Galindez writes: "When I first got to Iowa last February to cover the caucuses, I was more interested in the 'Run Warren Run' effort than in Bernie Sanders. I, like some others, still thought the Socialist label would be too hard to run on. But then Bernie made a swing through Iowa, and I saw that his message was resonating."



Bernie Sanders shakes hands with supporters during a rally at Hec Ed Pavilion that drew an estimated 15,000 people to the University of Washington. The rally filled the arena and left thousands outside. (photo: Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com)

Why Bernie Sanders Will Win Iowa

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

hen I first got to Iowa last February to cover the caucuses, I was more interested in the “Run Warren Run” effort than in Bernie Sanders. I, like some others, still thought the Socialist label would be too hard to run on. But then Bernie made a swing through Iowa, and I saw that his message was resonating.

It was an event at a bookstore in Iowa City that initially caught my attention. There were people standing in places where they couldn’t even see Bernie. There were people in the coffee shop (not the same room), and every now and then you would hear them cheer even though you couldn’t see them. Those lucky enough to get a seat were more enthusiastic than any other crowd I had seen before that day. It was at 4 p.m. on a weekday, so many must have left work early or taken the day off to see Bernie.

The next day, a community group in Des Moines had an awards dinner. Bernie was the keynote speaker, and he got several standing ovations. Then came a stop in Ames, Iowa, where the Democratic Party had their annual soup supper. They loved him, and I heard the treasurer tell people that they had raised more money than at any other event they had ever held.

I had a chance to sit down with Bernie at that event, and he told me what he needed to see from the people to decide to run:

Well, Bernie must have seen what he needed to see. His next visit to Iowa was as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Right away, you could see that he was a contender. The first event after his announcement in front of thousands of people in Burlington, Vermont, Bernie had a standing-room-only crowd of 750 people in Davenport, Iowa. I arrived early and his only two staffers in Iowa, Pete D’Alessandro and Evan Burger, were discussing the setup of the room while another event was going on. It was a ballroom that had dividing walls that could either be open or closed. I remember that Pete D’Alessandro thought only the middle section would be used. He went on an errand. When he came back and one of the walls was opened, he was worried they couldn’t fill the room. I remember him saying “Let’s go easy on the chairs, we can always add more if needed.” They not only needed more chairs, they had to open the third section of the room and fill it with chairs, and that still wasn’t enough. I had been covering events in Iowa for months and this was by far the largest event in Iowa organized by any candidate. There were dinners and and large multi-candidate events organized by groups that were bigger, but this was just Bernie and his almost non-existent staff that put it together.

A few days later Bernie was in Minneapolis. Close to 5,000 people came to hear him at the American Indian Center. Thousands had to listen from outside the venue. His campaign was less than a week old, and he was already holding huge events.

Another thing that happened very soon after Bernie announced was that MoveOn suspended their efforts to draft Elizabeth Warren. When Bernie opened his first office in Des Moines, it was like going to a “Run Warren Run” event. The staff and volunteers had traded in their Warren gear for Bernie gear. The same day Bernie opened that office he went to Marshalltown, Iowa, and at a UAW hall delivered what I still think was his strongest speech yet:

Bernie Sanders: "Don't Tell Me We Cant" Bernie Sanders speaking at a UAW Hall in Marshalltown, Iowa. I have attended dozens of Bernie's events but to me this was the best close he has made. Posted by Reader Supported News on Thursday, October 8, 2015

By this point, mid-June, I was convinced that Bernie would win Iowa. Hillary Clinton was holding small, well-choreographed events, while Bernie was holding overflow events. The Clinton campaign, in holding these ticketed events, was losing the opportunity to increase their volunteer base. Bernie was signing up thousands of volunteers around the country while Hillary was holding small events so she could connect with voters, according to her staff. The problem was that she was only talking to her base, and not expanding it.

Eight years ago, Hillary Clinton made the mistake of underestimating Barack Obama. After Super Tuesday they were broke. They had expected to wrap it up that night. The next day I was on a conference call with her staff, and Mark Penn told reporters that for the next month Obama had built-in advantages because he already had staff on the ground. They were conceding states like Wisconsin and Virginia, states where you would have thought she could compete. Barack Obama swept the primaries during the month of March and half of April.

Now we are hearing that again. The Clinton campaign is telling reporters that Bernie has more organization outside the early states than they have. The reason for that? Bernie has been traveling the country holding large events and recruiting volunteers. Bernie has grassroots groups around the county taking the lead and organizing while they wait for the campaign to arrive. Hillary is running a top-down campaign while Bernie is running a grass-roots campaign.

While Hillary Clinton is still trying to define her campaign, everyone knows what Sanders stands for, and he is able to close his Iowa campaign with this ad:

That sums it all up. Bernie Sanders is inspiring people. When people see him they say, “that guy is right, and I believe he wants to stand up for me and make America better.” Hillary wants to continue the status quo. Over the next 10 days, the Clinton campaign will show their true colors and throw the kitchen sink at Bernie. It will be a mistake, because when Hillary slings mud at Bernie, she will be slinging it at the rest of us. Bernie’s campaign is a movement. An attack on Bernie is an attack on the revolution. We won’t sling mud back, but we will fire back on caucus night and pack the rooms at 7 p.m. and win.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.