Visit is part of the tour against the Oligarchy
BAKERSFIELD, CA – Thousands of people showed up Tuesday at the Dignity Health Theater to welcome Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-New York) who was part of a multi-nation tour to promote a vision of America being an "Economy that Works for All."
Speakers at the confines of the Dignigy Health Hub and Civic Center included Nicole Moore, president of Rideshare Drivers United; Teresa Romero, president of the UFW and Ms. Carolina, a farmworker, who gave wonderful speeches about the need for workers, good wages and the need for initiatives that defend the rights of urban and agricultural workers.
During her speech, Ocasio Cortez said that "the destruction of our rights and democracy is directly linked to the increase and extreme inequality of wealth that has been built in America for many years." The congresswoman added that time after time it has been seen that the government and the laws have been more responsive to lobbyists and corporations than to the people.
Ocasio Cortez got a good response to these comments, as all the people present stood up shouting and clapping, and on more than one occasion she was given a standing ovation, one of these comments was the prohibition of any member of the American congress from being able to prohibit the trading of individual stocks.
Viewers responded to calls from speakers about claims that President Donald Trump and his administration are leading the nation into extreme authoritarianism.
"I'm asking you Bakersfield," Ocasio Cortes told those present. "How is it possible that anyone can give an objective vote on sanitation, energy, or war when their own money is entirely involved in pharmaceuticals, oil, or defense company stock?"
At the same time, other speakers were talking about immigration and mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, the arrest and deportation of students from other countries solely for their protests, and the alleged arrest of residents during a January raid by Border Patrol agents in Kern County.
Sanders entered the stage with a standing ovation from the audience, shouts of joy and support. He claimed that President Trump's administration is trying to consolidate all government power in the executive branch.
"What we're seeing now and day in and day out, Trump is trying to dismantle the separation of powers and thus attract more power to himself," Sanders told the audience. "So Mr. Trump, we all defeated the king of England in 1777, and we're not going to let you become our new king!" Causing great applause from the public inside and outside the convention center where people who could not enter were concentrated.
This national tour called "Fighting Oligarchy" has attracted billions of people in Republican and Democratic states. Many out-of-state Democrats have traveled to Bakersfield in recent weeks, specifically to put pressure on Bakersfield Republican, Rep. David Valadao of Hanford.
And while he refuses to answer, he has previously said he would not support a final budget unless it tightens critical federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.
The 22nd Congressional District, represented by David Valadao, is highly competitive and as Democrats in the past visit this city, Ocasio Cortez noted that only three Republican votes are needed in the House of Representatives to block presidential actions, and one of those votes is Valadado's. Ocasio Cortez exclaiming that Valadado is one of three who can do something to help the nation.
Meanwhile, Ocasio Cortez and Sanders called on voters to organize, apply pressure, support the Democratic representatives who are running for this position, and then put enough pressure to remove one of these three, and this may be the people of Bakersfield. The community that would save Medicaid and Medi-Cal.
Outside the confines of the theater and civic center, there were only about twenty citizens supporting the actions of Trump and MAGA. They would leave before the performance began. However, this program caused a couple of afflictions outside the theater, where two women will verbally confront each other, one of them carrying a pink flag that said "Women for Trump" and in front of the theater several people in Arab clothing congregated with signs indicating that "Palentine is not for sale."
And although these confrontations took place, officers from the Bakersfield Police Department made their presence to keep the peace.
For many of these people, this is an event of their life-time to see and hear from Sanders, a senator from the independent party from Vermont who, along with Ocasio Cortez, surprised people who couldn't get inside the theater with a surprise visit.
Many people came from Los Angeles, where they were unable to attend the rally the day before, and from Fresno hoping to hear from both senators and give support to the Democratic Party and its candidates.