In an election year, it only makes sense that the candidates vying to be their party's nominees would snag at least a little bit of the spotlight at most major political events — and the annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner (also known as "Nerd Prom") is no different. Even though the number of presidential hopefuls arriving at the event in-person is sort of slim this year, you may be wondering: Is Bernie Sanders at the White House Correspondents' Dinner?
Don't go adjusting your screens, Bern-feelers, your eyes aren't deceiving you: The White House Correspondents' Dinner is totally feeling the Bern too — with Sanders (tux or not) as the only presidential hopeful to make an appearance at tonight's event. While both parties front-runners — Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton — will not be attending, Sanders arrived in style (regardless of what the haters say).
Because all guests need to score an invitation from a news outlet to gain access to the festivities, Sanders' invite came courtesy of CBS. He'll be dining in the company of their other guests that include titans of film, music and politics: Morgan Freeman, Aretha Franklin, Defense Secretary Ash Carter and White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett.
Sanders' appearance is sure to delight his passionate fan-base who might be in need of a pick-me-up after a recent string of less-than-successful primary nights. In fact, it seems that he was one of the most popular guests at CBS' pre-party, according to CBSN Live's Mosheh Oinounou, with tons of attendees clamoring to take selfies with the Vermont senator.
Among Sanders' admirers of the night are The Nightly Show contributor Grace Parra, who tweeted that the senator was the "belle of the ball" already, and U.S. woman's soccer team goalie Hope Solo — both managed to snag super cute pictures early on in the night. Other high profile Sanders supporters like Rosario Dawson and Mark Ruffalo will also be attending as guests of USA Today and The Boston Globe, respectively.
It's no surprise that many of the jokes at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner focused on the ongoing presidential election. After all, with wild campaigns like that of Donald Trump and much-anticipated candidates like Hillary Clinton, there seems to have been more than a fair share of attention paid to the election so far, and the annual event is a roast of current events and politics at its finest. As the one candidate actually in the room, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was joked tirelessly at WHCD by President Obama and host Larry Wilmore.
The jokes about Sanders started to roll in before the main event even started, when Sanders showed up in a suit, rather than a tux. Also, many people took to Twitter to point out the irony in Sanders' attendance. His platform focuses primarily on opposing bureaucratic and establishment politics, as well as the close relationship between the rich and the government — yet the WHCD brings together political leaders, the media, and Hollywood's biggest stars in an event that costs $300 per ticket to attend. That irony was not lost on social media.
Although Sanders' rival Clinton was previously secretary of state under Obama, the president hasn't publicly endorsed either Democratic candidate in the current election. On Saturday, he hit both Sanders and Clinton with jokes — although he did hint that his successor would be a woman. To Sanders, Obama joked about his campaign's finances and his socialist ideas. For instance, Obama complimented Sanders by saying he looked like "a million bucks," but then he put it in terms that Sanders would be able to relate better to:
"You look like 37,000 donations of $27 each"
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The jokes weren't all bad news for fans of the Bern. For one thing, Sanders' experience was probably a cakewalk compared to that of the Republican Party, which was verbally torn apart by Obama and Wilmore. For another, Obama called Sanders a "bright new star" in the Democratic Party.
Several hundred Bernie Sanders supporters marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, culminating with a rally on the steps of City Hall.
The procession marched 10 blocks from Olympic Boulevard and Main Street, with backers of Sanders gathering on the lawn of City Hall to hear speakers and music in support of the Democratic candidate.
The march was among a series of political rallies and labor protests to hit downtown this weekend. On Friday, thousands of unionized janitors took to the streets to demand higher wages and expanded rights.
The weekend will culminate Sunday, when thousands of people are expected downtown for May Day demonstrations that will rally for immigrant rights and improved working conditions and pay for laborers.
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Marla Stone, a professor of European history at Occidental College, completed the march with her husband and 14-year-old daughter. She said Sanders is the first candidate to make a moral argument for economic justice and put forth a plan that could lead to a robust middle class like America once had.
"It's not a fantasy," she said. "We can do better -- we were better."
Over a dozen people marched to support the candidate they say is the best choice to be the next president of the United States.
This morning, supporters of Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders walked through downtown Mankato from the intersection of Riverfront Drive and Madison Avenue to Sibley Park.
The march is designed to bring awareness to Sanders' message and issues he's made a staple of his campaign.
Sanders has a slim chance of winning the delegates needed for the nomination and is trailing in the polls behind Democrat Hillary Clinton.
But supporters on the march say Sanders message provides the best hope for the country.
Bernie Sanders March Organizer Debbra Treat said, "It comes across that he genuinely cares about people, he cares about the country, and it's something that he just hasn't started doing, he's been doing it for decades."
Do young voters matter? Aren’t they just lazy and idealistic? These questions come up in every election year and it seems the debate rages on around answering them. However, coming off an impressive winning streak in the primaries, it seems that Bernie Sanders has undoubtedly provided an answer. Yes, young voters matter, and perhaps that is true more than ever after the New York primary results.
As a graduating college student, I have a lot of concerns about the future – the amount of student debt I need to pay, scarcity in the job market, the socio-political climate ahead of us. For someone who has a lot riding on the future, the upcoming presidential elections hold a lot of uncertainty. In general, the millennial generation is overlooked by politicians and the political world – we have a reputation for being lazy, and detached. No one seems to believe that our perspectives are valid, they underestimate our value. In fact, according to them we seem to have a lot in common with Bernie Sanders – maybe that’s why we’re all voting for him.
The problem with overlooking millennials is the fact that we can make up about 20 percent of voters. In 2008, young voter turnout was at an all-time high, taking part in the first election of President Obama. We made a difference then, and as we’ve seen on the primary trail, we’re making a difference now. Many candidates are scrambling to “connect” with us – whether that is posting on social media or trying to appear relatable in one way or another.
The thing is, we want more than relatable, we want recognition.
Many people try to discredit his pull with young voters by piggybacking on invalidating millennials themselves. The complaints about Sanders are the same as the complaints about us: we’re idealistic, we have no basis in reality, we have no plans to achieve our dreams – the kind of rhetoric that works to discredit our ideas and invalidate our opinions.
When I ask my peers how they feel about voting, many of them agree that it’s an important civic duty, but about a third of them also say they feel their vote doesn’t matter. If we let that happen, that’s a large portion of the vote that goes voiceless – we’ve grown up being discredited, it’s hard to get behind a system that you feel doesn’t work for you.
When the future – our future – rides on candidates who validate our concerns, treat us like adults, and give us a voice in a system that seeks to silence us, versus those who don’t, it’s no wonder where our support goes.
The eclectic mix of labor loyalists, gay rights advocates, antiwar protesters and political neophytes who gathered in a union hall here a few days ago may have never ended up in the same room together were it not for Bernie Sanders.
And they wondered whether they would ever come together again with this much excitement about a common goal.
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A campaign behind the Sanders campaign is starting to take shape, with the goal of turning his passionate army into something that doesn't end after he delivers a barn-burning convention speech in Philadelphia — and then gets overshadowed by a general election in which he is unlikely to be on the ballot.
"This is a hard conversation for many of us to have," said an open letter to Sanders written by Bronx teacher and union organizer Erik Forman, and signed by dozens of activists and academics, including Noam Chomsky. "We've been hurt before. ... We want this time to be different. Let's build something real together. Let's make not just a political revolution, but a social and economic revolution by building not just a campaign for president, but a lasting movement."
The letter lays out a plan for building a lasting advocacy organization that would rival the tea party or the National Rifle Assn. by leveraging Sanders' massive donor network and grass-roots organizing operation to win local-level elections and push a progressive agenda. Other Sanders supporters are meeting in Chicago in June to map out a plan for continuing the fight.
"This is the new Democratic base," said attorney Paul Logan. "I don't think that's going to end, no matter what form it takes."
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is cutting campaign staff as his White House hopes dim, but some S.C. Democrats backing the U.S. senator from Vermont are not willing – yet – to concede the fight for their party’s presidential nomination.
Still, S.C. Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison called Saturday for solidarity as Democrats gathered for their state convention to choose the delegates who will help pick the party’s nominee in July.
More than 1,000 S.C. Democrats showed up Saturday at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center to elect delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
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While a lineup of candidates ran to fill seven delegate positions for Clinton in the 6th District, only 10 people were vying for the single spot from the district available for a Sanders supporter. But, under Democratic Party gender equity rules, that Sanders spot had to be filled by a man, narrowing the field of candidates to four.
After the votes were counted, Hopkins resident Lawrence Moore snagged the 6th District delegate seat supporting Sanders. An active member of the party for three decades, Moore said there is “more than one solidarity” Democrats should keep in mind. There also should be solidarity in backing “our political revolution,” he said, referring to Sanders’ repeated pledge to transform the U.S. political system.
A lot of young Democrats and new people have become involved in politics as a result of the Sanders campaign, Moore said.
“We want to keep that enthusiasm. We want to keep those people on board, and the main way to do that is to champion the issues that brought them to Sen. Sanders in the first place.”
Employees at some of the biggest names in tech are in the tank for Bernie Sanders, but why and how is more complicated than it seems.
The Vermont senator who is running for the Democratic nomination for president is a popular guy among some of Silicon Valley's best and brightest, many of whom are opening up their wallets to show their support. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, of the companies represented among his donors, four of the top six are some of the largest technology firms.
Workers at Google parent company Alphabet have donated nearly $350,000 to the Sanders campaign this election cycle. Microsoft and Apple employees have given over $100,000 each, and workers at Amazon have contributed about $90,000. Sanders has also notable hauls from workers at Intel, AT&T and EMC.
"Bernie is the only candidate for president in my entire life that reflects my values very well," said Mark, a design engineer at Microsoft in his 50s who has given $250 to the Sanders campaign. He asked that his last name be omitted for privacy purposes. "This is kind of a no-brainer for me."
Aside from Sanders' historical approach to guns, Mark, who is not registered as a Democrat in his home state of Washington, says the senator reflects all of his political views on campaign finance reform, banks, social values, the economy and politics in general. If Sanders does not earn the Democratic Party's nomination, he will likely support rival Hillary Clinton, reluctantly, though he doesn't feel that "she should feel entitled to all of the left-leaning votes" and should have to work for them.
Mark isn't alone. According to a report from BuzzFeed, Sanders has outraised Clinton more than two to one among tech industry donors since the start of the election cycle, and since December, he has raised more per month than the former secretary of state, with the biggest spikes in late January and early February.
An unofficial poll by the Political Analyzer website released on Saturday predicts U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders will sweep to victory over nomination rival Hillary Clinton in the upcoming California Democratic primary election.
Although most polls, including a recent survey from Fox News, suggest Clinton holds a razor thin lead over the Vermont senator the Political Analyzer calculated that Sander’s holds over 60 percent of the Democratic voters support in the state after compiling data from Pew Research, Gallup, CNN and MSNBC surveys.
The political news website also said they analyzed the California electorate by dividing them into “age and ethnicity,” then “assigned the turnout consideration” and finally divided “counties in California and then in Macro-Areas.”
“The current situation in California tells us that the strength of Vermont Senator is still great and he’s by far the most popular politician. He currently reaches 61.25 percent of the vote,” the website states.
The Political Analyzer said that according to their calculations Sanders will score 60 percent of the votes among Hispanic voters.
Bernie Sanders, the U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful, will rally his supporters on Tuesday at Waterfront Park in Louisville near the Big Four Bridge.
The visit is Sanders’ first visit to Kentucky and comes two weeks before the Kentucky Democratic primary and on the same day as the Indiana primary.
Sanders plans to talk about getting money out of politics, his proposal to make public colleges and universities tuition-free, responding to climate change and providing health insurance to all, according to his campaign.
The event is free but the campaign recommends registering in advance at https://go.berniesanders.com.
Doors will open at 7 p.m. The event is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.