorities…in this community at least… well over half of the minorities we spoke to were not only aware of Bernie, but were ALREADY SUPPORTING HIM. Here too, we asked that our respondents talk to others about Bernie and help to create the political revolution. Yes, there were many that hadn’t heard about him, or ‘just his name’. These were open to hearing more. One African American male in his twenties offered to be Bernie’s representative in his building to spread the news about his candidacy, saying his sister had talked to him about him already.
The end result of the day? Indeed, I have never felt more sure that Bernie is well placed during these dog days of summer. The seeds of the revolution are surely planted and it is becoming easier by the week to visualize the verdant and voluptuous crop of democracy that could be harvested.
We offer this entry not to curry favor or kudos, not to stick our collective finger in the equally collective right eye of team Hillary. We make this entry to let you know that there IS work being done out there. We are going to stay with it folks. We are going to build his base, bolster his financial strength and broaden his name recognition and appeal…one over at a time. Proving kos wrong would indeed be sweet… but an America free of the fetters put on her by the extreme wealthy would be even more so!