Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Bernie Sanders
Related: About this forumAlaskans Feel the Bern: Sanders Opens Campaign Headquarters in Anchorage
Five campaign staffers were dispatched to Anchorage to set up camp in the Northway Mall. The office opened Sunday afternoon, and enjoyed a steady flow of traffic for hours while volunteers steadfastly called potential voters at tables spanning the room.
Were getting our network into Alaska and were trying to make sure that people in Alaska self-organize and do things like phonebank and knock doors, Sanders Alaska field director Chris Johnson told the gathered crowd, mentioning that other operatives were organizing in other locales. Theres a lot of things that have to happen to have a successful caucus and a successful election. The biggest one is, people need to show up in droves to their caucus site, and they need to be registered. So, those things are what we are focused on doing out of this office.
Alaska is a caucus state that holds its Republican and Democratic contests on different dates. Last week, the GOP narrowly awarded Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) a victory over Donald Trump. The Democrats will weigh in on March 26.
A January Alaska Dispatch News poll conducted by Ivan Moore Research found Sanders has broad support in the state, but it comes with asterisks. Among the 651 registered voters surveyed, Clinton enjoyed a slight edge over Sanders among registered Democrats, 44.2 to 41.1. But among independents, Sanders wins big: 51.5 to 26.8. That averaged out to a 14 point lead for Sanders, who up until announcing his presidential bid was one of only two independents serving in the U.S. Senate.
Alaskas Democratic Caucus is limited to registered Democrats, but caucus goers can register and change party affiliation the same day (so long as it is done before 10 a.m.).
Scott Maxwell, who works at an engineering firm in Anchorage and showed up to Sanders campaign headquarters opening on Sunday to volunteer, told me that the same day registration was a big deal.
Hes got a huge wave of support from independents, third party folks not just registered Democrats people from both sides of the aisle. People who have been disengaged from politics for years are really getting excited about Bernie. Ive made friends through the Bernie group here. Its been a really rewarding experience. he said. Ill be honest, its a new experience for me. I come from a primary state where you just showed up. Click, click and youre done. This whole caucus thing is, you know, a little out of my element. But Im excited to see how it plays out on the 26th.
Maxwell said hes been voting since he became eligible in 1998. This was the first time he was inspired to volunteer for a campaign.
A lot of what hes talking about, as far as income inequality, is a big deal. Just sort of detaching politics from corporate cronyism I think is a major deal. I think that that really resonates with a lot of Alaskans where, you know, we are a little suspicious about how much the oil companies and people like that deal in our state politics. So, I feel like a lot of Alaskans are connecting with the fact that he is so strong about getting money out of politics; about returning it to a true democracy. Thats where I see a lot of the energy coming from, from his strong stance against corruption. Its a powerful message.
Ariel Haren told me a similar tale. She said she voted for President Barack Obama and become active in volunteerism during the 2008 campaign. But she became disillusioned during the presidents first term.
Weve got to get the billionaires out of the drivers seat. Were not going to make any progress on anything with those people. Theyre crazy. Theyre living in a bubble. They dont know whats real.
She refrained from voting for Obama in 2012. Yet, on the first day the doors opened at the Anchorage campaign office, she was calling voters to gauge their support for Sanders.
Ive been following him for a long time and I like what he says. Its clearly what the country needs. But, see, a lot of people and then when they get elected well, they do what the rich people tell them to, she told me. With a hopeful smile, she added, Its a close election and I want to make a difference.
I asked Haren, Maxwell, and others present if they thought Sanders could win in Alaska. Each time, the response was an emphatic absolutely.
Johnson asked volunteers to trust the team Sanders sent to Alaska. The staff in Anchorage had just come from Nevada, where Sanders lost to Clinton narrowly, but over-performed in rural, northern counties.
We ran an extremely successful program in northern Nevada, he said. We did not take the state, but that was simply because we could not carry Vegas. These folks here are the best of the best. They ran 10 out of 15 rural counties in places where people like [538 blog founder and pollster] Nate Silver projected us to lose.
The question asked repeatedly by the steady flow of traffic coming through the office was: Is Bernie coming to Alaska?
Were working on it, staffers uniformly answered.
http://www.alaskacommons.com/2016/03/06/alaskans-feel-the-bern-sanders-opens-campaign-headquarters-in-anchorage
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
1 replies, 1026 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (7)
ReplyReply to this post
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Alaskans Feel the Bern: Sanders Opens Campaign Headquarters in Anchorage (Original Post)
Donkees
Mar 2016
OP
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)1. Cool!
And if that is the multi level mall in downtown, I've been in there...several years ago but I remember that.
Plus an office in Fairbanks!