Seattle is a very progressive town. Seattle elected Kshama Sawant a Socialist to the city council who spearheaded the drive for a $15 minimum wage, the first in the country. So its follows that a lot of locals would want to see Bernie Sanders. So they came streaming into Alaska Airlines Arena filling it to its capacity of 12,000, with 3,000 more out front who couldn't get in (Bernie spoke to them too).
Symone Sanders, Bernie's' new National Press Secretary introduced him.
Bernie make his entrance to a thunderous standing ovation.
Bernie gave a rousing speech one a whole array of topics including: Income Inequality, Black Lives Matter, peace with Iran, Global Warming, Youth Unemployment, Restoring Voting Rights, Paid College Tuition, Reducing Interest on Student Debt, Paid Vacations and Sick Leave, 12 weeks of Paid Maternity Leave, Creating a Path to Citizenship, Reversing Citizens United, Public Financed campaigns, Breaking up the Too Big to Fail Banks, Ending Private Prisons, Police and Sentencing Reform, Pay Equity for Women, and Marriage Equality. All music to these liberal ears.
Interrupted by chants of "Bernie! Bernie!"
It was a standing room only crowd.
This is the Arena where the UW Huskies play basketball. Back in the day it was a concert venue and I saw my first concert here in 1969.
Bernie's wife Jane joined him on stage after the speech.
Sanders rally in Seattle
By Heather Graf
An estimated 15,000 people packed Hec Edmundson pavilion to hear Senator Sanders speak at a rally later in the evening.
"All across this country, people are sick and tired of establishment politics, establishment economics, and they want real change," Sanders told a cheering crowd.
The democratic presidential candidate spoke on a range of issues including healthcare, climate change, trade and big money in politics. He also proposed free tuition and a $15 dollar minimum wage nationwide, praising Seattle for taking the lead.
"Today we have a horrendous tragedy in terms of youth unemployment in America," Sanders said. "Too many lives have been destroyed by the war on drugs, by incarceration. We need to educate people. We need to put people back to work."
In addressing the "Black Lives Matter" movement which took over his earlier rally, he said: "No president will fight harder to end institutional racism and reform criminal justice system," he told the cheering crowd.
In closing, Sanders told the crowd, "I hope the thousands of people here tonight are prepared to think big and not small. I hope you can imagine a country where government works for all of us and not just a few."
Updated: The BLM protest took place at an earlier event (not sponsored by Bernie's campaign) that Bernie was to be one of the speakers at. We shouldn't judge an important movement like Black Lives Matter by the the excesses of a couple of individuals who are part of the movement. Shouting down others is an ugly counterproductive tactic. The instigators were a group named
Outside Agitators 206. They created a
Black Lives Matter Seattle facebook page just yesterday. Outside Agitators 206 seems to be an anarchist splinter group that focuses on BLM and driving a wedge between BLM and the Democratic Party. Their facebook page links to a site named
Black Agenda Report with this reveling passage:
To succeed, the Black Lives Matter Movement must transform the politics of Black America. By definition, that means declaring war on the Democratic Party, and forcing Black politicians and activists to choose between the Party and the people’s struggle.
Hat tip to kbman.
Portland rally could be biggest yet for Bernie Sanders