BY DEBRA KEEFER RAMAGE
Is Bernie Sanders just a Facebook meme or is there a real, honest campaign building to get him nominated? The good news is, there is a lot more going on than just Facebook and email campaigns. A group called MN4Bernie formed soon after the unexpectedly large crowd turned out to hear Sanders speak at the American Indian Center on May 31.
On July 29, there were over 100,000 people across the nation attending hundreds of “house parties” (some too big for houses) to hear and see Sanders on a live stream tell them how they could get involved, and exactly what his program is. Here in the Powderhorn area, a house party originally scheduled for a Corcoran home outgrew its venue, and ended up being nearly 100 people in attendance at Walker Church, where the livestream did get viewed, after some initial technical issues.
There are only a small cadre of staffers paid by the national campaign, and much of the leadership is volunteer. Of course, this can lead to complications and even misunderstandings, but so far, progress happens with a minimum of drama. The group has had two or three increasingly large mass meetings, signing up new teams of volunteers each time. The last one was on the 12th of August at the UFCW Union Hall in South St. Paul. There were about 200 people in attendance, more than half having attended at least one meeting already.
There are a plethora of teams that volunteers can join. Just in the past couple of weeks, large numbers tabled with the DFL at the State Fair and volunteered or just hung out at the Democratic National Committee meeting in downtown Minneapolis on Aug. 28. In addition, the Data team collaborates on Google, tracking the contact details of all these volunteers, and the Caucus Prep team will begin learning how to caucus, or how to teach others how to caucus. Volunteers who are new to the DFL will learn the intricacies of caucusing, conventions, delegates and super-delegates. The Volunteer Coordinating team and the Events team work hand-in-hand to plug volunteers into events, and plan even more events. The Sanders campaign has been a presence at the Gay Pride parade and numerous other community gatherings. There is a Greater MN team to ensure all parts of the state are involved. And the Outreach team contains a majority of students from many schools, and the largest contingent of people of color supporting Bernie, although there are people of color, youth, queer people and poor people across all the teams and supporters.
Having worked on the Caucus Prep team a bit, it appears that it wouldn’t hurt for South Minneapolis, with its deep history and knowledge of DFL politics, to do some independent caucus organizing, if we can get a coherent group together. What the MN4Bernie campaign is doing is mostly geared toward the novices, and there is plenty for them to do, too. If you are interested in being part of the big picture, or you are unfamiliar with the DFL and could use the “beginner’s course,” start with the MN4Bernie Facebook page and click on Sign Up as well as Like. If you are interested in more focused, local intense organizing, leave a message on the Southside Pride page of Facebook, or just call us.
