This Side Up

Underdogs turn to the people in primary push

By John Howell
Posted 4/26/16

Park at Park View School and walk to the Temple to Music at Roger Williams Park. That was my plan Sunday morning, figuring thousands would turn out to see Bernie Sanders. I called it right Sunday, …

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This Side Up

Underdogs turn to the people in primary push

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Park at Park View School and walk to the Temple to Music at Roger Williams Park. That was my plan Sunday morning, figuring thousands would turn out to see Bernie Sanders. I called it right Sunday, and just 24 hours earlier I called it right when I paid no attention to the signs directing me to parking for the “Kasich event” at Bryant University. I drove on campus and promptly found a space.

But this column isn’t about second guessing the planners of rallies for campaigns of national significance. It’s about people and two candidates who are remarkably similar in many ways, least of all that they are underdogs.

Bernie and Kasich said some of the same things almost word for word, such as enabling people to refinance their student loans and reduce their payments and breaking up the financial institutions that are “too big to fail.” Both talked of coming from humble beginnings, their concern for where the country is going, and the opportunities for future generations. Both candidates are good at relating to their audience. Bernie got laughs when he paused to remember the date of his upcoming wedding anniversary and said he best not forget it. Kasich had the audience laughing when he said he graduated from a Midwest college you “might have heard of…Ohio State.”

Both spoke about an hour, although the Kasich event was a “town meeting” where people asked questions for about a half hour, and Bernie delivered a monologue. Kasich drew several hundred people to an atrium where people watched from floors above and stood around a raised platform where he paced, rarely standing behind a podium and never pausing to use a high stool that served as a good place for a bottle of water. People streamed into the building. There was no security check. The only visible sign of law enforcement was a uniformed state trooper.

The audience was a mix of students and middle-aged adults. There were recognizable members of the Republican establishment, including a few – remember there aren’t many – Republican office holders. We didn’t see Mayor Scott Avedisian, who supports Kasich.

Bernie was blessed with perfect weather and a turnout estimated at 7,000. There were families with their kids and even their dogs. There were young people, too young to vote, but there because they believe in Bernie.

I met one of them as I prepared to hike into the park – Rachel Folco of Warwick with her parents. She’s a student at La Salle Academy and was wearing a Bernie t-shirt and carrying a Bernie sign. Her mother said her daughter has been following the campaign closely.

I found some even younger, like Lincoln and Tyler Stacy of Holden, Mass. Nine and seven years old, respectively, the two had commanding views of the rally from the stairs of the Temple to Music. They joined about 70 people – men, women, black, white, old and young – who formed a backdrop to the podium from where Bernie spoke. They were the youngest and, as it happened, I was standing next to their parents, Katrina and Michael. The family showed up more than an hour in advance and the Sanders team recruited the kids.

Security was visible at the park. Secret Service, police and what appeared to be National Guard from a distance were strategically positioned. A boat patrolled the lake behind the temple. The media was in a cordoned area and went through a security check that included taking a picture with their cameras and a body scan. John Migliaccio was at the gate getting security clearance with Bill Rappleye of Channel 10. He was talking to Tad Devine, chief strategist of Bernie’s campaign.

“You should talk to Tad,” John said. I planned to as soon as I was swept with the wand. But Bernie’s press handler wouldn’t have any part of it.

“Follow me,” she demanded. I protested. It didn’t matter. These weren’t people who knew the local media. They had their rules.

“So much for transparency,” Bill said.

Notably absent were locally elected Democrats. They lined up behind Hillary Clinton when she spoke Saturday in Central Falls. But none were here. North Kingstown senator and Toll Gate High social studies teacher James Sheehan was the exception at Bernie’s rally. He was the only locally elected official to greet Sanders in the tent prior to his speaking appearance.

“I thanked him,” Sheehan said of the meeting. “He has a great heart, he really cares. He is saying what needs to be said.”

Others there to meet Bernie one-on-one numbered about 10 people, many from the IBEW who Sanders backs, said Sheehan.

Sheehan wasn’t surprised by the dearth of elected Democrats at the rally. (Rep. Blake Anthony Filippi, a Bernie supporter, was spotted in the crowd.) “They’re not going to buck the establishment.” As for Bernie, apart from saying what needs to be said, Sheehan said, “He’s a reasonable guy who wants to work with people.”

It’s a read I also got on Kasich. His declaration that ideas will win over personal attacks and smear tactics – an obvious reference to Trump – resonated with those at Bryant. Bernie didn’t refrain from using Trump’s name. Bernie said racism and bigotry is not the future. “We’re going to end racism and bigotry.”

The crowd at the Temple to Music cleared quickly. Bernie didn’t linger. He shook a few outstretched hands as he followed the fence line in the presence of Secret Service personnel. As people walked to their cars, I had the chance to talk with a few. They were enthused. One couple said they planned to keep sending $25 to the campaign monthly. And I got to talk with John Russell as he paused so his two sons could watch the police boat being pulled from the lake.

Russell reveled in the fact that Bernie is offering a different perspective, questioning where we are headed and what it happening. He’s right. What has made this such an interesting – and meaningful – election year is that it hasn’t followed the script as those who believe they have the power would have written it. The hope, and so too the power, as Bernie and Kasich reminded their audiences, is in the people.

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