Western Massachusetts feels the Bern

Oct. 8, 2015 | Angelique Fiske
angelique@thereminder.com

Error

Could not find template: Explorer/default-display

Sen. Bernie Sanders paused during his speech to acknowledge the cheers of the 6,000 people who attended his rally at the MassMutual Center on Oct. 3.
Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs

SPRINGFIELD – “Feel the Bern” chants rang out at the MassMutual Center on Oct. 3, as approximately 6,000 people welcomed Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to Springfield.

Sanders made the stop in Western Massachusetts on his way to Boston, discussing national issues from income inequality to reform of the criminal justice system. Sanders spoke to the crowd for about an hour.

With Massachusetts as a Super Tuesday primary state, in the past it has been rare to see presidential candidates campaign here. The rally attracted press coverage from around the Northeast.

Environmentalist Bill McKibben, Lexi Ouellette, a sophomore at Brandeis University, and Karen Higgens, co-president of National Nurses United, introduced Sanders.

McKibben said there is a movement forming around Sanders, especially regarding climate change.

“Bernie is a very rare politician who says what he means and means what he says … He will not end these things by himself. He’s building a movement, not running a campaign,” McKibben said.

The “grassroots” movement had raised $26 million that came from 650,000 donors with the average contribution about $30 as of the day of the rally, according to the the Sanders campaign.

As the crowd left the MassMutual Center Sanders volunteers waved donation envelopes with many people stopping for them.

Sander’s rally provided a contrast to fellow Democratic candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who appeared in Holyoke earlier in the week at a fundraiser at the Log Cabin. While the Sanders event was free to attend, Clinton’s asked attendees to donate $500, $1,000 or $2,700.

Standing fervently against political action committees, or Super PACs, Sanders spoke about the importance of publicly funded elections and how, if elected, he would work to overturn the 2010 Citizens United decision.

He spoke about the amount the Koch family has spent in the 2016 election.

“You have one vote. They have one vote and $900 million to purchase the candidate of their choice … I want this country to have the most vibrant democracy in the world,” Sanders said.

Sanders continued the message that has served as his campaign’s foundation: income inequality and getting big money out of politics.

He suggested that the United States has a “rigged economy,” which has caused the middle class to disappear.

“No president can do what needs to be done unless we have a political revolution. That’s not rhetoric; it’s reality. Corporate America and corporate media have so much power,” Sanders said. “No president can do what needs to be done unless millions of Americans come together and say loudly and clearly, ‘Enough is enough.’ … When we come together, we can help everyone, not just wealthy campaign contributors.”

Though Sanders said no one issue is more important than another, he said some tie together. Sanders pointed to high youth unemployment rates that he said correlate with the United States having “more people in jail than any other country on Earth.”

The focus is misplaced, he said.

“We need to invest in jobs and education rather than jail and incarceration,” he said.

When Ouellette introduced Sanders, she spoke of crippling student debt that hinders the ability of some to attend a college or university. Sanders’ plan for tuition-free public higher education, she said, would benefit everyone.

While he has received criticism for his proposal, he said “it ain’t” that radical. The program would be funded with a tax on Wall Street transactions by “investment houses, hedge funds and other speculators,” according to the plan.

“I believe that every person that has the desire and ability should be able to get a higher education … Our legislation allows people to refinance at the lowest interest rate they can find and gets the government out of the business of profiteering on student debt,” Sanders said. “Today, it’s Wall Street’s turn to bail out the middle class.”    

Countering his Republican colleagues, Sanders challenged their idea of family values, which he said includes limiting a woman’s decision for her own body and objecting to gay marriage and paid family leave. Sanders has promised to fight for three months paid family leave.

“Forcing a mom to separate from her newborn baby is not a family value. It is the opposite,” Sanders said. “Every mother, regardless of income, has the right to stay at home with her newborn baby.”

In the hour-long speech, Sanders also touched on the need for reasonable gun control legislation, immigration reform that would create a clear path to citizenship and raising the federal minimum wage.

“If we stand together, there is nothing we can’t accomplish,” Sanders said to cheers.

People from as far away as Maine and New York  came to Springfield for the rally. The Garrett family traveled from Hamden, CT, to listen to Sanders speak in Springfield. Dan Garrett said they are a “Bernie family,” including his three young children.

“He’s consistent. He doesn’t have to backtrack,” he said. “Bernie’s on the right side of issues. It’s exciting to have him here.”

Calliegh Wile and Dakota Smith of Chicopee said, as voters in their 20s, they have been excited to follow the Sanders campaign.

“I love Bernie Sanders. He definitely pays attention to the people who are in need,” Wile said. “I’ve never seen so many of my friends into politics.”

Smith echoed her statements.

“My friends thought I was crazy for being interested before,” he said. “Now it’s the thing to do.”

After speaking in Springfield, Sanders spoke to a crowd of 20,000 in Boston.

Managing Editor G. Michael Dobbs also contributed to this story.

Share this: