Mar 7

Mar 7 Bernie in Chi Town

“When I’m ridin’ ‘round the world
And I’m doin’ this and I’m signin’ that
And I’m tryin’ to make some girl, who tells me
Baby, better come back maybe next week
Can’t you see I’m on a losing streak?
I can’t get no, oh, no, no, no, hey, hey, hey
That’s what I say, I can’t get no, I can’t get no
I can’t get no satisfaction, no satisfaction
No satisfaction, no satisfaction”

— Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones, from Out of Our Heads (1965)

When Bernie Sanders hits the stage, it is no different than when Mick Jagger prances along the runway as Keith plugs in and Charlie settles in at his kit. The crowd erupts in frenzied ecstasy. Jagger, at a youthful 76, still has the moves on Bernie, who is 78, but both deliver a rousing message to the faithful.

This afternoon I attended Bernie’s Chicago rally, which was staged in Grant Park in front of the Petrillo Bandshell. I arrived about 12:30 PM. It looked like there were already 10,000 people in Butler Field even though the gates had only been open since 11:30 PM.

The entrance line ran north along Columbus Drive, from Jackson Drive to Monroe, and it then headed eastward toward Lake Shore Drive. As I stood in line waiting for a volunteer to wand me with a handheld magnatometer, I listened to the sort of political talk you would expect at a Bernie Sanders’ rally. “How did the country get so hateful?” “Trump is a fucking asshole.” “What are we going to do if the establishment steals the nomination from Bernie?” “No, they are stealing it from him.” I kept my mouth shut even though the notion that the “establishment” is stealing the nomination from Bernie is highly offensive to me. Last Tuesday, the voters spoke, not the party elites. The Bernie Bros and Sisters should listen to themselves when they chant, “This is what democracy looks like.”

One women standing behind me looked at me when I turned around, exclaiming, “You look just like him.” I responded, “Like Bernie?” “Yep,” she replied. All I could say was, “I’d better get my hair dyed the next time I get it cut,” while thinking, “I’ve gone to the dogs.”

After a half hour I was within striking distance of the entrance point on the far end of Monroe, when all of a sudden the crowd just started rushing toward the center of the field. The crowd was otherwise orderly, so I suspect that the security team decided to just open up the grounds, particularly because the folks still in line would be standing behind two sets of barricades midway back from the large crowd that was already seated in the choice seats. Billionaires may not have any pull with Bernie, but like all systems involving humans, some people have more clout than others.

I immediately realized that from my vantage point on the periphery, I would not capture any images of Bernie. The field is flat so there were no sight-lines or elevated spots to shoot over or around the crowd. At this point, I started walking south, back toward Jackson. I spotted the press entrance. I had a press ID so I went for it even though I was not pre-registered. With no questions asked, the guardian holding the coin of the realm handed me a credential. I was then free to roam the grounds, so I scoped out the crowd and surrounding areas.

About an hour before Bernie hit, the gate opened up, and a flood of Bernie supporters, each carrying a sign, came rushing past me as I stood 250 feet from the speaker’s platform, which was behind barricades. They headed to the risers in back of the large American flag that served as a backdrop, momentarily taking me back to the famous 1966 footage of Dylan and the Hawks playing in front of a large American flag in Manchester, England. The people, presumably selected for their diversity, who had rushed past me would serve as the wallpaper behind Bernie as he spoke.

At this point, I headed to the television risers, positioning myself in back of the MSNBC and CNN cameras. MSNBC’s Garrett Haake stood immediately in front of me preparing his package.

Chicago political rallies typically include countless speakers before the main event. Every interest group must make its pitch, or it will not feel respected. Today wasn’t too bad, with only six or seven short speeches preceding Bernie. The head of the Illinois Sanders operation opened the festivities, followed by a couple of union people, including one Stacy Davis Gates from the Chicago Teachers Union. As is always the case, the remarks treaded no new ground.

Then Congressman Jesus “Chuey” Garcia took the stage to introduce Bernie. After a pause, a little old white-haired man in a navy blue blazer walked from stage left along a narrow pathway, climbing a couple of steps to the lectern, as thunderous applause surrounded me, and fluttering blue and white signs thrust upward and downward as if attached to old locomotive engines.

I must be watching too much MSNBC. Sanders spoke for about 35 minutes. Although I had never been to one of his rallies, I knew every line in that speech. Yes, Joe Biden and you are friends, but the gloves are going to come off. When Bernie is President, marijuanas will be legal, and maybe he will return to Grant Park to celebrate legalization—hee-hee. His is a grassroots campaign, with no billionaires contributing; just ordinary folks who, on average, contribute $18.50. There will be a Green New Deal; student loans will magically disappear; and health care will be readily available, with nobody needing to file for bankruptcy.

The Stones first played Satisfaction in 1965. Fifty-five years later, a lot of people still can’t get any satisfaction. Together with idealistic college students, the dissatisfied appear to make up Bernie’s base. They are much closer to Trump’s base than many might realize. Maybe better educated and more socially liberal, but many of these folks think they’ve been dealt a raw deal. Even if they’re right, I doubt Bernie is going to bring them the satisfaction his base believes it deserves.

Yet, you have to give Bernie’s operation a lot of credit when it comes to keeping his base engaged. I completed the online signup form several days ago, hoping I’d get a better seat. I did not, but Bernie had my contact information. For the last four days I have been inundated with sophisticated Bernie e-mails. They contain a series of buttons that make it easy for me to contribute, sign up for additional events, participate in canvassing, and sponsor my own Bernie event.

Within two hours after today’s rally, I felt my Apple Watch vibrate. The message: “Hi Jack! How was your experience at the Rally in Chicago with Bernie Sanders? Reply GOOD if it was good, BAD if it was not, or MISSED if you didn’t make it.” Well, that brings to mind another Rolling Stones song from Bernie’s radical days. “You can’t always get what you want, But if you try sometime you find, you get what you need.” I am beginning to hear some doubts from Bernie when he is interviewed as to whether he will capture the nomination, but it is clear that Bernie is building a movement that will survive for some time to come even if he fails to capture the nomination.

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