Last night Bernie Sanders spoke to a capacity crowd at the Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. The event was clearly organized to promote Bernie as a Democratic candidate for president. People were handing out stickers urging him to run as a Democrat. The Wake County (Raleigh) Democratic Party chairman was on the podium with Bernie and spoke highly of him. Others on the podium included an AFL-CIO official and a student political leader from NC State University.
The atmosphere was enthusiastic about Bernie and his democratic socialist program. He arrived to a standing ovation and when he outlined his answer to the current economic crisis – renovate infrastructure, raise the minimum wage, single payer health insurance, reduced military spending … - the crowd applauded heartily.
One questioner from the audience asked Bernie how he should respond to friends who don’t like the fact that Bernie is a Socialist. Bernie replied, “I’m glad you asked that question. I am a socialist, a democratic socialist.” There was scattered applause. He then went on to describe the social safety net in the Scandinavian social democracies – universal health care, free education k-PhD, paid parental leaves, unemployment insurance and retraining. He said that you should tell your friends that this is what it means to be a democratic socialist. This time, the applause was overwhelming.
I have read comments on this site that claim Bernie has no base in the Democratic Party or that he can’t run in the Democratic primaries because he is not party member. Well, that doesn’t seem to have stopped North Carolina democrats from greeting him and his program with open arms.
As more people hear what Bernie stands for they will flock to his banner. People who don’t usually bother to vote because neither of the parties has anything to offer them will vote in droves. People who think they will be a shoo-in for the nomination will have another think coming.
To quote the sticker that people were wearing last night
RUN BERNIE RUN as a Democrat for president