If there is ever written a history of Bernie Sanders winning the Democratic nomination in 2016, there will almost certainly be an event or series of events identified as the turning point in his come-from-behind battle against Hillary Clinton. Well, this afternoon comes an event, at 4:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time, that may become part of that hypothetical future history.
An enduring and persistent feature of Bernie Sanders’ campaign, almost from the very beginning, has been Bernie’s consistent ability to draw unusually large crowds to his events. He has filled State Fair Midways, hockey arenas, basketball field houses, school gymnasiums and auditoriums, theaters, convention halls and almost every other manner of mass public venue. From early on it seemed that he could even fill a large stadium if he wished, but he didn’t make any appearances at all with the potential for such giant crowds. As early as last August, some of Bernie’s supporters petitioned him to begin making stadium appearances, specifically, a football stadium in Alabama where Donald Trump appeared and couldn’t fill it up more than ½ way. But despite continuing to draw overflow crowds all over the country, Bernie still has not tried to fill up a 50,000+ seat venue.
Until today.
Can’t help but wonder why Bernie has waited so long to appear before such potentially large crowds? Why start here, and now, in Seattle, WA, and why not earlier, such as when begged to go to Alabama in August 2015? Some of the answers seem obvious; others, perhaps, less so.
The main thing is the structural design of the Sanders campaign and the purpose for which he conducts these appearances. These rallies are not simply entertainment, so that people can have a good time. These rallies are one of the fundamental organizing pillars if the campaign. They are the font from which spring Bernie Sanders’ social media and grassroots organizing strengths. Every mass gathering feeds the infobase of volunteers whose time and small donations power the pending political revolution.
Bernie has been turning-out huge, overcapacity crowds all over the Pacific Northwest. His organizing model has enjoyed great success in caucus states. A large trove of delegates is at stake in the caucuses in Washington tomorrow. Given all of that, the choice of Seattle for Bernie’s first mass stadium rally of the campaign seems increasingly like a no brainer.
But Bernie’s campaign only scheduled the Safeco Field rally two days ago. Let us hope that is enough time to draw in a capacity crowd. What happens today and tomorrow could eventually come to be seen as part of a turning point in Bernie Sanders’ uphill struggle against the strongly favored front runner. But that will not come to be unless Bernie fills the house tonight.
My younger daughter is a graduate of the University of Washington and is blasting out the event info to her social media universe. Anyone else who can do so through their own contacts in Washington and Oregon should do the same. Let’s help make sure we fill Safeco Field to the roof for Bernie Sanders for President.
H/T to theportlandprole, and Frank in WA for their stories noting Bernies Safeco Field appearance.