PHOENIX (AP) — Bernie Sanders ventured to the northern reaches of Arizona on Thursday night, far away from the southern metropolises that house most of the state's voters but onto the land of a key voting bloc in Tuesday's Democratic primary — Native Americans.
Sanders spoke before an overflow crowd of thousands at a casino owned by the Navajo Nation outside the college town of Flagstaff. Dignitaries from the tribe told the crowd that Sanders was the first presidential candidate to visit their land, and the Vermont Senator took the unusual step of altering his stump speech to talk widely about Native American concerns.
"The Native American people have been lied to, they have been cheated, and negotiated treaties have been broken," Sanders said to cheers. "We owe the Native American community so much."
Native Americans comprise only 5 percent of Arizona's population but they are a larger share of the state's Democratic electorate. Sanders is hoping to pull off an upset and win the state's Tuesday primary, which would be a crucial victory as the primary contest shifts toward Western states that he sees as friendlier terrain for his insurgent campaign.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/correction-bernie-sanders-native-americans-story-37823494
Nearly a generation has gone by since a presidential candidate stepped foot on Navajo Nation lands.
The last was Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 1999, the home-state hopeful.
So when Bernie Sanders, the long-shot Democratic contender from Vermont, took the stage Thursday at the tribe’s finest casino, Native voters like 18-year-old Sage Jon Deangelis Romero were ecstatic.
“It makes me proud. It makes me feel represented. It makes me feel like I belong,” said the Flagstaff resident, who counts Navajo, Hopi and Hispanics among his ancestors. “ ... He’s trying to get our vote because he feels that we’re also important. Not just blowing past us like all the other candidates.”
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/19/bernie-sanders-last-minute-drive-capture-arizonas-native-american-voters/81998288/
And as it stands right now, Bernie Sanders has proven to be the candidate that Natives would stand to benefit the most from if he were to take office.
My hope is that Hillary Clinton, still the most likely nominee for the Democrats in 2016, takes notice of this.
A big part of her campaign message is that she will fight for those who struggle to be heard.
Our indigenous peoples are speaking, and I hope all of our presidential candidates are willing to listen.
http://bluenationreview.com/is-bernie-sanders-native-americans-best-bet-for-2016/
I guess that's before Brock convinced them that Bernie was worse than the devil (errrr, fired them).
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