michael barbaro

From The New York Times, I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.” Today —

archived recording (barack obama) We have the most votes and the most diverse coalition of Americans that we’ve seen in a long, long time. [CHEERING]

michael barbaro

The Obama coalition has become almost mythic within the Democratic Party —

archived recording (barack obama) There are young and old, rich and poor.

michael barbaro

— for having united first-time voters, people of color —

archived recording (barack obama) They are black and white — [CHEERING] — Latino and Asian and Native American.

michael barbaro

— and moderates —

archived recording (barack obama) They are Democrats from Des Moines, and independents from Concord, and, yes, some Republicans from rural Nevada.

michael barbaro

— to win the presidency. This year —

archived recording (bernie sanders) We ended up winning more votes from young people — [CHEERING] — black, and white, and Latino, and Asian-American, and Native American — more votes from young people than Trump and Clinton, combined. [CHEERING]

michael barbaro

— Bernie Sanders is betting that he can win the presidency with young voters and people of color, but without the moderates. To do that —

archived recording (bernie sanders) This campaign is listening to our brothers and sisters in the Latino community. [CHEERING]

michael barbaro

— he’s counting on winning over and energizing the Latino vote. And the ultimate test of whether he will be able to do that is in California, where Latinos are the single biggest nonwhite voting block in the state.

archived recording We’re not only going to win this nationally, we’re going to turn this state into a Bernie Sanders state so we can make the reforms we need.

michael barbaro

Young Latinos in California overwhelmingly support Sanders. But to become the Democratic nominee, he will need all Latinos.

archived recording (alexandria ocasio-cortez) I call him Tío Bernie. Maybe to my goddaughter, he’s abuelo. Maybe to some others, he’s brother.

michael barbaro

My colleague Jennifer Medina went to California with “The Daily”‘s Jessica Cheung and Monika Evstatieva to see how that effort is playing out.

archived recording (alexandria ocasio-cortez) But he’s my Tío Bernie Sanders.

michael barbaro

It’s Friday, January 17. O.K. So Jenny, tell me about this reporting trip. Where did you go?

jennifer medina

So back in December we went to South L.A. to a working-class neighborhood, mostly black and Latino, and we went to this quiet block.

[dog barking]

jennifer medina

Lots of little small houses, very neatly kept —

jennifer medina It’s beautiful. monika evstatieva It smells like flowers.

jennifer medina

— with flowers in their front yard and citrus trees.

monika evstatieva Quite a lot of lemons.

jennifer medina

And it was a Saturday morning, people walking their dogs and hanging out. And the only noise, really, was the planes flying overhead to LAX.

michael barbaro

[LAUGHS] And why were you there?

jennifer medina

So we were there for an event called Tamales for Tío Bernie.

michael barbaro

Tío as in uncle.

jennifer medina

Tío as in uncle, which is sort of the affectionate way a lot of young Latinos have begun referring to Bernie Sanders. And it just sort of speaks to the intimacy and affection these young Latinos have for Sanders. So there’s these little events all over California that are basically designed to get people who are already excited strategizing and figuring out how they can convince friends and family members and people they live around to be as excited as they are. What the Sanders campaign is really counting on is that these little events will have a ripple effect. So say you get 20 people to show up, but each of those people will convince five other people to vote for Sanders. And those people will convince another five people to vote for Sanders, and so on. So we get there, and we see people taping up signs to the fence, and sort of milling about. It’s just a handful of people who are here so far.

jennifer medina Hi. speaker Hola. Cómo estás?

jennifer medina

They’re setting up folding tables and chairs, and there’s a little, small blue tent. And there is a lot of food.

michael barbaro

And are there tamales, as promised?

jennifer medina

There are indeed tamales. There are big bags of tamales, steaming tamales ready to be doled out to whoever comes.

alfonso ruiz Alfonso. jessica cheung Alfonso, nice to meet you guys.

jennifer medina

So the organizer is Alfonso Ruiz, who is 28 and works in city government here in Los Angeles.

alfonso ruiz Well, I live here, so this is my house. jessica cheung Oh! alfonso ruiz [LAUGHS] This is my house.

jennifer medina

And Alfonso immediately seems a little bit nervous.

jennifer medina Have you ever hosted a campaign event before? alfonso ruiz Well, this technically is my first time. speaker Sorry, man. I did not know you were that famous, bro.

jennifer medina

As we’re talking, people start to show up. And everybody’s a little bit confused why we’re there with these big microphones, talking to their friends.

speaker You were anti-Bernie a few years ago! alfonso ruiz [LAUGHTER] Shut the [expletive] up! speaker I told you. I told you — alfonso ruiz He’s lying, he’s lying. speaker — since 2016, bro, he’s going to be president. alfonso ruiz I was supporting him since day one. Yeah. I believe in Bernie. I’ve been following. I was involved with him in 2015, in the primary. And now I’m here. jennifer medina Why did you get involved? You said you’ve been following him since 2015? alfonso ruiz 2005. jennifer medina 2005. alfonso ruiz When he was the first independent congressman. jennifer medina How old were you in 2005? alfonso ruiz I was, like, in high school. jennifer medina O.K. alfonso ruiz I was barely going into high school. But that’s the moment when you had the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war. I was tired of the Democratic —

michael barbaro

So Alfonso’s been drawn to Sanders since 2005.

jennifer medina

Yes. Alfonso really represents what I’ve heard from a lot of young Latinos here in L.A., which is that they were really first drawn to Sanders over his stance on the Iraq war.

jennifer medina So in 2005 you were — alfonso ruiz Against the Iraq war. jennifer medina — against the Iraq war. alfonso ruiz What I started noticing was there was no difference in between policymakers in terms of Democrats and Republicans, and they all blindly voted for this war that, at the end of the day, sent a lot of working-class kids to war, a lot of South Central kids, a lot of kids from Boyle Heights, a lot of kids from — that we have nothing else. If you live here, if you’ve been around here in the early 2000s and late ‘90s, all we saw was drive-bys, shootings, and people being killed. And when we see the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, there was basically no difference into what their policies were going on. So that’s why, at the end of day, I feel like Bernie’s talking above and beyond, because he showed it from day one in from what he did in Burlington to what he voted in Congress at the time.

jennifer medina

So it really represents what got many young Latinos first really excited about Sanders and explains what makes them so excited now.

alfonso ruiz So for Bernie, he goes straight at the issue, the core, which at the end of the day is greed, corruption and lack of funding for our neighborhoods. And he knows that because he grew up in Brooklyn. And there’s a lot of similarities, like I said. And then I’ll mention this. Yeah, he’s a little güerito, but — jennifer medina Can you explain what you mean by a little güerito? alfonso ruiz He’s white. But still, he’s your tío. He knows what it is to grow up poor. He knows what it is, so that’s why I have faith.

michael barbaro

They identify with him.

jennifer medina

They really identify with him.

michael barbaro

What exactly do you make of that?

jennifer medina

They identify with him in spite of the fact that he’s many decades older, that he’s from this East Coast state that many of them have never been to, and they identify with him because of his immigrant roots. His family immigrated, and he’s talked much more in recent times about his family coming from Europe to Brooklyn to escape persecution and anti-Semitism. And a lot of these young Latinos see in his immigration story their immigration story and feel really excited by that.

michael barbaro

So it’s resonating?

jennifer medina

It’s resonating, definitely, and it has really big consequences. It has had meaningful impact on the rest of the race where it’s drawing away from candidates you might expect Latinos to support.

jessica cheung I’m really compelled by the thing that you said which is what compels you about Bernie is the immigrant story. There’s another presidential candidate who also embodies the American dream —

jennifer medina

So at the time we spoke to Alfonso, there actually was a liberal Latino in the race.

jennifer medina — Julián Castro. And I wonder why Bernie over another American dream candidate? alfonso ruiz Ah.

jennifer medina

And who identified as a Chicano, as a Latino.

alfonso ruiz He does. He does. It’s hard because I think, like — yeah. jennifer medina Do you feel guilty about it? alfonso ruiz No, I don’t feel guilty. It’s just more like — well — jennifer medina I’m just sensing some guilt in your voice. alfonso ruiz Yeah. No. I think it’s like, ahh! I think it’s more like if I had seen him more as politically out there as Bernie in terms of the policy, really, really out there, I think I’ll be supporting him. But it’s just — in my mind, I’m considering him a little bit moderate.

michael barbaro

He’s saying Castro just didn’t speak to the things that I care about.

jennifer medina

Right. Castro just wasn’t out there enough for me. Castro wasn’t loud enough, early enough for me, and Castro doesn’t represent the exact kind of policies — or didn’t represent the kind of policies I want to see strong enough and early enough. A lot of the Bernie Sanders young Latino supporters really like him because they see him as being passionate about the same things for decades and decades. There’s actually a sort of hobby, side hobby, of watching these old Sanders tapes from the 1970s and ‘80s.

michael barbaro

And seeing how much they have not changed to now.

jennifer medina

And seeing just how consistent and how his message is still the same 30, 40 years later.

jennifer medina Can you tell us just about — I mean, I know it’s called Tamales for Tío Bernie, but tell us about the event. Why did you decide to host this, and what are you hoping to do today? alfonso ruiz So for today I’m trying to get all my friends that are already involved, see how we can collaborate, how we could talk about more ways to get more people involved in the neighborhoods, specifically in these neighborhoods, because what I did notice in 2015 when he first ran, I had never seen any of my friends in this block talk about presidential candidate. But then people were talking. We were just sitting around, have drinks right here in the house, play beer pong, and then talk about it after. Like, hey, who are you supporting? But I was more surprised of how much his message stuck to people in my neighborhood.

jennifer medina

The strategy is just to have this sort of casual conversation, the same kind of conversation that was happening in 2015 that had nothing to do with the official campaign. He’s trying to replicate that now officially and bring a bunch of people together over food and talk about Sanders, and then take it up a notch and talk about how can they convince people who aren’t already into voting or into Senator Sanders specifically to do so?

michael barbaro

And why is that the approach? What do we need to know about the Latino vote in California to understand the strategy?

jennifer medina

So Latinos are the biggest nonwhite ethnic voting bloc in California, and they really could swing the election if they show up to vote. But historically, Latinos have had a much lower turnout, and the Latino vote is quite young compared to average voters. So typically presidential campaigns — or any campaign, for that matter — have not necessarily catered to Latinos and certainly haven’t gone into neighborhoods like South L.A. So these people are really trying to figure out how they can convince people who are not super engaged, who might not even know that there is an election in March and who are just more preoccupied with things like working two jobs and getting food on the table and just don’t have time in their day-to-day lives to pay attention to politics.

alfonso ruiz Oh, there’s my dad. Papá! jennifer medina [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

So Alfonso’s dad, Maximo, comes home from his shift as a machinist. Maximo is 66 years old, and you could tell right away that he’s really proud of his son and really kind of happy that something’s happening in his driveway, but he’s also a little bit confused.

maximo ruiz [SPEAKING SPANISH]

michael barbaro

Right. Again, the microphones.

jennifer medina

The microphones.

jennifer medina Who do you — do you have a favorite in the Democratic primary? maximo ruiz Biden. jennifer medina Biden. maximo ruiz Biden. jennifer medina Why? maximo ruiz Why? I think he’s doing better than Sanders, no, Bernie Sanders? jennifer medina Why do you think he’s better than Bernie Sanders? maximo ruiz I’m not sure.

michael barbaro

So Alfonso’s dad is not on the Sanders bandwagon.

jennifer medina

Definitely not. He feels pretty committed to Biden, and you can hear it’s just this sort of comfort level. It’s almost more emotional than anything else.

maximo ruiz Biden is the most — Biden is more on television. jennifer medina That’s what I thought. maximo ruiz And then it come from Obama, you know, vice president, very famous, better. jennifer medina And he hasn’t convinced you yet? maximo ruiz Who? jennifer medina Your son. maximo ruiz No. We haven’t talked about it much. jennifer medina You don’t? maximo ruiz No.

jennifer medina

Biden is who he knows. That’s who he sees on TV, and he thinks of him as the vice president coming out of the Obama administration. And Maximo really represents what I hear a lot from older Latinos, which is they see that connection to the Obama administration as a really good thing. But among the younger set, they feel really disillusioned with the Obama administration.

michael barbaro

Why?

jennifer medina

They think of Obama as being deporter in chief, this nickname he earned because of the deportations that happened under his administration. So they see the Obama administration as something they want to move away from, not back to.

alfonso ruiz And that’s what I’m saying. It’s hard to convince older people because they know him. Like, that’s it. Like, at the end of the day, voters just vote on people that they already know.

jennifer medina

So as we’ve been standing there talking, a small crowd has gathered. It’s about 15 people. Everybody’s gotten their food, their coffee, and taken their plates and sat down at this table. And —

alfonso ruiz All right, hey, everybody.

jennifer medina

Alfonso walks over and starts to kick it off.

alfonso ruiz And we can go around and just say your name and why you support Bernie. jaime So my name is Jaime. I’ve been a Bernie supporter since his first run. mia My name is Mia, and I’ve been supporting Bernie since 2016. julian Hi, I’m Julian. The reason I support Bernie is because he’s by far the most genuine and trustworthy candidate out of anyone running. speaker 1 We take absolutely every opportunity we can to talk about Bernie, so even if that means talking to a group of men or of people at a taco stand. speaker 2 I don’t have any problem talking to anybody on the street, you know, to the person that sells tamales or the ones that are selling nopales to the homeless person. speaker 3 So wherever I’m at, if I’m in an Uber or I’m in [SPEAKING SPANISH] or wherever I’m at, I’m going to just turn around and start talking to someone about the presidential election. speaker 1 This is our community. We’re not showing up to a meeting. They totally did not expect it, and they said, who is Bernie Sanders? And so we’re like, that’s a great question. Let us tell you who he is. He’s amazing.

michael barbaro

So they’re basically comparing notes on how to pull off this strategy that you described.

jennifer medina

Right, and they’re kind of talking about what works and sort of sharing victory stories. There’s a lot of pride in people talking about who they’ve managed to convince, including their own parents.

speaker My dad is all about self-responsibility, self-reliance, not relying on the government, not needing anything from anyone. They grew up in a different era, and they don’t believe that everyone should have, quote, unquote, “a handout.” And I tell him, that’s not someone giving you a handout. You have rights, and everyone should have equal access, and that’s what we’re fighting for. So this past April he became a citizen, and he’s going to vote for the first time in his whole life. He’s going to vote for Bernie Sanders. His first vote is going to Bernie Sanders. And that is so powerful.

michael barbaro

I’m curious if Alfonso’s dad, a Biden supporter, is hearing all this, since this is happening in his own driveway.

jennifer medina

Alfonso’s dad has kind of been standing there the whole time but playing host. He’s making sure everybody has enough food and that everybody’s comfortable and really standing there and taking it all in. He’s had this kind of shy smile on his face the whole time and clearly listening to everything. But as things start to wrap up, one woman turns to him and says —

speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

Well, what about you? Are you going to support Sanders?

maximo ruiz [SPEAKING SPANISH] speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

He sort of tries to brush her off and change the subject, and Alfonso kind of chimes in and says —

alfonso ruiz [SPEAKING SPANISH] [LAUGHTER]

jennifer medina

No, no, not my dad. He’s not convincable.

michael barbaro

So even the son admits that, in this case, his dad is a little bit of a lost cause when it comes to Bernie.

jennifer medina

That’s right.

maximo ruiz [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

And it’s really indicative of the challenge that is facing Alfonso and all these supporters. Maximo told me with a great deal of pride that he has voted in every election since he became a citizen in 1986. So here’s somebody who votes all the time and is going to be casting a vote but won’t be for Sanders. They can’t convince somebody who is a prime voter.

speaker 1 [SPEAKING SPANISH] monika evstatieva Nice to meet you.

michael barbaro

And if Bernie doesn’t win California?

jennifer medina

And if he doesn’t win California and if he doesn’t win Latinos in California, it’s really a bad sign for the campaign, because they’ve put so much effort into it and really made clear that this is the way they think they can win.

michael barbaro

So the question is if young Latino voters can’t convince someone like Maximo to vote for Sanders, can this strategy actually work?

jennifer medina

Exactly.

michael barbaro

We’ll be right back. O.K., Jenny, where did you go next?

jennifer medina I don’t know that this matters —

jennifer medina

So we drive about an hour deep into the San Fernando Valley.

gps navigation Turn left onto San Marino Street.

jennifer medina

This is a part of L.A. that is much more rural than what you typically think of. People here have ranches and horses and trailers.

jennifer medina There’s a car in the driveway. jessica cheung And an R.V. jennifer medina And an R.V. Well, these are people who have horses, so they need those. jessica cheung Oh, yeah.

jennifer medina

And this part of Los Angeles has a much more conservative and libertarian streak. We also know that many of the voters here would be first-time voters, so people who haven’t shown up at the polls before. But again, the Sanders campaign needs all Latinos in order to win, so they are here to convince these people too. And this event is targeting charros.

michael barbaro

And what are charros?

jennifer medina

Charros are Mexican cowboys. There’s a big community of them in this part of L.A.

speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

So we get to this house, and we go up to the door. And as soon as we get to the backyard, we see all these guys standing there in snakeskin boots and big belt buckles and big cowboy hats. And it feels just like a party. People are all sitting around this pool. Again, there’s lots of food here. It’s very casual.

michael barbaro

And who’s hosting this event?

joseline garcia Hi, Joseline. jennifer medina Jenny. joseline garcia Nice to meet you.

jennifer medina

So this event is being hosted by Joseline Garcia, who is a staffer on the Sanders campaign here in L.A. She’s in charge of college outreach, but she’s decided to do this event because of people her father knows. Her father is a charro, and she got him to invite many of his friends. And once again the Sanders campaign is really using younger voters to reach out to older voters and try to get them into the fold.

joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

So Joseline starts the event and gathers everybody, and there’s also —

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

— Rafael Návar, who is the state director for the Sanders campaign in California.

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

michael barbaro

So the head of the entire Sanders campaign in California is at this little house gathering. What do you make of that?

jennifer medina

It just goes to show how important all of these small events are to the campaign, that you have the state director with a couple of dozen people here to make the pitch himself.

rafael návar And this campaign has prioritized people that look like this country and let folks in, not just Latinos, but other people of color. The diversity and beauty —

jennifer medina

So Joseline and Rafael open it up —

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

— and go through the Sanders platform. Many people here are hearing about this all for the first time, and it’s a lot to take in. They go through —

joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

— “Medicare for all” —

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

— tuition-free college.

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

And they speak for several minutes.

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

The charros are standing there with their arms folded, sort of nodding, but —

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

— as they close and open it up for questions, the questions start coming really quickly.

speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

How is the Sanders campaign going to help their small businesses?

speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

What will they do about the potheads they see on the streets?

speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

And they ask a lot about taxes.

speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

And what they really want to know is, how are you going to get the money for this? Am I going to have to be paying more in taxes?

speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

And the Sanders campaign replies to them —

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

— by talking about the Green New Deal, arguing that that will help small businesses.

joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

They talk about how Medicare for all would mean that employers don’t have to pay for employees’ health insurance.

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

And say, look, the people who are going to be taxed are the millionaires and billionaires, not you.

rafael návar [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

But it’s becoming really clear, though the charros are nodding their head and being really polite, that these answers aren’t really convincing them. Ultimately, these are progressive answers for conservatives.

joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH]

michael barbaro

Jenny, I guess, listening to all this, I’m trying to figure out if this strategy makes sense to you as a political reporter. The first event I understand. Young Latino voters who are passionate about Sanders want to help spread the word and maybe convince older Latinos why this guy is in their best interest. But this event feels different. These are voters who need to be convinced of so many things, right? They need to be convinced to care about politics. They need to be convinced that a progressive candidate is somehow in line with their more conservative values, and they need to be so convinced that they go out and vote on Election Day, maybe for the first time.

jennifer medina

I definitely agree and totally hear the skepticism, and there’s real reason to be skeptical. There’s no question that the strategy absolutely relies on getting new voters and convincing people who have never voted before and who don’t see politics as part of their everyday lives to show up and vote in the primary for Bernie Sanders.

joseline garcia [SPEAKING SPANISH] [APPLAUSE]

[music]

jennifer medina

So when the event wraps, I make a really quick beeline to this group of charros and focus on one who had asked the most questions.

jennifer medina [SPEAKING SPANISH]

jennifer medina

His name is Victor Trinidad, and he’s dressed in all black wearing cowboy boots and a big belt buckle.

jessica cheung And you’re wearing a cowboy hat. victor trinidad That’s right. jennifer medina Do you consider yourself a charro? victor trinidad No. I have a horse. jennifer medina So? [LAUGHTER] victor trinidad Well, I don’t know if that’s being a charro — cowboy. jennifer medina A cowboy as opposed to a charro?

jennifer medina

And it becomes pretty clear immediately that he is somebody with a fierce independent streak.

jennifer medina What are the most important issues? You asked about small business, right? victor trinidad Yes. jennifer medina So what are the most — do you own a small business? victor trinidad I do. jennifer medina What kind of business do you own? victor trinidad Landscape. jennifer medina So the most important issue for you is how to grow your small business? victor trinidad What do they offer, yes, for small businesses? jennifer medina What did you think of the answer you heard tonight? Did you feel like there was an answer to your question? victor trinidad Not what I wanted to hear, just because it’s kind of a short answer. I think it has to be more detailed and it’s more to it. jennifer medina And so do you know who you’re going to vote for? victor trinidad Not really, and I’m just going to follow and see who is going to get my vote. Maybe it’s him. I don’t know.

jennifer medina

So he’s telling me, maybe I’ll vote for Sanders —

victor trinidad But I’m definitely going to vote for sure, yeah.

jennifer medina

— but I’m definitely going to vote.

jennifer medina So why are you voting this time? victor trinidad Well, for the first time, I’m going to vote just because I experience a lot of racism that I wasn’t used to prior to Trump in office. So that kind of just motivated me to just to vote against this behavior.

jennifer medina

And this is something we see a lot in the Latino community right now, which is much more enthusiasm about voting because of Trump and because of what people are experiencing.

jennifer medina What’s happening now that you didn’t feel like happened before Trump? victor trinidad Just dirty looks, saying bad things that I don’t want to say. That’s about it. jennifer medina Are you registered as a Democrat? victor trinidad No. jennifer medina What are you registered as? victor trinidad Independent. jennifer medina So you have to request a ballot to vote as a Democrat. Did you know that? victor trinidad I think I get ballots from the mail, but I choose — jennifer medina Right. victor trinidad Oh, I have to be registered? jennifer medina To vote in the primary — this is a confusing California thing — to vote in the primary, you have to request a ballot if you’re not registered as a Democrat. victor trinidad That’s crazy. I don’t think I’ll do that. jennifer medina You don’t think you’ll do that? victor trinidad I’m not going to register just — unless something truly motivates me. jennifer medina And you didn’t hear anything tonight that really motivates you? victor trinidad Going to have to hear from the other guys.

michael barbaro

Jenny, this does not seem like a good sign.

jennifer medina

It does not seem like a good sign. And it goes to show that while a lot of Latinos are very eager to vote against Trump, it’s much more difficult to get them to show up in a primary and vote for somebody else, and it’s not an easy process.

jennifer medina Hi. How are you? I’m Jenny Medina. I’m a reporter with The New York Times. miriam cuesta Jenny? I’m Miriam. Hi. jennifer medina And you’re Jenny also? jennifer najera Jenny, yes. Nice to meet you.

jennifer medina

So we speak to two young women, Miriam Cuesta and Jennifer Najera, who are both college students, and both are die-hard Bernie supporters.

jennifer medina Do you use the term “Tío Bernie“? miriam cuesta Oh, Tío Bernie? jennifer najera Tío Bernie? miriam cuesta Yeah. jennifer najera Tío Bernie. Tío Bernie, yeah. miriam cuesta There’s always someone in our family, a tío, an uncle, who you just get along with. You know. You understand them. You know, they might be different than you. So Bernie, he’s seen a lot as just an old white man, but he still comes from an immigrant family. And so we understand each other. Even if our battles were different, he’s our tío. We get it. He understands us even though he doesn’t have to necessarily live us.

jennifer medina

And they both brought both of their parents tonight.

miriam cuesta Yes, I brought my mom and my dad. jennifer medina Where? Where are they? miriam cuesta Over there. jennifer medina Oh, with the leather jacket.

jennifer medina

But as we’re talking —

jennifer medina Is she a registered voter? miriam cuesta No. Neither of my parents are.

jennifer medina

— it becomes clear that her parents won’t vote.

jennifer medina Are they ever eligible to vote? miriam cuesta No. jennifer medina O.K. miriam cuesta So that’s another perspective that I feel like — I think the majority of the people here are eligible voters, and we are not.

jennifer medina

And, in fact —

miriam cuesta So all three of us are not. So it’s — jennifer medina You’re not an eligible voter? miriam cuesta No, I am not.

jennifer medina

Miriam herself cannot vote.

jennifer medina So what are you doing? If you can’t vote, what do you do with your energy and your activism? miriam cuesta Exactly, yeah. I think that’s one of the reasons why I am so active, because I can’t vote. I can’t even legally donate money to any campaign, and so all I have left is to put in the time and energy. So I started a club on my campus. I started knocking on doors. We started making calls. We started asking just strangers on our campus, do you support Bernie? If you do, make sure you’re registered. By this day, you’re going to vote. If you’re not, let me answer some questions. Let me educate you just in general, just plant a seed. That’s how I can contribute to him. If I can’t vote, at least I can get another person to vote for him in my place.

jennifer medina

And then as I talked to Jennifer —

jennifer medina Are you eligible to vote? jennifer najera Yes, I’m eligible to vote.

jennifer medina

she can vote.

jennifer medina Are your parents eligible to vote? jennifer najera They’re not eligible.

jennifer medina

But her parents cannot.

jennifer najera So just coming here tonight, I wanted to humanize it for them, let them know that politics isn’t just evil and corruption. It’s community, community building, bonding with people, hope, all of these things that we hope to spread with the campaign about Bernie.

jennifer medina

And so this just stuns me, that, of half a dozen people I’m speaking to at this event of maybe 20 people, five of them — five out of six of them cannot vote.

michael barbaro

And why can’t they vote?

jennifer medina

They can’t vote because they’re not U.S. citizens.

speaker [SPEAKING SPANISH]

michael barbaro

Jenny, what do you take away from these two events that you went to in Los Angeles? What should we take away from these two events that you went to?

jennifer medina

It goes to show how complicated the Latino vote is not just in California but in the United States, which is — it’s young. It is mixed status. There are people who are citizens and people who are not. There are English speakers and Spanish speakers. It’s a huge, varied group, and it requires a lot of outreach to get the kind of enthusiasm to show up at the polls and make a difference. But if you multiply these two events by a thousand, you can imagine this movement spreading throughout California and really tipping the scales to the Sanders campaign. So what they’re really trying to do is create this brand-new coalition that brings in all sorts of new Latino voters, both young and old. And if it works, it will probably seem almost obvious in retrospect. But what these two events show us is just how challenging and labor intensive the work is.

michael barbaro

Which is why the question of the Obama coalition without the moderates is being tested in the Sanders campaign.

jennifer medina

Right. If this works, it could revolutionize the way Latino voters are thought of. If it doesn’t, then the Sanders campaign loses.

michael barbaro

Jenny, thank you very much.

jennifer medina

Thank you.

michael barbaro

We’ll be right back.

archived recording (john roberts) At this time, I will administer the oath to all senators in the chamber in conformance with Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution and the Senate’s impeachment rules.

michael barbaro

Here’s what else you need to know today.

archived recording (john roberts) Will all senators now stand or remain standing and raise their right hand?

michael barbaro

On Thursday, the Senate formally opened the impeachment trial of President Trump as Chief Justice John Roberts swore in the body’s 100 members as jurors.

archived recording (john roberts) Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God? archived recording I do.

michael barbaro

Moments later, the sergeant-at-arms announced the rules for the trial.

archived recording Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. All persons are commanded to keep silent on pain of imprisonment while the House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the United States articles of impeachment against Donald John Trump, president of the United States.

michael barbaro

With that, the Senate paused the trial until the beginning of next week.

archived recording (john roberts) The Senate, sitting as court of impeachment, is adjourned until Tuesday, January 21 at 1:00 p.m. [GAVEL]

michael barbaro