By Doug Porter
The big news yesterday wasn’t that Senator Bernie Sanders spoke in San Diego. It was the diverse crowd of 13,000 plus people who put their lives on hold for a day to stand up for a better world.
The line to get into the San Diego Convention Center started in the wee hours of the morning. By the time the doors opened at 4pm the line stretched forever. Halls D&E were filled with the first ten thousand or so people in line, and an overflow room was opened. And then a second overflow room was opened.
It is an article of faith among some Sanders supporters that their candidate gets short changed by the media. Today we’ll examine a sampling of local mainstream coverage of yesterday’s events.
As the Sun Rose Over San Diego
People were lined up outside the convention center as the sun came up. By midday, there was, according to Union-Tribune, “…a jovial crowd of some 500 to 600 people, carrying signs and decked out in Bernie gear…”
The swelling crowd included young and old, people of all races, and several students, including some who are not even old enough to vote.
Annie Price, a 16-year-old Mt. Carmel High School junior, said her dad let her skip school for the day to attend the rally. She said that if she could vote she would cast her ballot for Bernie. “I think he really cares about the country and the people in it,” the teen said.
A Marine war veteran felt the same way. Thomas Karl, a Camp Pendleton Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq and now lives in Imperial Beach, said he was voting for Sanders because he thinks he can fix the broken economy. “He’s all about taxing the rich and helping the poor,” Karl said.
The early crowd. Via Mark Lane, who was at the front of the line.
At some point in the afternoon, a handful of Donald Trump supporters appeared but left after it became obvious their attempts at taunting people waiting in line were mostly failing.
From the Union-Tribune, because ‘both sides matter’ (LOL):
About six supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held signs and engaged Sanders supporters in conversation at an area west of Embarcadero Marina Park.
They held signs that said “Make American Great Again” and “Bernie Likes Nickelback.”
Gaege Turnbow, 18, of Kensington, said the reactions ranged from respectful debate to people shouting obscenities at them.
In fairness, the UT’s coverage did include interviews with people who’d come from all over for the event. It wouldn’t be San Diego if you didn’t have some right-wingers show up… (I thought it was Ted Cruz who liked Nickleback.)
Other Progressive Candidates Included
Here’s Sarah Saez excellent collage of the march via Facebook
As word got out about RSVPs for the Convention Center appearance being booked up, Sanders supporters announced a second event; a mid-day rally at the plaza outside city hall, followed by a march through downtown to the waterfront.
From Fox 5:
“I appreciate him taking the risk for all of us. I feel he is the only honest candidate running,” event organizer Jim Boydston of Bay Park said. “He’s been in politics for over 35 years and nobody has been able to dig up any dirt on him.”
Boydston was a registered non-partisan voter who re-registered as a Democrat so he could vote for Sanders in California’s June primary.
“He doesn’t kowtow to the oligarchs,” Boydston said. “We the people can get our government back.’
This second event allowed local campaigns of the progressive persuasion to get their candidates seen and heard by the partisans fir Bernie. I saw city council candidates Sarah Saez and Jose Caballero, along with city attorney candidate Brian Pease during my swing through the event. (See coverage from yesterday as it happened, here.)
Some KUSI coverage of the march and rally:
Finally…
The event didn’t actually start until well after its promised 8pm start time. Actress Rosario Dawson (did you know she can speak some Klingon?) introduced Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Or rather, she would have if the crowd wasn’t already going wild.
From The Washington Examiner:
Actress Rosario Dawson
Actress Rosario Dawson introduced Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally Tuesday night in San Diego, commending the Vermont senator on his “bold leadership” and ability to draw youthful crowds.
“This [election] is … about the soul of our country, the soul of our policies and about our vision,” she told an enthusiastic audience. “We do not need incremental change, we need bold leadership. And that’s what Bernie Sanders brings to the conversation.”
The “Daredevil” star began her speech by bashing the “mass media” for what she perceives as a nasty habit of already calling the Democratic presidential nomination for Sanders’ opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“I see all of you, and I’m so grateful that you’re here. Unfortunately, the mass media says don’t even bother,” she said, as the crowd booed. “I’m really glad that you showed them what’s up. We have to keep doing that. There is a lot that’s at stake.”
Here’s a tweet from CBS8 showing Sanders arrival on the stage.
.@SenSanders takes the stage. This is how San Diego greeted him. >>> https://t.co/8zTDgW23g8 pic.twitter.com/TDLUto8BSi
— CBS News 8 (@CBS8) March 23, 2016
Here’s a video of Sanders entire speech:
The Focus Was Elsewhere
Screengrab
For much of the local coverage, the focus was on things happening outside the convention center halls.
There were primaries and caucuses for Democrats in Idaho, Utah and Arizona yesterday.
Voting in Arizona was, by just about every account I read, a real tribute to Republican efforts to suppress the vote. The number of polling places was slashed by 70%. People were still waiting in line at 11pm, even after the “results” had been announced on the national news.
From Think Progress:
Due to a history of racial voter suppression, this southwestern, Republican-controlled state was one of nine previous protected by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013. Following that ruling, the state tried to force residents to show a proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, but that policy was blocked by federal courts.
“In the year 2016, candidates for President should not be resorting to hatred and bigotry.”
Today, the state makes it more difficult to vote through a strict voter ID law, which does not accept student IDs as valid proof of identification. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey also signed legislation in March making it a felony for any group or individual to collect mail-in ballots from residents and turn them in. The governor said the measure would prevent voter fraud and ballot tampering, though there is no documented evidence of either problem.
Native American communities in Arizona also face barriers to voting. In order to register or vote early, tribal members have to drive up to four hours to reach a county office. The “permanent address” requirement for registering and voting also disenfranchises lower income residents who move from town to town for work, and low literacy rates among tribal members prevents many from participating. And though the state’s ID law allows tribal identification cards to be used for voting, many tribes don’t provide such cards to their members.
Here’s City News Service, via KPBS:
Via Mark Lane
Even though Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders lost the Arizona primary, he told a large crowd in San Diego that he hoped to post victories in a couple of other primaries Tuesday night.
About an hour after he finished his speech at the San Diego Convention Center, Sanders learned he had won the Utah caucus.
Even with the victory, Sanders did not win enough delegates to make up for his loss earlier in the night in Arizona to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Sanders also won Idaho.
Content and Context Matter
Ken Stone at the Times of San Diego went with the ‘we won’t vote for anybody but Bernie meme.’
He was talking about 33% of Sanders supporters who now say in the heat of the primary season that their candidate is the only one who matters.
Been there, done that. Had the Eugene McCarthy for President button to prove it. A whopping dozen people were interviewed by the Times…
The Times article did include what was going on inside:
The guy in the sunglasses approves of what Sanders was talking about…
Scheduled to start at 8 p.m., the rally didn’t begin until 8:27, when TV and film star Rosario Dawson made a heart with her hands and said:
“You’re here because you’re talking to each other” and not at the orders of the Democratic National Committee. “We need you now more than ever. Youth has been on the right side of history on every issue.”
And: “If you want to beat Trump, vote Bernie.”
Sanders recited his popular-with-young-people plans, including free public-college tuition, loosening of marijuana limits and campaign finance reform.
He got the usual laughs with: “I have been criticized for saying this, so let me say it again: I believe health care is a right for all people.”
But perhaps the biggest cheers from an estimated 8,800-person indoor audience came when he said his campaign would side with Latinos on immigration — and against a Trump-proffered mass deportation.
Si Se Puede and Give Peace a Chance
Responding the Sanders comments on immigration, the crowd broke into a chant of “Si Se Puede” (Yes We Can). When Sanders expressed condolences to the victims of the bombings earlier in the day, the crowd flashed peace signs.
From NBC7 San Diego:
The Democratic Presidential Candidate stopped in San Diego for the rally more than two months ahead of the winner-take-all California primary in June.
“When we began this campaign we talked about a need for millions of people to become involved in the political process,” Sanders told supporters. “Tonight in Utah, tonight in Idaho, and tonight in Arizona there are record-breaking turnouts.”
Sanders stressed the importance of reform in the criminal justice system and defeating ISIS, among other issues.
He said his campaign listened to the concerns of youths, military veterans and the elderly.
“We were considered a fringe candidacy. Now who, who in America, the media said, could believe in a political revolution? Now, 10 months later, we have now won 10 primaries and caucuses, and unless I’m very mistaken we’re going to win a couple of more tonight,” Sanders said to cheers at the rally.
FYI– On the Republican side of the campaign, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz spent the day taking pot shots at each others wives.
On This Day: 1775 – American revolutionary Patrick Henry declared, “give me liberty, or give me death!” 1932 – The Norris-LaGuardia Act established workers’ right to strike. 1942 – During World War II, the U.S. government began evacuating Japanese-Americans from West Coast homes to detention centers.
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Doug Porter
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Right on, right on, right on!
10’s of thou8sands more could not fit inside. Many more were outside!!!
Maybe we could get an official crowd count from the city? Maybe we could measure the number of Bernies’ people who showed up last night against Hillary’s when her cortege drives up the coast to La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe to fundraisers. I suspect there’ll be very few stations covering those fundraisers.
So proud to be in the crowd last night. Bernie’s the real thing! I trust him to make the right decisions for my family, my Country, and my planet! Not too many people around in politics who would take that trust and actually work to fulfill each promise made! Feel the Bern!
I was very disappointed at the online options to watch Bernie’s speech live. The YouTube video had very bad audio, so my search for other options led me to the Democratic Underground where in addition to the speech, the long lines in AZ were also shared. My impression was that at least some voters were dissatisfied about being inconvenienced to have to wait hours to vote. Apparently, the number of voting places was reduced from 200 to 60 as a “cost saving measure”.
I am very concerned that Bernie may lose the primary because of rigged voting machines, “lost” ballots, voter suppression or other illegal tactics. Our current voting system needs to be reformed, standardized at the Federal level with the Federal Election Committee held accountable for oversight failure.
Amen to this. The Republicans are shutting down the polls in Arizona. Is it legal to deny people the vote?
Thank you for this article!
NBC7 said “The Democratic Presidential Candidate stopped in San Diego for the rally more than two months ahead of the winner-take-all California primary in June.” This is incorrect. The Democratic Party has a proportional system. The Democratic delegates in California will be assigned proportionally. This means if Bernie wins 70% of the vote, he gets 70% of the delegates. Feel the Bern!
nice 1!
it’s a beautiful thing to see the people finally rejecting the candidates of the elite few who benefit at the expense of the majority.
Bernie’s right in the game – except for the rigged political class / special interest weighted – “super delegates.”
if the elite political class of wall street banksters & their well compensated mainstream media henchmen – oppose a candidate(s) – that’s likely because the candidate(s) – isn’t in their pocket!
Bernie v Trump – is the contest we should be having & deciding on – with the 3rd party candidates participation as well.
Vaya con Dios
Excellent coverage, Doug! That’s what it’s all about.
The last estimate I heard was 13 to 18,000 in attendance at the Bernie Rally. There were at least one, maybe two, spill over rooms. Several people commented that Petco Stadium should have been used. Certainly I know a number of people who gave up and never made it in or were discouraged by the size of the immediate signup on the website.