SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"When we fight fearlessly for working class Americans, we can change our country for the better," said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (Photos: Gary Miller/FilmMagic/Getty Images; Andres Kudacki for The Intercept)
Proving Kansas Is Hungry for Democratic Socialism, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez Sold-Out Rally Moved to Much Larger Venue
"What we fight for is not just popular in Vermont, Queens, and the Bronx, it's popular everywhere."
Jul 20, 2018
Democratic socialists Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are on a mission to debunk doubters and conclusively show that a bold progressive agenda can spark enthusiasm and win elections in the Midwest.
Helping to prove their case, organizers were forced to relocate one of the pair's joint rallies in Kansas on Friday afternoon after ticket sign-ups--as often happened during Sanders' 2016 presidential run--rapidly exceeded venue capacity.
"When we fight fearlessly for working class Americans, we can change our country for the better."
-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
"What we fight for is not just popular in Vermont, Queens and the Bronx, it's popular everywhere," Sanders declared in a tweet promoting Friday's events, which were organized to boost progressive congressional candidates James Thompson and Brent Welder.
As the local Witchita Eagle reports, the rally for Thompson scheduled for Friday afternoon was initially slated to take place in the Orpheum Theatre, which can accomodate a crowd of 1,400 people.
"But the number of sign-ups for tickets exceeded capacity within 10 hours of the announcement," the Eagle reported. The new venue, the Century II arena, can hold up to 5,000.
In an email to supporters ahead of Friday's events, Ocasio-Cortez--who decisively defeated powerful Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's primary last month--argued that victories for progressives in the home state of oil moguls Charles and David Koch will "prove that the majority of Americans are with us on the policies," not the billionaire class.
"Americans support Medicare for All, expanding Social Security benefits, gun reform, debt-free college, and a $15 minimum wage," Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are setting out to demonstrate that their agenda has appeal beyond Vermont and the Bronx at a time when many within the Democratic Party are handwringing about the dangers of moving "too far" to the left and dismissing arguments that there is widespread hunger for democratic socialism throughout the United States.
"I don't think that you can go too far to the left and still win the Midwest," Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) asserted in a recent interview.
Victories for Welder and Thompson--who are both running on ambitious platforms of Medicare for All, a living wage, and tuition-free public college--would provide further evidence that this sentiment pushed by corporate Democrats is false.
"We want to prove this proposition, from Nebraska to Kansas to Orange County, that the way to attract votes is with a bold populist economic message," Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in an interview with The Intercept. "It's not a liability, it's an asset."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
alexandria ocasio-cortezbernie sandersdemocratic partykansaslivable wagemarijuanamedicare for allprogressive change campaign committeesocialism
Democratic socialists Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are on a mission to debunk doubters and conclusively show that a bold progressive agenda can spark enthusiasm and win elections in the Midwest.
Helping to prove their case, organizers were forced to relocate one of the pair's joint rallies in Kansas on Friday afternoon after ticket sign-ups--as often happened during Sanders' 2016 presidential run--rapidly exceeded venue capacity.
"When we fight fearlessly for working class Americans, we can change our country for the better."
-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
"What we fight for is not just popular in Vermont, Queens and the Bronx, it's popular everywhere," Sanders declared in a tweet promoting Friday's events, which were organized to boost progressive congressional candidates James Thompson and Brent Welder.
As the local Witchita Eagle reports, the rally for Thompson scheduled for Friday afternoon was initially slated to take place in the Orpheum Theatre, which can accomodate a crowd of 1,400 people.
"But the number of sign-ups for tickets exceeded capacity within 10 hours of the announcement," the Eagle reported. The new venue, the Century II arena, can hold up to 5,000.
In an email to supporters ahead of Friday's events, Ocasio-Cortez--who decisively defeated powerful Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's primary last month--argued that victories for progressives in the home state of oil moguls Charles and David Koch will "prove that the majority of Americans are with us on the policies," not the billionaire class.
"Americans support Medicare for All, expanding Social Security benefits, gun reform, debt-free college, and a $15 minimum wage," Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are setting out to demonstrate that their agenda has appeal beyond Vermont and the Bronx at a time when many within the Democratic Party are handwringing about the dangers of moving "too far" to the left and dismissing arguments that there is widespread hunger for democratic socialism throughout the United States.
"I don't think that you can go too far to the left and still win the Midwest," Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) asserted in a recent interview.
Victories for Welder and Thompson--who are both running on ambitious platforms of Medicare for All, a living wage, and tuition-free public college--would provide further evidence that this sentiment pushed by corporate Democrats is false.
"We want to prove this proposition, from Nebraska to Kansas to Orange County, that the way to attract votes is with a bold populist economic message," Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in an interview with The Intercept. "It's not a liability, it's an asset."
Democratic socialists Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are on a mission to debunk doubters and conclusively show that a bold progressive agenda can spark enthusiasm and win elections in the Midwest.
Helping to prove their case, organizers were forced to relocate one of the pair's joint rallies in Kansas on Friday afternoon after ticket sign-ups--as often happened during Sanders' 2016 presidential run--rapidly exceeded venue capacity.
"When we fight fearlessly for working class Americans, we can change our country for the better."
-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
"What we fight for is not just popular in Vermont, Queens and the Bronx, it's popular everywhere," Sanders declared in a tweet promoting Friday's events, which were organized to boost progressive congressional candidates James Thompson and Brent Welder.
As the local Witchita Eagle reports, the rally for Thompson scheduled for Friday afternoon was initially slated to take place in the Orpheum Theatre, which can accomodate a crowd of 1,400 people.
"But the number of sign-ups for tickets exceeded capacity within 10 hours of the announcement," the Eagle reported. The new venue, the Century II arena, can hold up to 5,000.
In an email to supporters ahead of Friday's events, Ocasio-Cortez--who decisively defeated powerful Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's primary last month--argued that victories for progressives in the home state of oil moguls Charles and David Koch will "prove that the majority of Americans are with us on the policies," not the billionaire class.
"Americans support Medicare for All, expanding Social Security benefits, gun reform, debt-free college, and a $15 minimum wage," Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are setting out to demonstrate that their agenda has appeal beyond Vermont and the Bronx at a time when many within the Democratic Party are handwringing about the dangers of moving "too far" to the left and dismissing arguments that there is widespread hunger for democratic socialism throughout the United States.
"I don't think that you can go too far to the left and still win the Midwest," Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) asserted in a recent interview.
Victories for Welder and Thompson--who are both running on ambitious platforms of Medicare for All, a living wage, and tuition-free public college--would provide further evidence that this sentiment pushed by corporate Democrats is false.
"We want to prove this proposition, from Nebraska to Kansas to Orange County, that the way to attract votes is with a bold populist economic message," Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said in an interview with The Intercept. "It's not a liability, it's an asset."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.