The politics
At rallies generally the warmup speeches throw some red meat to the crowd. Bernie’s were some of the harshest I’ve ever heard, particularly given that they were all about Hillary and not the Republicans. One union leader said that “some candidates picket with strikers, others cause strikes.” Another, that universal Medicare would never happen if “we elect corporate democrat whores.”
Tim Robbins said that Bernie “has taken principled positions where others have compromised” — a line that could’ve come from Cruz’s mouth. They cut off Spike Lee’s rambling speech ala the Oscars.
I found Bernie’s speech underwhelming. Someone wrote that he’s a better diagnostician than clinician, which I buy. Other candidates have paragraph-long thoughts or at least try to sprinkle some policy protein alongside the sugary applause lines. Bernie does away with the substance, either because he finds it unimportant or simply doesn’t have detailed answers. With Putin on the march and ISIS blowing up European capitals, the only foreign policy points Bernie mentioned were Hillary’s 2002 vote and Henry Kissinger. I did like his nod to Stonewall, only a few blocks away from his podium.
The Trump-Bernie parallels were more striking. Just as Trump walked on stage with the Beatles’ Revolution, Bernie’s songs also revolved around this theme playing Muse’s Uprising repeatedly. Both their overall tones weren’t optimistic but dire. Bernie’s crowd, of course, was much more diverse and young. Of course, yuge differences remain, but the horseshoe theory is a thing.
At the end of the day, I may not agree with Bernie’s policies or approach, but it was really encouraging for democracy to see twenty thousand young people show up for a political rally.
One thought on the debate: Bernie’s head weave when Hillary called him out on unrealistic proposals is brilliant.
The scene
There were many epic Bernie bros. But my favorite had a ‘Fuck Trump’ hat in the style of ‘if youre reading this its too late’.
It was pretty fun hearing Vampire Weekend sing “do you wanna fuck/like you know I do” at a rally. They got a little cute saying that they had to bust out the acoustic guitars for a Washington Square Park show. Ezra also said that even though he brought some Columbia acapella singers into NYU turf, there was no better time to put aside “bourgeois rivalries of private universities” than a Bernie rally. “Shoutout to CUNY!”
It goes without saying that there was a lot of weed. Someone told Andrew Cuomo of CNN to watch out for contact high, and he responded “why do you think I showed up for this in the first place?”
I wore my jazz cup sweater to fit in. Never have I gotten more compliments for this sweater.
There were a lot of teenagers at the Bernie rally.
This is the first campaign advance person I’ve ever seen rocking New Balance
