Bernie Sanders For President 2016

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Amber Gets To Vote

Posted by Unknown Thứ Hai, 21 tháng 3, 2016 0 comments

Editor's note: Little did I know when I wrote about voter suppression in Ohio on March 15 that we would see such blatant voter suppression in the Arizona primary the following week. Here is a succinct article that explains what happened in Arizona's most populated county: http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/elviadiaz/2016/03/22/maricopa-county-election-officials-writing-off-voters-you-bet/82145554/

There are petitions circulating online demanding an investigation into the voter suppression/voter fraud which occurred in Arizona. Here are two links where you can sign:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/do-revote-arizona-primary-due-voter-suppression

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/investigate-voter-fraud-and-voter-suppression-arizona-3222016-democratic-party

Voter suppression isn't funny--it's downright ugly. It smacks of racism and discrimination against the poor and minorities, the young and disabled. Speak up and speak out about abuses in our elections! Sign the petitions and share the links with others. The vote you save may be your own.

You can contact Arizona Governor Ducey About your concerns about #ArizonaVoterFraud at the link below:
AZGOVERNOR.GOV
http://azgovernor.gov/governor/form/contact-governor-ducey

Amber Gets to Vote
(This Woman is Bernie Strong)

words and photos by Cindy A. Matthews

After a long week of coordinating canvassers in your small Ohio city, heading to your local precinct on primary day to vote for Bernie Sanders is something you’d look forward to, isn’t it? So, imagine your frustration when once you arrive at your polling place you’re told you cannot vote because you don’t have proper ID so go on home and forget about it. This is Amber’s story.

Unfortunately, Amber’s story parallels other voters’ stories as well. Young and/or never-voted-before voters were actively discouraged to take part in the political process on March 15 in North Carolina and Ohio--and more than likely elsewhere. (Read about Illinois' solution to ballot shortages.) The “political machines” of the two “major” parties don’t encourage big turnouts because lots of new and idealistic voters like Amber could lead to radical change in the established system. In other words, the two major parties teach their polling staffs to turn away anyone who doesn’t quite fit their mold. Amber, a young woman who hasn’t voted before, didn’t fit their mold.

The story begins: When I returned to Amber’s home with my turf sheets from canvassing, I noticed something amiss. Amber acted very sad and angry. Her boyfriend Chris said while he was able to vote Amber couldn’t because she didn’t have the proper ID according to the poll workers. Her driver’s license had expired, and she had only a medical bill to prove she lived in her new home since the utilities were still in her mother’s name. Amber did have her Social Security card and birth certificate, so she could prove she was a citizen, but the poll workers wouldn’t accept a non-utility bill as proof of residence. I asked Chris had the poll workers suggested Amber vote a provisional ballot instead? Chris said they hadn’t. I said we should contact the Ohio Secretary of State’s office for information.

Knowing that Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted had recently tried to deny the rights of 17 year old eligible voters to vote in the primary, I had a feeling his office wouldn’t be too helpful. They weren’t. Chris told me the person on the phone said, “Oh, well…” like the poll workers had earlier in the day. The polls would be closing within 90 minutes, so we didn’t have time to waste. I called one of the Bernie campaign organizers who had helped set up the canvassing in our area, and we got the number of a voter protection hotline staffed by volunteers.

Chris made a quick call to the hotline and explained Amber’s situation. My thoughts were confirmed: Amber should be allowed to vote on a provisional ballot. She shouldn’t have been turned away. We piled into my car and drove back to Amber’s precinct. There we watched as she requested a provisional ballot and finally talked to a poll worker who was willing to give her one and show her how to mark it. Amber got to vote.

While this story has a satisfactory ending, the lessons we Bernie volunteers learned on primary day were clear: You should never take your voting rights for granted. Those in positions of authority can deny you your rights either at their own volition (they’re lazy or can’t be bothered) or because they were told to discourage new voters by their party officials. Chris said the people on the hotline were grateful he’d called back to tell them of the outcome of Amber’s situation. They'd heard from others in Ohio having difficulties voting, and Amber’s experience added to the growing body of evidence of deliberate voter suppression.

I hate to think of all the others who were turned away at the polls on March 15 and at earlier primaries. How many of those discouraged voters were young or without a permanent address or without one of the usual forms of identification such as a driver’s license or utility bill? It's quite telling how some poll workers can’t be bothered to help new voters exercise their right to vote. No, these politically-motivated poll workersprefer to turn voters away. This behavior demonstrates just how little the rights of the 99% mean to establishment party politicians. They’re more concerned with their big-ticket corporate campaign contributors than their actual constituents.

More than ever, Amber’s experience at the polls demonstrates how much we need a political revolution. We need to make sure that voters like Amber are never turned away and discouraged from voting ever again. We need to elect a person who has ordinary voters’ rights in mind and not the rights of the corporate-owned, super PAC-dominated establishment. We need to elect Bernie Sanders--the candidate funded by ordinary people and not super PACs--as President of the United States.

Because every vote, every ballot counts--including a provisional one. Amber’s smile after she voted proves it.

***

Welcoming Bernie to the Glass City

photos by Adrian and Cindy Matthews

What happens when you get an email with less than 24 hours notice that Bernie Sanders is arriving in your area and volunteers are needed to help out at the rally? You drop literally everything and do whatever it takes and then some.

Here are some of our photos from A Future to Believe In Rally at the SeaGate Center in downtown Toledo on March 11, 2016. Even with such short notice, there was quite a turn out in the Glass City--an estimated 2400 people attended. We were treated to speeches from many great speakers including former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Rep. Michael Futrell of Virginia and farm labor activist Baldemar Velasquez. And Toledo was the first to hear long-serving Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur's official endorsement of Bernie as the next President of the United States. The jam-packed convention hall roared its approval!

The lines started at the front door and went around the building...and then around the block and then around the next block. Everyone waited patiently. We were blessed with mild weather with temps in the 50s, quite warm for Northwest Ohio in mid-March. The whole gamut of humanity was there--all colors, all creeds, young, old, families with kids and babies and a couple of protesters with "Socialism is Evil" signs across the street. I heard people went over and chatted friendly with them later that morning. I hope they were invited in to listen to Bernie's speech and learned more about what "democratic socialism" really means.

The hall had quite a different lay-out to the previous rallies we attended at E.M.U. in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Baldwin-Wallace University south of Cleveland, which were held in basketball arenas. The SeaGate Center is basically a big concrete box, and even as volunteers, you're not guaranteed a special place to sit or stand. After we'd helped take contact info from Berners standing in line and at the door, we squished into the hall and stood on the floor near the back. Seeing Bernie from a side angle across a mass of people (a lot of whom are taller than you are) takes some doing, but the acoustics and sound system in the hall were good, so we didn't miss a word of what any of our speakers said.


I'm waving my sign for Bernie.

I'm glad we had a variety of speakers before Bernie talked, especially our own Kristin Robideaux (who runs the Toledo Bernie Sanders campaign office) and Skip Angles, a UAW member who worked at the now famous Autolite spark plug factory in Fostoria. NAFTA and other disastrous trade policies took a heavy toll on many NW Ohio communities such as Fostoria. From 1300 good-paying union jobs in the early 1990s to less than 70 jobs today, the Autolite facility has become practically empty as jobs and machinery were shipped off to Mexicali, Mexico. Poor Fostoria possesses the sad, resigned air of a town that once thrived but is now barely alive--and for how much longer? Bernie's message of putting American workers' jobs first before the billionaires' personal profits resonated well with Northwest Ohioans. Our corner of the state gave him a significant number of votes last Tuesday.

If you ever get a chance to help out at a Bernie rally, grab it. You won't regret it. Each of us is just one small cog in the machine that is the political revolution our country desperately needs if we want to live in a democracy and not under the power of the oligarchy. Bernie Sanders brings ordinary Americans together and preaches tolerance and compassion to all, as he says, "Love trumps hate." Compassion will be the order of the day when Bernie is in the White House. Government #OfThePeople, #ByThePeople and #ForThePeople will be restored once more.

***

Here's a story that I hope will inspire us all to become more active in phone-banking for Bernie. Tobey shows us how to get it done!

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/03/11-year-old_bernie_sanders_volunteer.html

Sing along with the following song while you're promoting the political revolution. And remember all you voters in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Hawai'i and Alaska this week--Vote Bernie, Be happy!

Team Bernie Brings America Together

Posted by Unknown Thứ Hai, 14 tháng 3, 2016 0 comments

This week on The Bernie Blog we take a look at some intriguing opposites in the "Berniverse". We have a male's perspective and a female's perspective. We have the perspective of a Big Ten college rivalry tradition. We have the heartfelt commentary and photo of those who heard Bernie speak in Toledo this past Friday. The Ides of March are upon us... Come on Team Bernie, we can do it! We can bring America together for a future to believe in!

Why America Should Elect Sanders
by Dirk Droll

Note: The original and far longer article appeared on Beantock's World.

Bernie Sanders has stood for what is right throughout his 34 years in elected office and even before. He knows the system inside and out and doesn’t in the slightest seem to have been corrupted by it. Now, as America desperately needs a true people’s candidate for its presidency, he makes the sacrifice to run for the office instead of taking a well deserved retirement. He has lived a full life and may not even survive his presidency. Thus, he can boldly stay his course on the issues.

Sanders has little reason to be as timid as Obama has been, a man who promised us so much but delivered so little. Obama had huge popular support. He was our first black president; his very existence improved our record of racism in the eyes of the entire world. He also had promised real health care reform and vowed to close the great shame of our nation, Guantanamo Bay. On neither of these he delivered. Instead of wheeling and dealing and giving in, Obama could surely have shamed his opponents, named them publicly every time they were blocking him. We would have supported him. His opponents would have felt our anger. We loved Obama then and would have done much at his behest. But he didn’t have the guts to challenge the establishment. He didn’t dare.

Sanders is known to dare, and he can afford to dare greatly – having little left to lose at his age. Bernie Sanders was an independent most of his years in public office. This alone takes balls in the American political system where the two big parties monopolize access and rising to national political office without party support is nearly impossible. This fact speaks for an enormous dedication to the people’s issues and an adamant resilience against being bought by the establishment. It also speaks for Bernie's loyal voters who knew what they had in him. Only for this presidential race, so as not to be blocked by the monopoly, nor to risk ushering in an outlier from the far right by splitting our vote, has Bernie Sanders joined forces with the Democratic Party. It used to marshal common people’s issues in the past but needs renewal like our whole system does.

This move proves Sander’s political acumen. He knows what he’s doing and when to do it. I can’t believe our luck that we have one like him stepping up to the plate at this critical time. We better take advantage. It may be a while before another like him comes along.

Bio: Dirk Droll, aka Beanstock, has had a long string of careers and writes in his spare time about life, the universe, and everything, both seriously and in jest, sometimes even both.

***

This week's "This Woman is Bernie Strong!" takes a look at how women have been unnecessarily polarized in our current political discussion.

This is Not Progress

Generational Polarization of Women
in the Political Debate

A perspective

by Suki Liebow

I have recently read about, and personally experienced, women from older generations, prior Secretaries of State and acclaimed feminists alike, attacking younger women for their choice to support Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in the upcoming election.

"There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t support Hillary,” said Madeleine Albright. Gloria Steinem stated (and later apologized for saying) that “Young women support Bernie Sanders because they want attention from boys”.

I have been accused of being unsupportive of women and ignorant to the history that made it possible for women to vote because of my choice to support Sanders over Clinton.

In light of these recent disturbing attacks on women of younger generations by (some) self-proclaimed feminists, let’s visit the meaning of the word feminist, shall we?

Feminist: advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men

Interesting that “feminist” does not, in fact, mean "anti-man." Nor does it mean voting exclusively for women.

The statement, “Young women support Bernie Sanders because they want attention from boys,” implies that young women aren’t smart enough to think for themselves when it comes to politics, and that their political motivations are not based on information and education but on their desire to have sex. It is a sexist and demeaning statement to all women of younger generations, and it seems remarkably similar to the despicable arguments used to keep women from having equal rights in the first place.

If there is, in fact, a “special place in hell for women who don’t support women,” wouldn’t there be one for you, Madeleine? Isn’t your statement expressing a blatant lack of support for young women to exercise the very rights that you fought for them to have? In an attempt to understand why older women would attack younger women in this way, I came up with this speculation.

It seems the older generation feminists feel invalidated by younger women in their fight for equal rights. Perhaps the older generation, having fought for the right of a woman to even run for president, take offense to the choices of younger women to vote for anyone other than the woman who made it on the ballot. The fact that there is a woman on the ballot being enough reason to gain the vote of the generation who fought specifically for her right to be there.

I can see why things could get a little heated.

While the mere thought of a female candidate was seen as a far cry from reality in generations past, in current times, many of us have surpassed the novelty stage of "a woman in office." Therefore younger generations have the luxury of focusing on the issues, character, and agenda of the candidates without regard to gender. Believe it or not, this is progress!

The younger generation thinks less about this critical fight for women’s rights, not because it doesn’t matter, or because we’re a bunch of ignorant, uneducated snotbags, but because we now have this right. Since we have the right, we are no longer focused on fighting for it. This is not intended to be dismissive of the very real struggle that took place in order for us to gain this freedom. It is simply the natural progression of taking action on the issues that are present now.

The irony is this: The very platform from which the younger generations are speaking from was built by the older generations. Think about it. This fight wasn’t fought so that women would be obligated to vote for women alone. It was fought so that women could partake in the political process.

Well, We Are!

As a woman of the younger generation to the older generation, I’m asking you, please stop criticizing us for standing on the platform that you built. Isn’t this why you built it? Stop berating us for speaking our minds and voting our conscience. You taught us to do just that.

Stop insulting us with sexist comments about our political motivations. All your efforts are wasted if we become our own oppressor.

Stop accusing us of being unsupportive of women simply because our opinions don’t always agree with yours. We have a different view of the world, and it is valuable, too. Instead of berating us for taking advantage of the liberties that your efforts afforded us, let’s celebrate the significant progress and accomplishment.

This is the freedom you fought for. Not the freedom for all women to have one opinion. Not to dictate whom she should vote for, but to have the freedom to vote in the first place. To be a part of the political process in the way we, as individuals, feel morally compelled to.

While you had the issues of your time and faced them with determination and steadfast resolve, the younger generations have a whole new set of issues to contend with. Because of the progress you made in the fight for women’s equality, we can now face the fight on the broader issues of the world by educating ourselves and voting our conscience, the way you voted yours by fighting for our rights in the first place.

Regardless of who we vote for, the point is that we have the freedom to vote. We, as American women of all generations, are standing up to do so.

Bio: Suki Liebow has been writing on the topic of emotional processing for over 20 years, and is preparing the release of her first full length book. Suki founded a unique method of emotional processing that facilitates productive communication leading to more successful relationships.

After a childhood wrought with challenges, Suki’s perseverance and dedication to this development have yielded a great many successes and admirable accomplishments. Through her Emotional Processing method, Suki brought herself from being alone on the streets as a thirteen year old girl, to founding multiple businesses, speaking as an invited guest around the country, and teaching classes. She continues to develop practical tools for personal development.
Suki lives in San Francisco, California.

***
Ohio Bernin'!

Ohio Bernie Supporters have been issued a challenge--we must turn out in record numbers and beat Michigan's voter turn out. We can't allow this challenge to go unanswered, so answer the call and tell all your friends and family to come out and vote for Bernie in Ohio on March 15. We can't let Team Bernie down!

Illinois, Missouri, Florida and North Carolina--get out and vote, too. Everyone else--keep phone-banking, Facebanking and canvassing. We can do it! Team Bernie has a can do attitude!

My husband and I volunteered to help run the extremely last minute Toledo rally for Bernie on Friday. Our photos are coming soon, but here's our friend Tim who got to shake Bernie's hand and snap a photo with our next president. Exciting, isn't it? #FeeltheBern Buckeyes and get out and vote!

And here's a great commentary on the rally by Theresa Williams:

BERNIE SANDERS RALLY, TOLEDO, OH: I wanted to say something about the Bernie Rally today to hopefully counteract a lot of the negativity surrounding Bernie's campaign and his supporters. I was so proud of Toledo.

The rally was supposed to start at 3:30 with doors opening at 1:30. Allen and I got there at 12:30 and the line was already very long. It turned a corner around the building and kept going beyond. Everybody was patient, spending their time in small groups discussing the issues. When we finally rounded the corner, we saw two protesters on the other side of the road holding up signs, one of which said, "Socialism is not the answer." No one jeered or screamed at them. No one made rude gestures. Instead, one of the volunteers crossed the street, smiling, and engaged them in conversation. Both sides were listening to each other.

We got seated in the bleachers by 2:30. Bernie didn't speak until 5. It was a capacity crowd, but everyone was patient, yet excited. These were attentive, informed people. Bernie's speech was powerful and had all the things in it you've come to expect from Bernie but my take away was a sense of togetherness. Bernie brought us all together in a common cause, to make life better for everyone. He was completely inclusive.

I have had the pleasure of voting in many elections, but I have not felt so strongly about a candidate since I was 13 and following Bobby Kennedy. This man is authentic. He cares. He will make a great president. #BernieSandersToledo

We'll Rise and Follow Bernie!

Posted by Unknown Thứ Hai, 29 tháng 2, 2016 0 comments

We'll Rise and Follow Bernie!

It's Super Tuesday this week--and many voters will rise and follow Bernie to the polls. Our authors give their reasons why they feel confident to "follow the leadership" of Bernie Sanders as he takes on corporate-owned, establishment candidates and the greed of the Wall Street billionaire banksters. As Bernie says, "Democracy is not a spectator sport." So, get out and vote #AmericaTogether !

Also, we have another installment of "This Woman is Bernie Strong!" and the editor's reflections on seeing Bernie Sanders and Nina Turner at the recent A Future to Believe In Rally in the Cleveland area.

http://youtu.be/iStLqEaKNCI

Bernie's Song

Sung to the traditional Scottish air, Sound the Piobrach

Lyrics by Manus Brennan from Donegal, Ireland

Hear the people, Hear them roar
From great Vermont to the Texan shores
Let every and woman sing
We'll rise and follow Bernie!

Chorus:
With Bernie's song we sing along
With Bernie's strength we will march on
To Bernie's dream we all belong
We'll rise and follow Bernie.

The USA belongs to We
The people of this great country
And not to Billionaires they'll see
US rise and follow Bernie

Our young must have fair chance in life

Without the worry and the strife

Of poverty and broken lives

We'll rise and follow Bernie

Chorus:

With Bernie's song we sing along

With Bernie's strength we will march on

To Bernie's dream we all belong

We'll rise and follow Bernie.

No more their lies and blatant greed

The banks will meet the people's needs

And corporations pay their share

We'll rise and follow Bernie

Instead of bombing foreign lands

We'll help them with determined hands

Our strength will lift the common man

We'll rise and follow Bernie

Chorus:

With Bernie's song we sing along

With Bernie's strength we carry on

To Bernie's dream we will march on

We'll rise and follow Bernie.

He lit a the torch in Burlington

We the people pass it on

From state to state to Washington

We rise and follow Bernie

Hear your people hear them roar

From coast to coast, from shore to shore

The revolution has begun

We'll rise and follow Bernie

Chorus:

With Bernie's song we sing along

With Bernie's strength we will march on

To Bernie's dream we all belong

We'll rise and follow Bernie.

* * *

Bernie Sanders: From Political Science Fiction to a Force Set to Radically Disrupt the Political Marketplace
by Hugh Campbell

In his article Is Bernie Sanders the ‘Star Wars’ of politics? David J. Adams compares Bernie Sanders to Star Wars’ Obi Wan Kenobi who awakens Luke Skywalker to his own potential. Sanders is demonstrating that the common folk, the everyday working families, the farmhands in remote parts of the political galaxy, actually do have power, that they can influence the political system and bring about change, that they can liberate themselves from perceived oppressors and have the better world they want.

As with Star Wars, the Sanders’ brand, his story, taps into our deepest longings. We want to believe the promise of "a new hope." We want to believe a better world is possible. We want to believe that by uniting together as a people we can awaken a force that can defeat the dark side.

Unlike any candidate in recent memory including Obama, Bernie has ignited the imagination of possibility, of the eyes-wide-wow of what if… What if he can win? What if this political revolution, this grassroots movement is for real? The fact that an independent, self-declared, democratic socialist is on the verge of upsetting a candidate entrenched in the Establishment is proof for even the most skeptical to question whether there might be something real about this thing called "the force". Perhaps "of the people, by the people, for the people" isn’t just some fairy tale notion passed down through the colonies. It’s true. All of it.

Bernie Sanders: This campaign is not about me; it is about you.

Bio: Hugh Campbell is a seasoned financial professional, currently providing subject matter expertise on a variety of regulatory topics, including the Dodd-Frank Act, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and overall compliance monitoring. Hugh has previously held positions as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Chief Audit Executive (CAE) and Director of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Compliance.

* * *

This Woman is Bernie Strong!
a weekly commentary from Bernie Sanders' female supporters

This week we continue with Part 2 of Allison Place's "Dear Mrs. Clinton" letter.

Dear Mrs. Clinton,

You attempt to utilize the rhetoric that works so well for Mr. Sanders and try to apply it to your own campaign. To your chagrin, however, you’ve probably noticed that it doesn’t work.

Why doesn’t it work? Well, it doesn’t work because we have brains. Yes, the word is out: the American people, the young feminists of the world, the people who go out and vote actually have brains. Mrs. Clinton, you undoubtedly have your supporters for one reason or another, and I have no intention to discredit what they see in you. Perhaps they are drawn to the fact that you are a woman running for office, or maybe they think that your years of experience make you the most suitable candidate.

I don’t really see that, though. I don’t care about your experience. All your experience tells me, from when you were the wife of a governor in Arkansas on the board for Walmart and Tyson meats to where you are now with your obscene speaking prices being funded directly from Wall Street, is that you can be bought. Mrs. Clinton, this is a problem. I don’t know how you let yourself get this deep without knowing that this a problem, but it is.

I will not vote for a candidate who is owned by corporations. These corporations are the very entities that make it impossible for a living, working wage. These corporations are responsible for 65% of new income going to the top 1%. These corporations are responsible for the ghastly conditions of sweat shop labor in other countries. These corporations are responsible for treaties like NAFTA, which deeply damaged the American economy by sending domestic labor to other countries to do for cheap. These corporations are responsible for the corrupt political system we have today and they are part of the reason that young feminists will not vote for you.

Bio: Allison Place says this about herself:
"I am 19 years old; I am a Media Studies major at UC Berkeley; I have worked in social media brand management. I am from Redding (the most conservative county in California). My support for Bernie and my interest in politics took off once I came to UC Berkeley for school. Ever since Bernie started running, I have been considering a minor or double major in political science. I usually write comedy articles for my blog, but since getting more involved in politics I do a mix of both comedy and political pieces now."

***

I Shook Nina Turner's Hand!
(And Bernie Smiled at My Sign)

by Cindy A. Matthews
photos by Adrian J. Matthews

We did it again--we attended our second A Future to Believe In Rally within two weeks and survived. We braved treacherous snow-covered roads in our county on our early-morning two hour trip to Berea, Ohio. Baldwin-Wallace University's Lou Higgins Rec Center, a slightly smaller venue to last week's Eastern Michigan's Convocation Hall, was jam-packed with Berners all the same. We estimated at least 2,000 in attendance, but it could have been more. Best of all, this time we didn't have to stand two hours+ outside in line in sub-freezing temps. However, after our bone-chilling experience in Ypsilanti, my husband and I were overdressed and could really "feel the burn" once everyone was crammed into the older basketball gymnasium.

For a very last minute rally, it was well attended by a variety of people. College students were there--of course--but also young families with babies in arms and toddlers in tow. There were retirees and proud veterans wearing their emblem hats and jackets, and of course there were progressive Baby Boomers wearing our political revolution t-shirts. The Nurses United union members showed up in their customary red shirts, and I even spied one young person wearing a banana costume... What can I say? You see all types at a Bernie Sanders rally.

A pre-rally concert of energetic jazz violin got the ball rolling. Nina Turner introduced Bernie with an inspirational cheer. She is pure poetry in motion. Even in the muddy acoustics in the gymnasium we understood her perfectly. Feel the Bern! This time we sat much closer to the podium, and at a very interesting angle. We sat behind Bernie and slightly to his right on the lower bleachers overlooking the podium stage. I have to admit it was different. Watching Senator Sanders deliver his stump speech while staring at his bald spot in the midst of his silver-white mane, you really do get a feel for how he gets into his message via his body language. He uses his whole body to wave his arms and hands about--those gestures are coming from his heart, from deep down in his soul. You can't fake that level of sincerity, and it's why so many connect instantly with him.

Another thing we learned from our vantage point behind the podium is that Bernie wears brownish-green colored pants with his navy suit jacket. Who needs to match suit pieces when you're standing in front of a podium? His own "GQ Look" as he likes to joke about isn't off-putting at all. In fact, he reminded me of my dad who also dressed in differing colors of suit pants and jacket. Bernie Sanders comes across as an ordinary guy who'd rather wear comfy casual slacks and a well-worn sweater any day of the week. Who wouldn't want to sit down and share some barbecue and a beer with him?

www.youtube.com/embed/2G0IJIamHk4
( Nina's introductory remarks in Cleveland. It's much easier to hear and see her from this angle.)

I counted at least eight to ten Secret Service personnel surrounding the very small podium platform where Bernie gave his remarks. We also spied at least a couple of military-fatigue-wearing "Bomb Squad" officers. Along with local sheriff's deputies and the TSA running security at the doors, once again we felt, that while we may have been in the middle of a large crowd, it was probably the safest place in America to be.

Bernie's stump speech seemed slightly abbreviated from the one he gave at E.M.U., but that could be because I've memorized large portions of it. Last time we saw him, Bernie had just come from Flint, Michigan, and he had been visibly upset about the experience. This time he was traveling from the Cleveland area up to Flint to run a town hall with the citizens of that community. I really think Nina Turner convinced Bernie that he needed to return to the Buckeye State if only for a brief visit. A new poll by Baldwin-Wallace University of "likely Ohio voters" shows Bernie with a 1% lead over Clinton. We've got to keep the momentum going, Ohio! Get out and canvass, phone bank or flyer today.

With the Ohio primary on March 15th, I took a chance after the rally to shake Nina Turner's hand and was bold enough to ask her to convince Bernie to come to the Toledo-side of the state. We desperately need Bernie Sanders in Northwest Ohio. NAFTA has drained away the well-paying union factory jobs, the car industry and other disastrous Republican policies have all but decimated our communities. She said she'd like Bernie to come to western Ohio, so we'll see. (I'm thinking they'll do a rally in Cincinnati/Dayton in the southwest corner. Campaigns gravitate toward the bigger metro areas, but I think Nina would be pleasantly surprised at the turn out in our corner of the state.)

What really made our long and snowy drive to Cleveland worth it to me was when Bernie--after shaking hands of the young people standing up around the podium area, signing posters and taking selfies with co-eds--started toward the gym exit with his Secret Service detail. Most of our section of the bleachers had cleared out, so we moved down several rows to watch Bernie shaking hands with the kids down on the gym floor. All of a sudden, a man in a crisp black suit and sporting an ear piece was standing next to me. I realized he was a Secret Service agent and his job probably was to make sure no one threw anything on top Bernie and Jane as they exited from the gym directly below us. I asked if I needed to move and the agent told me that I was fine where I was. (How nice of him. Bernie's security detail are very pleasant.)

I waved my "NW Ohio (hearts) Bernie 2016" sign and shouted, "Bernie! Come and visit us sometime!" just as Bernie and Jane walked under us. Then it happened: Bernie looked up and smiled directly at me! Yeah, he was smiling broadly and chuckling at my crazy Valentine-inspired sign with his face in the middle of the heart. I hope it made his day.

Next time we get a chance to attend a rally, I want to shake Bernie's hand. Maybe he'll even remember my crazy sign with the heart. It's a fan girl moment of "squee" for certain, but it's a lifetime memory to be able to say, like Larry David, I made the next President of the United States laugh.

Bernie Sanders For President 2016

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Amber Gets To Vote

Team Bernie Brings America Together

We'll Rise and Follow Bernie!

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