Our valley is full of smoke to the point where authorities are advising people to stay indoors. The West is on fire and shows no signs of letting up. (One fire of 60K plus acres in the Columbia River Gorge is expected to burn for two months as they concentrate on those fires near people's homes.)
Our second big Bernie meeting was planned for outside. The advisory forced us to cancel this morning, so a couple of us went down to catch those who had not gotten the cancellation notice. We had thirty people turn up and were at the park for two hours.
There were so many people there that they did not realize that this was not the meeting itself but simply those who had not heard it was cancelled. I had grabbed a bag of buttons as I flew out the door and did brisk sales. I also handed out our email so folks could get on our notification list.
One young man I spoke with has a degree who entered the workforce to hone his sense of what he wants to do and will now be returning to the university. His viewpoint is illustrative of why youth are so excited by Bernie's message. He said that he had been interested in politics when he was in high school but that his interest disappeared as he saw both parties and the political process as something that he could not influence and that had little to offer him.
He got a taste for citizen engagement over an issue he pursued in the Oregon Legislature. His bill did not pass, yet it gave him a sense of what could be done.
In Bernie's platform, which is the only one which offers youth bold and common sense solutions, he has found something he wants to fight for and he wants in.
What people who speak of polls and super delegates do not understand is the popular support for Bernie Sanders and his vision of America. People do not just prefer him over other candidates; they believe in the man himself and his vision as the saving of our government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Early grassroots organizing is doing two things as requested by the campaign: getting Bernie's message out and self-organizing. We hit the ground running--our Farmer's Market table was up three days after our July 29 meeting. We have not yet begun any voter registration, but we do have materials at the table for those who want it.
Bernie's candidacy will be bringing huge numbers of new registered voters into the Democratic Party like the young man I spoke with today. I am unsure how these things are monitored, but I am betting that the DNC will be tracking it. It is the rejuvenation that the Party has always said it wanted. If Bernie wins the popular vote yet is denied the nomination via the Super Delegate process, there will be hell to pay.
"We want Bernie" is more than a slogan.