We Feel the Bern: WA Helps Lead the Sanders Revolution

Thanks to the people of Washington State, Bernie Sanders’ pathway to Washington DC continues to gain momentum.

Bernie Sanders came to our state to tell the truth. This truth—the revolutionary idea that the economy, politics, and civil liberties belong to the people—led Washington State to name Sanders as their official choice for President!

I was a part of the painfully long line that coiled around the block outside Seattle’s Key Arena on March 20th. 11,800 patient and passionate people showed up to support Sanders in person. And while mingling with my fellow voters at the Democratic caucus on March 26th, held inside a middle school cafeteria, I heard only two arguments on why Sanders shouldn’t be the nominee. It was clear that an eagerness to have a progressive America is what propelled citizens to show up, voice their views, and cast their ballots.

According to Seattle King 5 News political reporter Natalie Brand, the margin Sanders had over Hillary Clinton was wider than what Barack Obama had over the then first-lady-turned-senator in 2008! As of March 26th, the New York Times reported that Sanders had earned 73% of the vote. But numbers no longer matter because we made what matters happen—Bernie Sanders will not be exiting the race until the Democratic Party crowns a winner.

A socialist-minded America is no longer a silly, unrealistic idea but a serious concept that people actually want to see. If problems persist for too long, people seek change. If promises made in congressional chambers and behind podiums earn only neglect from those who made them, people begin to realize that the problem may lie in whom they have been trusting.

In the midst of an era where Washington DC and Wall Street dance together on the same floor, Washington has become among the most progressive of states, comprised of people who want the government to be a venue of progress for all, not a venue of profit for a few! If we want the country to change, we need to decide what needs changing and where that change should begin.

“Sanders is the only candidate who tells the truth and doesn’t speak with a teleprompter,” I heard one of my fellow Sanders supporters say while we waited to get into the stadium. During his one-hour speech to one of the biggest crowds ever seen in WA political history, Sanders didn’t have one single sheet of paper with him! He didn’t need notes or a teleprompter. His sheer wealth of knowledge and experience made his case for him, not some canned rally speech written by someone else. His determination to combat Donald Trump’s kick-everyone-out mantra regarding immigration reform reminded us that immigration policy should keep families together, not tear families apart. His frustration with the justice system was expressed in his statement that “we should build more schools, not more jails.” And of course, his progressive values were captured in his rallying cry that “the government should represent all, not just the powerful few!”

Why did major news outlets and political analysts underestimate Sanders? They probably thought Sanders was another typical politician who says what aides tell him to say and what political desire needs him to say. Sanders doesn’t need to polish his words beforehand because the truth is always true. Sanders attracts crowds everywhere he goes. Not because people no longer want to have a free market, but because people have come to the conclusion that a free market should assist in the pursuit of happiness, not blockade against it.

Sanders may not make it to the Oval Office, but his campaign has brought the true meaning of freedom to the forefront of American minds. He reminded politicians and voters alike that the right to express our thoughts shouldn’t be our only right. The truth sounds beautiful when you hear it, and the Bern gives a soundtrack to the call for change!