A headline in the Idaho Capitol Sun blares: More than 12,000 Idahoans attend Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez speech in Nampa. Idaho is no one’s idea of a friendly territory for Democrats, let alone Democratic Socialists. In 2024, the state went to Trump by 36%. Nampa itself is no liberal oasis in a conservative desert. It’s in Canyon County, ID, which went for Trump by 47%
However, on Monday, Andrew Luther, general manager of the Ford Idaho Center (the latest stop on the Fight Oligarchy Tour) reported that the arena was standing-room only. And the crowd got what they came for. Fire and red meat from Bernie and AOC. Her message was simple:
“We’re here to flip this state.”
Long shot? Of course, it is. An achievable goal? You would be nuts to bet on it. Planting a seed? Why not? Democrats need to keep MAGA on the back foot and nervous. The energy isn’t just in Democrat strongholds. It’s spilling over into enemy territory,
AOC took on Trump directly. She used the Democrats’ most effective weapon. She told the truth. The Democrat’s young star called the Bozo in the Oval a “criminal,” a liar, a “rapist,” and a stock market cheat — but the world’s most incompetent autocrat was not the only target of her well-aimed arrows.
Did GOP politicians use inside knowledge to profit from Trump tariff’s gyrations? Of course, they did. And those who didn’t are kicking themselves for their failure to grift. MAGA is the philosophy of personal economic growth at the expense of the rest of us. AOC highlighted the most egregious offender and leading contender for DC’s most oleaginous, the Georgia Screech. In the New Yorker’s words:
“We saw Marjorie Taylor Greene buy that dip. I got one question for her, how much did you make? How much did make off of people’s despair? How much do you make off that panic? How much to do make off of that suffering no more?
We can’t accept it! It was all; I hope we see now that it was all about manipulating the markets so that he could quietly enrich his friends who bought the dip before reversing it all in the morning.”
AOC continued by pointing out that the rot in Republican politics starts at the top and is a fundamental feature of cynical, right-wing opportunism. Or, as she said:
“Boise, this is a matter of fact. Donald Trump is a criminal who was found guilty of 34 felony counts of fraud! Liable for sexual abuse! Of course he’s lying and abusing and manipulating the stock market too!
When he talks about rapists and criminals, he should look in the mirror!”
She warmed to her theme. And told a universal truth. Many politicians are smarmy bastards who play the game for their own benefit — not yours or mine.
“But back to stocks. To be clear, I don’t care what party you are, Democrat or Republican. It doesn’t matter how powerful one is or the position that one holds. Members of Congress holding and trading individual stock is wrong. It is corrosive. It is destructive. And it needs to be banned!”
Good stuff. But if I had one nit to pick, it is this. No doubt there are a few Democrats that show the same self-serving and expedient morality of most Republicans. But let Democrats focus on the sins of their opponents. There is no shortage of Republicans willing to leap on the slightest misstep of their opponents without liberals giving them ammunition.
Regardless, the crowd loved the speakers and the energy. So, maybe I’m wrong. Especially as I am on the East Coast, and Bernie and AOC are boots on the ground, deep in enemy territory, swinging away like the warriors they are.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, poses for a selfie with attendees during a stop on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour on April 14, 2025, in Nampa, Idaho. (Photo by Otto Kitsinger for States Newsroom)
A warm-up speaker pointed to a key campaign point for the Democrats — healthcare. The Idaho Capital Sun reported:
Before the politicians took the stage, local family physician Dr. Penny Beach spoke about health care in Idaho, where the number of physicians per capita is the lowest in the country, and a near-total abortion ban has further exacerbated that shortage, leading some OB-GYNs and half of the state’s maternal-fetal medicine specialists to leave the state and practice elsewhere.
“We have created laws that criminalize health care providers and have led to almost 25% fewer OB-GYNs practicing in this state,” Beach said in her remarks. “We’ve seen labor and delivery units shut down. We’ve seen several attempts to repeal Medicaid expansion despite overwhelming public support. … It’s wrong, and we’re here to say, ‘Enough.’”
Attendee Marissa Locati said she went to the rally because she wants a better future for her 11-month-old son, particularly with his future education in mind. The new mom and lifelong Idahoan said she’s also worried about reproductive rights.
“I want to make sure that I am protected. I want to be able to have the family I want and the size that I want. If any health concern pops up, I want to make sure that I can take care of it. That my health care is just as important as my husband’s or my son’s.”
Karing Nial, a Boise resident, was concerned about rights in general
“We’re losing our rights every moment of the day, and nobody’s doing anything about it. I am so disappointed in our elected officials. I’m so disappointed in Congress. I want them to stand up and do the right thing, and no one is doing it, so the people have to.”
One thing 2025 should have taught the Democrats is that, as 1980s Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neil said, “All politics is local.” The narrowing House margins in Florida and a liberal’s 10-point win in the Wisconsin high court race (despite Musk’s $20 million attempt to buy the seat) demands that the Democratic leadership in DC let local politicians run races tailored to talk to local voters.
What works in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, does not necessarily work in Nampa, Idaho.
Bernie and AOC are not the only charismatic speakers the Democrats have. While leadership dithers in DC, let them take the fight to where MAGA lives.
