Bernie Sanders Tacoma Dome Rally Report

Lisa and I were among the first several hundred people in line at 3:00 (an hour and a half before the doors opened) when we arrived in chilly weather to get in to see and hear Bernie Sanders at the Tacoma Dome yesterday.

 

Bernie Sanders chose Tacoma (YES! TACOMA!!!) as his first Washington State stop this campaign season, and he was mighty surprised to see the entire Tacoma Dome (capacity 23,000) filled, top to bottom (including the “nose-bleed” section) with electrified, stomping, uproariously enthusiastic supporters.

 

Selfie of Kris and Lisa by Lisa Twining Taylor

But let’s start at the beginning and re-visit the event chronologically…

As we entered the Dome each attendee was sent through airport-type security scanners (YAY!) to be sure we weren’t planning some kind of atrocity once inside. Backpacks, purses, and anything else that could contain something were opened and scanned and everything had to come out of our pockets and placed in trays for security people to see.

 

Once inside, we were directed to Section 117 to begin our descent toward the arena floor to find seats. Lisa and I were three rows back from the front and about eight seats in from the right-hand aisle nearest us. There were no Bernie signs in our seats, as there had been in Seattle in 2016 when we saw him there at Husky Stadium, so we were a little disappointed by that as we had expected ready-made signs to hold up. (Later, signs and bumper stickers were distributed, so all was well.)

 

From where Lisa and I sat, we were about 150 feet away (I’m guessing; we were probably closer than that) from the podium where Bernie and the rest of the speakers spoke.

 

Three different musical artists arrived and performed to start off the event: a hip hop artist from (I think) Mount Vernon, a local African American blues singer (she was wonderful), and another band that was also very good. They were all LOUD. I had to put ear plugs in during the hip hop singer because the sound system was  painfully over-serving.  (I think the decibel level was lowered some soon after, because I was able to take my ear plugs out then without wincing.)

 

After that, several local Native American tribes came on stage. The leaders of the Puyallup Tribe welcomed us to the Dome (which sits, as does most of Washington State) on ancestral tribal lands. They told us about their support for Bernie because he is an environmental advocate like no other on the scene today. They also educated a lot of the attendees about how they’re fighting the fossil fuel industry here in our own back yard. They received riotous applause, cheers and foot stomping for that.

 

 

 

They also had several speakers from other local tribes speak a few words in their native tongues (which they are relearning in a concerted effort to reclaim their history and culture) about why they support Bernie Sanders, which they translated to English afterward. Again, cheers all around.

 

Finally, they sang an extended Honor Song accompanied by drumming for the literally hundreds of missing and presumed murdered or kidnapped for the sex slave trade indigenous women  from tribes throughout the west. That ceremony was extremely moving. I had to close my eyes to keep from wetting my shirt with tears. (Several spilled anyway.)

 

Sometime during the long waiting period before Bernie took the stage, both Lisa and I had to use the bathroom, so we took turns holding our seats while the other ascended slowly upward against the incoming attendees to the bathroom.

 

On my way back down the stairs to my seat, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to find Yolanda “Red” Smith Markle trying to slow me in my tracks so we could hug and say hello to each other. We said we’d look for each other there, but I was pretty sure that would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Well, Yolanda found HER needle, and I was delighted to be able to say hello quickly before returning to my seat.

 

All of a sudden, Jesus appeared on the arena floor. Yes, Jesus. Well, a reasonable facsimile, except this Jesus was probably far cuter than the real Jesus. He was dressed in a white robe and sandals and had a red sash. He was holding a BERNIE SANDERS sign and walking around  getting all kinds of attention. People went to him for selfies and photos.

 

I joked to Lisa, “Wait’ll I tell my sister Jesus endorses Bernie Sanders. She’ll lose her ever-lovin’ mind!” Lisa quickly snapped a photo so we have proof if I ever decide to play that card. (I doubt it. If you read my last blog post, you know why. I have to find a way to survive on the same property with her, and so we will not be discussing politics again.)

 

At about 7:15 or 7:30 other speakers began ascending the stairs to the podium. Among the first was Socialist (with a capital S, no Democratic Socialist here!) Kshama Sawant, whose blatant misuse of the term conflated Bernie’s democratic socialism with hers. There were a number of people in the seats near us who had the same reaction: nope, nope, nope, nope, and nope.

 

I don’t think her tirade helped his cause at all and I wish she hadn’t been invited to speak. That said, she has done a lot of good things on the City Council. She has worked to get Amazon to pay taxes and other things that are praise-worthy. But a lot of us sat down as she raged on because we’re no fans of her brand of Socialism. (“in Marxist theory, a transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of Communism.”)  Bernie is a Democratic Socialist like FDR–you know, things like Social Security, Medicare, social safety nets, etc. He has zero intention of overthrowing capitalism; he just wants it regulated so every citizen  gets a sufficient slice of the pie.)

 

Next up was a  young, 18-year-old climate activist, Jamie Margolin, founder of Zero Hour, a senior in high school who has been involved in climate activism since she was a freshmen. She was a spectacular speaker. Her support for Bernie Sanders was full throated, passionate and riveting. She is someone to keep an eye on.

 

Next up, if I recall correctly (of those I remember speaking) was an unannounced surprise: actor, producer, director and Oscar winner Tim Robbins, a huge Bernie supporters who is doing a play in Seattle right now about the plight of immigrants from 12 different times in our history. He was eloquent and had everybody in the palm of his hand.

 

 

After that came Congressional Representative Pramila Jayapal, who was also a favorite and a real crowd pleaser.

 

Then, everything turned to raucous, sign-waving, floor-stomping, cheers-producing pandemonium as she introduced and welcomed Bernie and Jane Sanders to the podium.

 

Bernie started by saying, “First, I want to introduce you to the next First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jane Sanders.”

 

More pandemonium. Foot stomping. Roars of approval.

 

As Dr. Sanders kissed Bernie and headed back down the stairs, Bernie looked out and around the packed Tacoma Dome and said something like, “Wow!  What a crowd!  Hello, Tacoma!”

 

TACOMA WENT BAT-SHIT CRAZY!!

TACOMA IS ON THE MAP AGAIN.

WOO HOO! BERNIE SAID OUR  NAME!!!

 

Well, if you’ve been watching Bernie Sanders at all (and I sincerely hope you have), you know his issues, his passion, his priorities, and his commitment to creating a country that works for all of us, not just the 1%, the billionaires, oligarchs, plutocrats and corporations. He’s a tiger. And he’s as real as they come.

 

 

Most of the 23,000 people in that arena were on their feet the entire time he spoke as a sign of respect and affection for him. (I needed to sit down for about the last ten minutes, but I was on my feet for most of it.)

 

If what happened in the Tacoma Dome last night is any indication of what’s going to happen in the primaries and general election–and I think it is–I watched a future President of the United States share his vision with the people he will be relying on to help him make it happen.

 

His motto, NOT ME. US, is a call to action. As long as we show up, do the work of convincing as many people as we can to give him a listen despite all the scary labels being thrown around about him, I think we’re in for a political revolution the likes of which my generation has never seen. We’ll have a President we love as fiercely as FDR was loved back in my parents’ day by the people.

 

It has been a long time coming, but it’s right around the next bend if we all do our share.

 

Go knock on some doors. Send some texts. Support him on social media. Drive someone to the polls if you have polling places. (We don’t here in Washington. All of our votes are mailed in.) VOTE. MAKE SURE OTHER BERNIE SUPPORTS VOTE.

 

Show the world, including the DNC, that we’re not going to play by their rules anymore. There are more of us than there are of them.

 

LET’S GET ‘ER DONE!!!

 

All photos in this blog courtesy of Lisa Twining Taylor.

If you want to use them, email lisaATfearnotechDOTcom