We just finished up a truly remarkable few days on the road. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and I held five rallies in three states in three days. And the response was incredible.
North Las Vegas, Nevada
We began in Las Vegas on Thursday where we were joined by Congressman Steve Horsford — a former member of the Culinary Workers Union and past Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. The last time Donald Trump was in Las Vegas, in January of this year, 2,000 people came out to his event. 3,200 people joined ours. It was the largest event I have ever held in the city.
Tempe, Arizona
And then it was on to Tempe, Arizona. And that was pretty crazy.
The largest rally turnout we have ever had in the Tempe-Phoenix area was 11,300 in 2015 when I was running for president. This weekend, in a non-campaign event, 15,000 Arizonans turned out. Not only was the arena filled to capacity — many thousands waited outside in the parking lot. Remarkable.
Greeley, Colorado
On Thursday we began the day in Greeley, Colorado. Greeley is a small city with a population of 108,000. Well, 11,300 of those Coloradans joined our event. There were more people in the overflow area outside, nearly 6,000, than we could fit into the gym.
Denver, Colorado
And then it was on to Denver. Total insanity.
When you run for President you hold a lot of rallies. And I have. But I’ve never held a rally like this - ever. At Denver we were joined by great musicians and speakers from the trade union movement. And 34,000 people turned out. 34,000 people! This is, by far, the largest rally that I have ever held anywhere. And, by the way, it is a larger number than Trump ever had in Denver.
Tucson, Arizona
On Saturday morning we had our last rally - in Tucson, Arizona. We were joined by Congressman Greg Casar from Texas -- the Chair of the House Progressive Caucus. It was a warm, beautiful day. We were planning on 8,000 to 10,000 people attending. We were wrong. Over 23,000 showed up at the high school football stadium.
Our job in the days, weeks and months ahead is to energize and organize.
We need to hold meetings and rallies in all 50 states, and then do it again and again and again. And when those rallies are over, we need to organize the people who attend to mobilize in their communities and fight back in every way we can.
We need progressives to run for office at all levels. I am talking about school boards, city councils, state legislatures and the races that are not in the news but make a tremendous difference in local communities. I’m talking about races for governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate.
But it’s not just running for office. At a time when many of our people feel lonely and isolated, we need to build community and bring people together. In the deepest sense we need to care for each other and give each other strength.
Bernie is very good at rallies, perhaps even better than Trump.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in his first run for president, he was largely ignored by the national media although he was covered by the local media.
Trump on the other hand was largely made by the national media because he understood television and what attracts the national media. His rallies have largely been a secondary phenomenon.
By and large Trump has had from the beginning about a third of Americans who are for him, and that has remained constant. Unfortunately, those are also Republicans which means that he has been able to bully his way into control of the Republican party, and now into running the presidency in the same fashion, governance by intimidation.
The Republicans have only a slim majority in the House. If history is prediction, they should lose the House in 2026 which would put a break on Republican total control. So, grassroots rallies are the way forward.
Total Republican control also means that they have total responsibility for what happens. No Democrats to blame. This is especially true since Trumpism has taken center stage. People are going to be looking for blame. Republicans at the local level are far more vulnerable than Trump and Musk.
What will Trump do about Bernie? Well, he could make him and the progressive wing of the Democratic party the big threat to MAGA. However, if he does that, he will also give Bernie's movement national media attention.
Interesting! The response shows there is a lot of energy for change. Of course Bernie and AOC are well known and do these events well.
ReplyDeleteIn-person events are attracting a lot of attention. Nebraska Congressman Mike Flood held a town hall meeting in Columbus ,NE, last week. It attracted national attention. This article was from AP: https://apnews.com/article/republican-town-halls-nebraska-mike-flood-7d6adeb1690e16009711c8fb67ea4c0c
Congressman Flood got his ears burned, though people did give him credit for holding a town hall, even against advice from his own party.
He is the representative from my district, and I live in Columbus. No, I wasn't at the meeting.
The High Price of War with Iran: $10 Gas and the Collapse of the U.S. Economy
ReplyDeleteNetanyahu's government is going down and he wants to take America with him.
Dennis Kucinich Mar 25
On September 12, 2002, as a Member of Congress, I grilled then-former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a congressional hearing entitled, “An Israeli Perspective on Conflict with Iraq” (video and transcript link below). Despite evidence to the contrary, he testified that Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein, were a direct threat to America due to an alleged pursuit of WMDs including a nuclear weapon. He urged the U.S. to take military action against Iraq.
I inquired of him who else he would have the United States attack.
“Iran and Libya,” he said.
I spoke to Mr. Netanyahu outside the hearing room and asked him that if he was so convinced those countries were a threat, why didn’t Israel commence the attacks?
“Oh no,” he responded. “We need you to do it.”
The economic effects of war with Iran could spell the end, not only of the viability of the Trump Presidency, but of the Republican House and Senate, a political turnaround the likes of which has not been seen in American politics since the 1932 sweep led by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal.
In 1928 Republican Herbert Hoover took 58.2% of the popular vote and defeated Democrat Al Smith 444-87 in the Electoral College. Amidst a complete rejection of Republican economic policies and the Depression, Roosevelt took 57.4% of the popular vote in 1932 and defeated Hoover in the Electoral College 472-59.
The 270-164 advantage which House Republicans held in 1928 evaporated in 1932 as Democrats crushed Republicans with a 313-117 majority.
There has not been another turnaround like this in American political history and it was driven by the economic forces which overwhelmed a Republican Administration, followed by a program of promised reform which the new Administration delivered.
While the Administration is at the fullness of its expression of unbridled power, it faces a fateful decision regarding Iran which will determine whether the mandate received by Trump in 2024 evaporates as quickly as did Hoover’s in 1932.
According to this article, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/5/what-russia-wants-from-israel-iran-escalation-chaos-good-war-bad
DeleteWhat Russia wants from Iran/Israel escalation is chaos but not war. Russia has been getting support from Iran with the Ukraine war. I don't think Trump wants to piss Putin off, so I don't think he'll agree to the US attacking Iran. If he did, that would truly be crossing the line into nuclear war likelihood. We are delusional if we think Iran doesn't have nuclear weapons by now.
Friends - does anyone know how to call Jean or otherwise contact her? It’s been a week since her last comment. I thought of her just now because I saw something about March 17 not just being St Patrick’s day, but the feast day of St Gertrude , patron saint of cats and those who love them. When Jean feels the need to take a break she usually tells us. I consider all of you to be friends and I’m worried about Jean.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYes
DeleteI have a personal email address for her - I just sent her a note. I hope she responds promptly and with news that she's okay.
DeleteHeard back from Jean. Taking all her energy at present to deal with her health. Told her I wish I could do something besides pray.
DeleteThanks for the update, Jim. We’re all so far away from each other, we can’t even bring over a cooked meal. But we care nonetheless. So we pray.
DeleteThanks for the update, Jim. Yes, continued prayers!
DeleteThank you Jim. Prayers redoubling. If you have an address you could share with us privately or know the name of her parish, I could send meals to be delivered. I don’t often look at the account I used for Jim McCrays discussion ( another voice that we still miss) group but my email is there. Come to think of it I imagine Jeans is too. But, like Stanley, I would love to be able to bring over some soup!
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