2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe 13 Home-Run Lines from Bernie Sanders' Portland Speech
The insurgent Democratic presidential candidate from Vermont drew an estimated 28,000 people to his Portland event. The 19,000 supporters that managed to get into the Moda Center drank Widmer beer, chanted his name, and cheered a stump speech that pledged to dismantle the power of the billionaire class.
If you were among the thousands who missed the party, here are the 13 lines that most electrified the crowd. (At least as measured by our ears.)
12. We must end the embarrassment of this country being the only country on earth that does not guarantee workers paid medical and family leave.
11. We see kids getting criminal records for having marijuana, but the CEOs of these large institutions get away with theft.
10. On the Koch brothers: When you have one family spending more than either political party, that is not democracy, that is oligarchy, and that has got to end.
9. On Republicans: What they mean by family values is that our gay brothers and sisters should not be able to marry and enjoy all the benefits of citizenship. I disagree.
8. Men, stand with the women and demand pay equity. There is no defensible reason why women are making 78 cents on the dollar. That has got to change.
7. On attendance: Portland, you have done it better than anyone else.
6. A minimum wage of $7 an hour is a starvation wage. I applaud those citiesSeattle, Los Angeles and othersthat have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. And that is exactly what we will do at the federal level.
5. On the very rich: They control vast sums of money. But we have something they do not have. We have a united people.
4. Every public college and university in America will be tuition-free.
3. The cost of war is real, and it is terrible. I believe that war should be the last resort, not the first resort.
2. On his Supreme Court nominees: They will have to tell the American people that their first order of business will be to overturn Citizens United.
1. This campaign is sending a message to the billionaire class: Yes, we have the guts to take you on.
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-33573-the_13_home_run_lines_from_bernie_sanders_portland_speech.html
ibegurpard
(16,685 posts)LWolf
(46,179 posts)positive about Bernie.
zentrum
(9,865 posts)kenfrequed
(7,865 posts)He is willing to fight the wealthy ruling class. We need more candidates like him running for office in every state!
Start shopping for local candidates to support people! It is every bit as important as the president!
retrowire
(10,345 posts)"We say to wall st, you can't have it all"
has become
"This campaign is sending a message to the billionaire class: Yes, we have the guts to take you on.
it's become fighting words! yes!
We've waited for too long to have a national candidate do so.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)I know, I know, he has 'plateaued'. Lol. They wish!
George II
(67,782 posts)He's been in Congress since 1989 (26 years) - what has he done, other than voting for someone else's legislation, to accomplish any of this?
Indepatriot
(1,253 posts)I didn't drink a drop of Widmer while I was there, I swear.
LWolf
(46,179 posts)a Kill Devil Brown or one of the Imperial stouts, I would have had more than a drop, lol.