Bernie, AOC call for grassroots organizing in North Las Vegas rally

Hundreds gathered on Thursday afternoon in North Las Vegas to hear from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about the state of the country and a vision for the future.

The progressive leaders were joined by Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., for a rally at Craig Ranch Regional Park, where about a thousand people packed a lawn as part of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez’s “Fight the Oligarchy” tour.

Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez and Horsford criticized recent actions from the Trump administration to cut government services, including efforts to cut Medicaid by $880 billion and a Thursday order to dismantle the Department of Education.

They went after a small group of billionaires who they say run the country, targeting Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who oversees the Department of Government Efficiency aimed at reducing waste in the government, which has a deficit of approximately $1.83 trillion.

“We are here to say, ‘No, we will not accept an oligarchic form of society where a handful of billionaires run the government,’” Sanders said, receiving cheers from the crowd.

The rally came just months after President Donald Trump secured Nevada by about 40,000 votes, becoming the first Republican in 20 years to win the Silver State.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative and libertarian political advocacy group, criticized the event, saying Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are pushing progressive policies that Nevadans rejected in November.

“Instead of putting on a far-left progressive road show, members of Congress like Bernie Sanders and AOC should focus on passing legislation that will empower Americans and ease the burden of an uncertain economy,” said AFP-Nevada State Director Ronnie Najarro in a statement.

Criticizing billionaires

The progressive leaders took aim at billionaires during the rally. The independent senator from Vermont said the rich are becoming richer, while working-class families are struggling, calling the “greed of the oligarchy” the worst addiction.

He painted a picture of two different Americas, one in which corporations dominate and the wealthy have “never had it so good,” pointing to Musk, Jeffrey Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, who own more wealth than the bottom half of Americans. People in the crowd yelled “thieves” and “tax the rich.”

Then there is the other America that most people live in, according to Sanders. He said 60% of them are living paycheck to paycheck. He asked the audience what it means to live paycheck to paycheck. People said “struggle,” “going without,” “stress every day to pay the rent” and “wanting to go to college, not having money to do it.”

Musk has said he is getting involved in the government out of a concern that corruption and waste will cause the country to go bankrupt.

“And if we don’t do something about it, the ship of America is going to sink. And we’re all on that ship,” he said in a recent Fox News interview.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called for campaign finance reform to bar lobbyists and corporations from funding political campaigns. They argued for free universal health care, an increase of the minimum wage to at least $17 an hour, and free public college and trade school tuition.

Ocasio-Cortez urged the crowd to build community, whether through volunteer groups or block associations.

“Community is the most powerful building block we have to defeat authoritarianism and root out corruption in the White House,” she said.

Sanders ended his speech by telling the crowd not to feel despair and by encouraging attendees to organize.

“None of us have the privilege of hiding under the covers,” he said. “Let us never forget, real change only occurs when ordinary people at the grassroots level stand up against oppression and injustice and fight back.”

Horsford said that when working people stand together, they have the power to change everything.

“At the end of the day, this isn’t about Republicans versus Democrats. It’s about the people versus the powerful,” he said.

While calling for unity among the working class, an undercurrent of division among the Democratic Party also was addressed.

Ocasio-Cortez praised Horsford, Sen. Jacky Rosen and Nevada’s other House Democrats who “stood strong” against the Republican funding package that narrowly passed last week. Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto broke from her party to vote on a procedural item that allowed the package to move forward and fund the government until September.

“We need a Democratic party that fights harder for us, too,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the rally.

Energy among the crowd

Summerlin resident Suzy Marsian, a longtime Bernie supporter, said Sanders is the only man she has ever supported.

“He has never wavered ever. He has always stood up for the people,” said Marsian, who wore a T-shirt of Sanders masked, gloved and sitting at former President Biden’s inauguration.

She said she feels useless and helpless and hoped Sanders would have ideas for what people can do.

Marsian, a Democratic voter, reiterated criticisms of Musk, saying no one elected him or voted for him. She doesn’t think the Democratic Party is doing enough to stand up against the administration.

“I think they’re either scared or they’re overwhelmed or they don’t know what to do, but the Democrats are not stepping up to the plate like they should be,” Marsian said.

Las Vegas resident Aaron Seseras said Sanders speaks openly, and he likes that he takes grassroots donations.

“I felt like he’s always been for the people and put the people before himself,” said Seseras, who identifies as independent.

The Las Vegas resident condemned the Trump administration, accusing it of trying to rip the country apart by attacking groups of people based on their race, sex or nationality.

“People are just basing their political decisions off of emotional biases and hatred rather than actual policies for the American people,” he said.

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