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Last Wednesday afternoon the Oregon for Bernie campaign announced that Bernie Sanders would speak the next day at a Springfield rally. Less than 24 hours later, 8,000 people packed Springfield's Island Park to overflowing. The energy was exuberant.

Sen. Sanders’ hour-long speech was reflective of someone who’s spent decades in public service fighting against big money interests and for the working class and the middle class, and his words clearly resonated with the sea of young people who filled the park.

The crowd roared with approval when Sanders declared he does not stand with Wall Street speculators, the big pharmaceutical and insurance companies, the fossil fuel or private prison industries. Instead, he spoke out for working people, veterans and their families, people needing mental health services, students struggling under enormous debt, communities that have lost manufacturing jobs and become marginalized — and urged that we all stand together.

What I felt around me at Thursday’s rally was a collective appreciation for someone who is challenging the corrupt power and economic structures that are eroding our democracy and who is saying that a better way is possible and here are the steps to get there.