On Friday, April 12th, Bernie Sanders hosted a political rally at James Madison Park in Madison, Wisconsin in preparation for the upcoming Presidential Election in 2020. With over 2,000 people in attendance, Sanders spoke about his campaign and the ways that he would bring change to the nation. There is major significance in this rally and his tour among the Midwest and the “rust belt.” The “rust belt” refers to the states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, ending in northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and southeastern Wisconsin, where Trump significantly won in 2016, arguably allowing him to win the election. Sanders has started his tour a year before primary elections choose both the Democratic and Republican nominees, giving him an early-bird advantage with voters.
James Alexander, a Milwaukee cook and union activist, gave the opening speech for Sanders. Alexander, along with many others in the foodservice industry, do not have access to health insurance and have to pay out of pocket for medications. Alexander has organized the first food service union in his hometown that focuses on workers’ rights. He said that he supports Sanders because he believes in the promise of change that Sanders has mandated. “If cooks, servers, waiters and waitresses can take on billionaires and multinational corporations to win our union, working-class people around the country can take them on to elect Bernie Sanders and win Medicare for all, living wages for all and unions for all,” Alexander said.
At the rally, Sanders discussed how the current executive branch isn’t fulfilling what it promised to the American people in its campaign. He called President Trump a “pathological liar” and said that “[he] can understand why people voted for Trump based on what he said — and the reason for that is in Wisconsin and all over the country, there are a lot of people who are hurting … Unfortunately, Trump lied when he said that he would listen to their pain.” Sanders then promised that he would represent the working people of the United States by making his campaign based on economic, racial, environmental, and social justice.
Sanders also talked about his campaign motto, “Not me, us” and how he plans to carry that through to the government if elected as president. “No president — not Bernie Sanders, not anybody else no matter how well-intentioned or honest that person may be … can do it alone.” He believes that political change needs to be collaborative between elected officials and the nation.
Sanders also says that he supports tuition-free colleges and universities, climate change prevention, raising the minimum wage, more accessible Pe-K education, reduced military spending, criminal justice reform, a more “humane” border policy and tax reform in his agenda.
This is only the beginning of candidates visiting Wisconsin before the primary elections. Currently, Wisconsin’s primary election will be held on February 18, 2020, with a nonpartisan primary on April 7, 2020. Remember that your voice matters no matter which political party you align yourself with, so use your voice and power to vote!