At an Iowa house party for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the idea of a ‘political revolution’ was evident.
By Rebecca Morin and Aleksandra Vujicic | [email protected]
Nestled in the the trees of residential Iowa City, chants of “Bernie” and cheering came from an Iowa City couple’s front yard.
On Sunday afternoon, Sanders attended a house party at 2015 Laurence Court N.E.. Gerhild Krapf and Michael Brau, political activists in Iowa City, held the event at their residence.
The intimate setting allowed for Sanders to take direct questions from audience members, and this was one of the first house parties Sanders has attended in the state, organizers told The Daily Iowan.
“If they’re all like this, we might do a few more,” Iowa campaign coordinator Pete D’Alessandro said.
Brau and Krapf contacted the campaign and volunteered to host the house party, D’Alessandro said. Once Sanders solidified his attendance to the Johnson County Democrats’ Barbecue, Brau and Krapf were given them a block of time to house the party.
“Small events like this, where a few hundred people come out, where you can have the opportunity to answer questions and chat … I think you’ll see a combination of small meetings, quant intimate meetings where people will have a better opportunity to interact with me, but you’ll also see larger meetings,” Sanders said during a press gaggle.
Brau, who said he supports Sanders’ because he believes his policies are what is right for the United States, believes the supporters who attended the event in his yard were struck by the idea of creating a political revolution based on the power of the people.
“I hate to keep using the word ‘revolution,’ but it’s actually just engaging people and making it a more vibrant democracy,” he said.
During his nearly hour-and-10-minute speech plus Q&A, Sanders did not stray from his typical rhetoric of denouncing Wall Street and Citizen’s United. He also was asked about how he would support #BlackLivesMatter, and he said there needs to be criminal-justice reform.
Sanders, however, mostly stressed how events such as the one on Sunday are vital to mobilizing voters — especially those who feel disconnected from the political sphere.
Jeff Waite, owner of Hawkeye Sewer & Drain in Iowa City, was a lifelong Republican but decided to vote for President Obama twice.
Although Waite believed in Obama, he said, the president let him down because he hasn’t done what he said he was going to do.
He noted that a political system doesn’t succeed if people don’t stay involved and a proper network of communication must be established.
“Bernie Sanders is the last chance for a revolution that doesn’t require blood,” he said.
A Fox News poll conducted from Oct. 10-12 put Bernie at 25 percent support among likely Democratic primary voters — a 5 percentage point drop from another Fox News poll conducted in September.
The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, with a total sample of 1,004 registered voters.
An October NBC/Marist poll conducted in Iowa showed Sanders receiving 36 percent support among potential Democratic voters. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points.
Rachel Joselson and husband Michael Sellz said they support Sanders because he is not “beholden to lobbyist or financial interests.”
Joselson, a University of Iowa associate professor of music (she wants to sing at Sander’s inauguration if he is elected), said she was first a Hillary Clinton supporter and will continue to be one if Clinton wins the nomination.
“I think that she’s brilliant and that she would do a wonderful job, and I would be very delighted if she ends up being the nominee, I would be delighted if she wins the election, but I feel that Bernie Sanders feels a little more strongly, has a little less political nonsense that has gone on in his past,” Joselson said. “He’s a straight-shooter and says exactly what’s on his mind.”
