What Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said during their Colorado stops
Sanders said his Denver rally had the highest attendance of any rally he's ever had
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GREELEY — Around 10,000 people showed up in Greeley on Friday for a rally hosted by Democratic U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and another 30,ooo-plus showed up later in the day to see the pair in Denver.
This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at kunc.org.
Sanders said his Denver rally had the highest attendance of any rally he’s ever had.
The Colorado appearances of the two well-known lawmakers is part of their “Fight the Oligarchy” tour.
In Greeley, a long line stretched around the Bank of Colorado Arena, which only holds 3,000 people, leaving many outside. Attendees at the Greeley rally said recent concerns over the federal government cuts inspired them to attend the event.
“I work in sort of the federal adjacent sector. So my work is funded by the National Science Foundation, which has been threatened with cuts, and that, obviously, is where the funding for my job has come from,” said Ryan Patnaude, an atmospheric scientist in Fort Collins. “So with the threats of job cuts or funding cuts to the NSF, as well as the government shutdown, it’s been just a lot of unnecessary stress.”
“The money is going to the top, and then they’re forgetting about the people who actually need this help,” said Ariana Cisneros, who works in disability services in Greeley. “I understand that people take advantage of the system, but there are people who need advocacy to get these services, and they’re not getting it.”
Sanders focused much of his speech in Greeley on growing wealth inequality and the influence billionaires have on the Trump administration, calling out Elon Musk in particular.
“So my friends, why is all of this happening? Why is it that the rich get richer and working class people die younger than they should?” Sanders said. “Well, that has everything to do with the fact that we’re living in an oligarchic form of society.”
He engaged the crowd directly about high costs of living, at one point asking people to shout out how much they have to pay for healthcare.
At another point, he asked for their thoughts on why working class people have lower life expectancies than the wealthy. Research from the National Institutes of Health found that lower incomes are associated with lower life expectancies.
Audience members overwhelmingly told Sanders they struggled with stress, especially financial stress over about taxes, bills and daily expenses.
In her speech, Ocasio-Cortez made direct references to Evans in her speech. She stopped short of calling him out by name, but pointed out that Evans hasn’t held any town halls with constituents.
“I hear that you have a representative who has not done a town hall,” said Ocasio-Cortez, to boo’s from the crowd, directed at Evans. “If this is the best that that you all are getting, I think you deserve better.”
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez shared similar messages in Denver.
Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
