Bernie Sanders
Related: About this forumHope And Distress In Kentucky – The Bernie Sanders Rally
BY MICK PARSONS
If the passion and focus of the organizers, volunteers and performers wasnt an indication of the push behind Sundays rally at the Tim Faulkner Gallery in Portland, the banner certainly was. Local artist Mathieu Blake explained that the decision he and the other artists Alexandra Pavek, Angela Ramsey and Eclus made to depict the American flag upside down was not meant as a sign of disrespect.
Its a sign of distress, he said. It means Save us Bernie Sanders.
Rally organizer Daniel Sherrill admitted he was surprised how quickly the event grew in such a short amount of time. I expected maybe a hundred people and maybe three bands, he told the audience that came out to support a presidential candidate who, according to conventional wisdom and mainstream media, does not have a chance.
One thing that resonated throughout the day, besides the heat, was the sense of optimism among the volunteers, organizers and attendees. The other thing that resonated was the fact that most of the key organizers had little or no political campaign experience before the rally. Organizers were expecting around 1,600 people, based on the number of Facebook RSVPs. Volunteer coordinator Tom Stevens who was one of the couple of people with political campaign experience said the event was really organized at the last minute. Within a week of the event being posted on Facebook, he said, it was clear that it could be much bigger than anyone was planning.
Of course, anyone who has used Facebook understands and has probably contributed to the phenomenon of Facebook inflation the tendency for people to indicate they will attend events and then not show up. This did not dissuade any of the organizers, volunteers or performers, however. Volunteer sign-up coordinator and Kentucky for Bernie Sanders Facebook page administrator Scott Lee was on point to answer questions and to take down information for people interested in volunteering for future events. Attendees were asked to sign in at one of three tables so that an accurate count could be kept. Food trucks were set up in the back parking lot to accommodate anyones hunger and the bar was open to quench peoples thirst. A table was set up in the middle of the main gallery for those who either needed to register to vote or those who wanted to switch their party affiliation.
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http://www.leoweekly.com/2015/07/hope-and-distress-in-kentucky-the-bernie-sanders-rally/
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)Not AstroTurf from consultants, focus groups, and purchased endorsements...all funded by big corporate dollars.
Trajan
(19,089 posts)I am definitely on the right team ...
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)daleanime
(17,796 posts)merrily
(45,251 posts)Kentucky, folks. Not even Pennsyltucky.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)And, as I keep saying, Bernie is getting more and more attention every minute of every day.
The storm continues.
silenttigersong
(957 posts)His changing "yes we can"to yes we will":
turbinetree
(24,745 posts)help , and I will give what I can to get him into office
Honk ----------for a political revolution Bernie 2016
AzDar
(14,023 posts)Bernie!!
jwirr
(39,215 posts)voters.
I read the article twice and I must be too tired or something. Does it say how many actually showed up?
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)They got about a third of the RSVP's...they had about one hundred sign up to to work...and there was that 1600 number.
At a minimum, there were at least a hundred...I guess.
marym625
(17,997 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)The crowds will grow.
My father was a minister. Sometimes very few people showed up on Sunday mornings. That was especially true in the summer because the church building was a huge old place (located in a neighborhood that had once been upper class and was now inner city and poor) and not air conditioned.
My mother would count the number of attendees, and my father would ignore the numbers and answer her, "The people who needed to be there were there."
When the numbers are disappointing, enjoy the intimacy and the opportunity to get to know your core organizers. Small meetings are just as important if not more important than the big ones in terms of finding out who is really reliable. Those who show up at small events can be counted on to fan out and organize more. Never despair when crowds are small. Just enjoy the people who are there. They are dedicated.
Admiral Loinpresser
(3,859 posts)This is what it takes.