For anyone following the Bernie Sanders campaign, the contents of Bernie’s speech in Springfield should ring familiar. Yes, there was much animated hand-waving and phrases uttered in his characteristic Brooklyn accent, but the words were also 100-percent Bernie. Here are five highlights that struck us as the most undeniably “Bernie-esque.”
“It’s hard to imagine anyone voting for the Republican agenda.”
Sanders railed against Republican talking points, skewering the tenets of tax breaks to the rich, cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and opposition to gay marriage. “This is a fringe agenda,” he said.
“We’re going to create an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.”
Bernie dove headfirst into the problem of income inequality, which he said is worse in the U.S. than almost any other major country on Earth. He blasted the Waltons, who own Walmart, and advocated for raising the minimum wage to a living wage, as well as closing the income gap between women and men.
“We are listening to young people.”
Courting the “millennial” crowd, Sanders nodded to the difficulties facing the younger generation and hit one of his most famous talking points: free tuition at public colleges and universities. He proposed creating a tax on Wall Street speculation to cover the cost of tuition and reduce student debt.
“Climate change is real.”
Bernie said that we’re dealing with a planetary crisis, and the U.S. needs to take on the fossil fuel industry. He advocated for a tax on carbon and an end to fracking, and he encouraged Hillary Clinton to join him on these points.
“Now is the time to think big, not small.”
The Sanders campaign is listening, he said, to African-American, Latino and Native American communities. Time and time again, oppressed groups of people have risen up and demanded change, and that’s how progress happens. “The establishment will always tell us that real change is impossible,” he said, but his ideas aren’t radical — they’re achievable.
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519