In Southland, The Berniecrat Is Born
Onstage in Carson, Calif., a working-class city south of downtown Los Angeles, Bernie Sanders was just getting warmed up when the crowd interrupted him with a chant: “Bernie or bust!”
He ignored it, but the message was clear: If Sanders isn’t part of the general election, those fans won’t be, either.
The campaign to win Sanders the Democratic nomination has outgrown the candidate himself, morphing into a liberal uprising reminiscent of the Tea Party on the right. Fusing progressive movements such as Black Lives Matter and the “Fight for 15” dollar minimum wage campaign, along with what remains of the Occupy movement, some of Sanders’ most ardent fans are dismissive of political authority, contemptuous of party leadership and ready to throw the establishment overboard.
The crowds greeting Sanders as he barnstorms California leading up to the June 7 primary have been a muscular demonstration of the voter base he’s inspired. The message to supporters and opponents alike is that whether he wins or loses, he has super-charged progressive politics.
In local elections, Democratic candidates are already attempting to capitalize on Sanders’ influence on the electorate.
In Orange County, Bao Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee and the youngest mayor in the history of Garden Grove, sees a window of opportunity to gain votes as he jockeys with two other Democrats to replace Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana) in Congress.
more...
http://www.jewishjournal.com/cover_story/article/in_southland_the_berniecrat_is_born