Bernie Sanders scrambles to build Iowa team to meet popular demand

[peecoolyour]

Campaign aides for liberal warrior Bernie Sanders are scrambling to hire more staff in Iowa and open an Iowa office to keep up with momentum as each of his events attracts a crush of hundreds.

"People are out ahead and we're trying to play catch-up organizationally to give these people a vehicle to participate in the campaign," Sanders' campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, told The Des Moines Register on Thursday morning.

Sanders is the no-party Vermont U.S. senator who's running for president as a Democrat. His rebel yell calling for a revolution — he wants to fight economic inequality and wrest control of the government from millionaires — has brought Iowans running.

Sanders's crowd-attracting abilities are reminiscent of another revolution-rallying, white-haired grandfather-like figure who was also famous for stemwinders on big change for the federal government: Ron Paul, the Republican who finished in third place just 3 points behind the leaders in the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/06/04/bernie-sanders-scrambles-build-iowa-team/28477881/

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"If you build it, they will come." When people are coming whether you've built anything or not, something is happening that can't be ignored. What a wonderful problem this must be to have for any candidate!

[Admiral Loinpresser]

1. Very exciting.

But at this point it almost seems predictable. He seems to be trending toward the biggest phenomenon since Obama in '08. And the corporate media toadies, despite their hostility, are burning to get that "two horses in the race" meme started!

[pennylane100]

2. I prefer the comparison to Howard Dean.

However, if Bernie needs to make a speech after the Iowa vote, keep a tight watch on how his speech is broadcast. While Dean was supposedly screaming, it was against a background of thousands of cheering fans but only the sound from his mic was picked up. Nobody in the room that night knew about the "scream"

I am going to enter tin foil country and suggest this was no accident. While his numbers were slipping a little, this was a real blow to his campaign. I have always wondered if it was a deliberate act of sabotage by one of his rivals.

[peecoolyour]

3. Very few things in politics are accidental. nt

[daleanime]

6. +1

[brooklynite]

5. His numbers were slipping a bit"

He'd just come in THIRD in the Iowa Caucus, and was poorly organized for New Hampshire a week later. The Dean Scream was a minimal issue in his death spiral.

[JDPriestly]

7. Voters do not want washed out, rinse with cold water and lay flat to dry candidates.

Bernie speaks from his heart, is very rational, doesn't get that excited except about the issues and incarnates the opposition to Citizens United and big money in politics.

That's why people want to hear him and see him, and that is why they will vote for him. He is the real deal. Even Dean couldn't touch Bernie's standard.

For Bernie, the election really is about the issues and what is good for the American people.

Katie Couric tried to embarrass Bernie by pointing out the fact that he ends his answers to questions with a question. Bernie just laughed heartily and returned to discuss the issues. That's Bernie. Can't be thrown off the topic. The article he wrote in the 1970s. The media has tried to embarrass him with that. Didn't work. Bernie is focused on the issues and has a great sense of humor and humility about himself. He clearly says he can't achieve what America needs without a movement. There's no hubris in that. He is a great candidate and his campaign will thrive even if someone does try to pull dirty tricks. It really is not about Bernie. It is about America and Americans who are hurting in greater numbers than most politicians or the press fathom.

[glinda]

9. Mpls. newspaper used "Dean" as a derogatory comment about Sanders. No comparison.

The paper recently has been purchased by a Republican so.....glowing reviews on Lindsey Graham.

[geek tragedy]

10. He was already cooked at that point.

Third place in Iowa was a debacle for him.

[WillyT]

4. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[erronis]

8. What a back-handed complement from the Des Moines Register

Sanders is the no-party Vermont U.S. senator who's running for president as a Democrat. His rebel yell calling for a revolution — he wants to fight economic inequality and wrest control of the government from millionaires — has brought Iowans running.

Sanders's crowd-attracting abilities are reminiscent of another revolution-rallying, white-haired grandfather-like figure who was also famous for stemwinders on big change for the federal government: Ron Paul, the Republican who finished in third place just 3 points behind the leaders in the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

- "No-party" - yes, he has a party but it is not one of the two that have gotten us into such shit. He is an Independent and proud of it. I think the Democrats should be proud that he is letting them ride on his popularity.

- "Rebel yell" - really? Just because some ass-hat at some media outlet labeled Howard Deans righteous hurray as a "rebel yell"? The Des Moines Register is really reaching for analogies.

- And Ron Paul. WTF? Wing-nut-bat-crazy. Of course, even Ron/Rand or Raygun can connect a few phrases together into a coherent and sometimes correct sentence.

Fortunately, Bernie has shown himself to be above and beyond caring about the media sniping. He's got his message and he'll deliver it. Pray for the messenger.