Jeff Bollier, and Shelby Le Duc

Green Bay Press Gazette

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Monday urged supporters at a Green Bay rally to reach out to family and friends, saying he cannot win the Wisconsin presidential primary without high voter turnout.

Sanders spoke to about 500 supporters at the KI Center Monday afternoon, urging them to remain committed to his political movement even as rival Hillary Clinton and national media outlets are branding him unelectable and too far to the left.

"At this pivotal moment in American history, people are beginning to say the status quo is not acceptable," he said. “In a thousand different ways, we are taught to think small. We are taught to believe we can’t change the status quo. That does not have to be.”

Sanders' speech hit on familiar themes, including income inequality, equal rights for women, listening to minorities and reforming the criminal justice system.

Actor and activist Tim Robbins introduced Sanders Monday. Both Sanders and Robbins took aim at Clinton and the Democratic National Committee assertions that Sanders can’t win the nomination and should step aside.

"The DNC and the Clintons have a big problem," Robbins said. "Times have changed. Bernie is not our (2004 presidential candidate Howard) Dean. Bernie is not the obligatory progressive that will keep the left in line until the presumptive moderate nominee emerges.”

Sanders’ efforts to draw a contrast between his campaign and Clinton’s resonated with Green Bay resident Sandy Kennedy.

“Anybody who really knows where he stands versus where Hillary Clinton stands knows he wasn’t exaggerating, twisting or bending things,” Kennedy said. “He gave a really honest representation and showed the differences of their campaigns. I think that when you have two candidates in the same party it’s so important to know those differences. The voters have a right to know so an honest decision can be arrived at.”

Before Robbins, state Rep. Eric Genrich, D-Green Bay, encouraged the crowd to vote for progressive candidates “up and down the ticket,” including state Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg. Genrich said he remembers reading Sanders’ biography in college 15 years ago and donating to Sanders’ U.S. Senate campaign a decade ago.

“There’s always been something special about the way he served the people of Vermont,” Genrich said. “I never dreamed this movement was possible. I never dreamed you all were possible. This campaign is about you, about us, about the future you believe in for the country you love.”

Sanders pointed to the stark differences between his campaign funding and Clinton’s, saying he does not represent the billionaire class, the fossil fuel industry, Wall Street banks or drug companies. He said those groups aren’t supporting Clinton out of the goodness of their hearts.

“Those guys may be crooked, fraudulent and irresponsible, but they’re not dumb,” Sanders said. “They know how to make investments.”

Volunteers and supporters said they’re drawn to Sanders for a number of reasons, including acknowledging climate change, and his support for equal rights for women, a $15 minimum wage and decriminalizing marijuana on the federal level.

Green Bay resident Cody Flack volunteered to help with Monday’s rally. He said he has supported Sanders since he announced his candidacy last year. Flack said he likes that Sanders treats everyone as equals.

“Politicians single out groups instead of treating them as people,” Flack said. “Personally, I think Bernie is an equalizer in a good way. He doesn’t favor one group or the other based on race or wealth or sexual preference. I really, really hope he can win (the Democratic nomination).”

Green Bay resident Alan Heyrman attended the rally dressed in his leather jacket painted with phrases like “climate change,” “peace,” and “mass extinction.”

“I think people are resistant to the idea of climate change because it is so much in our society and if you change it, it would be very hard,” Heyrman said. “Although it is important that we do change very, very quickly.”

bollier@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GBstreetwise ; sleduc@greenbay.gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @pgshelbyleduc