I first met Bernie Sanders in 2005, the first year he accepted the Fighting Bob Fest committee's invitation to be one of the featured speakers.

It was the fourth annual fest and Sanders, then an independent member of the House of Representatives from Vermont, was a huge hit. Since then, the tens of thousands who have attended Bob Fests in Baraboo and Madison since — last year was the 15th annual — have come to know the now Vermont senator quite well.

In all, Sanders has spoken — free of charge, incidentally — at six fests. I remember the last one, in September 2014, when many in the crowd of more than 5,000 people rose to their feet and chanted in unison, "Run, Bernie, run."

I'm not sure that's what convinced the independent Sanders to run for the Democratic nomination for president this year, but it probably helped.

Because Bob Fest is held as an annual tribute to the famous Wisconsin progressive, Fighting Bob La Follette, we've always tried to get speakers who come from the same mold. There have been many over the years — Tom Harkin, Bobby Kennedy Jr., Amy Goodman, Paul Simon, Barbara Lawton, Jim Hightower, John Conyers, Russ Feingold, Dave Obey, to name a few — but Sanders' message clearly resonated with the attendees.