Live in Providence: Bernie Sanders endorses Aaron Regunberg for CD 1
With musical guest Vanessa Carlton
United States Senator and former Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was in Providence on Sunday afternoon, taking the stage at the the Columbus Theater on Broadway to endorse former State Representative Aaron Regunberg for the Congressional District One special election. Though there has been little polling done in this race, Regunberg is perceived by most as the frontrunner.
“I'm here to make sure that Aaron becomes the next Congressperson from Rhode Island,” said Sanders. “Brothers and sisters, we all living in the most difficult times in our lives. And if sometimes you feel a little bit overwhelmed and sometimes you get a little bit depressed and sometimes you feel anxious, trust me, you are not alone. The problems we face are extraordinary, but I believe now, and I have always believed, that when we stand together - working people and seniors and young people and Black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American - when we are prepared to take on the greed of the big money interests, nothing will stop us.
“The reason I'm here for Aaron is something that he already said. We just don't need another democratic vote in Congress. We need people who have the guts to take on powerful special interests and fight for the working class of this country.”
There were well over 600 people at the rally, all very enthusiastic in their support of Sanders and Regunberg.
The endorsement rally began with a live performance by Vanessa Carlton. You can watch her performance at this link.
You can watch the rest of the rally here:
The speaking program began with Providence City Councilmember Sue Anderbois (Ward 3) taking the stage.
“I'm a long-time climate activist,” said Councilmember Anderbois. “The climate crisis is real. We're facing some really big challenges from the healthcare crisis, affordable housing, crazy costs for healthcare, and all of the things that are happening in society. I want our next congressperson to be someone who's not just going to warm a seat, flip the button the right way, maybe sometimes, but who is going to do the hard work to organize, to write those bills, and get them over the finish line.”
State Representative Leonela Felix (Democrat, District 61, Pawtucket) took the stage next.
"I often get asked, 'Why do I support Aaron Regunberg for Congress?'“ said Representative Felix. “And the real question that people are asking me is, "‘Why do I, a Black, Afro-Latina woman, support Aaron over other people of color who are running?’ That's a very legit question to ask. It's a fair question.
"The answer is very simple. More than identity politics, Rhode Island needs a champion who will fight to ensure that families not only survive but they thrive. The only candidate with a track record of doing so, and fighting for progressive policies, is Aaron."
Later, Representative Felix noted that “…when I decided to run [for office], Aaron was the only elected leader to publicly endorse my campaign. The only one.”
Taking the stage next was State Representative Cherie Cruz (Democrat, District 58, Pawtucket).
“I met Aaron as a mom of four, while I was a first-generation college student at Brown University almost 15 years ago,” said Representative Cruz. “Throughout that time, I watched Aaron organize and fight on the ground and fought alongside him. I fought alongside Aaron for criminal legal reforms where we linked arms outside the only private prison [in Rhode Island] advocating to have it closed down. I spent long hours at the State House advocating for his bill to end solitary confinement, and push to end policies of the failed war on drugs.”
Sara Nelson, President of the International Association of Flight Attendants, was the next to take the stage. Nelson is a terrific speaker and a strong union leader out of Boston. Her entire speech is well worth listening to.
“Capitalists say there is no need for labor organizing, except the fact that they are continually organizing and showing us their real beliefs. The capitalists want the most labor for the least amount of money, including slavery. Labor wants the most money for the least amount of labor, and we should get any innovation in our pockets and a 20-hour work-week moving forward here.
“Labor produced all the riches in this country and built the world's palaces, but neither dwells in those palaces nor spends the profits that we create. If you would only realize that you hold the whole solution in your hand, for if every worker in America across every industry were simply to stop working, the capitalists would yield to any demands because the world could simply not go on.”
Nelson then introduced Aaron Regunberg.
“There's a lot to be angry about right now, but I want to be clear, I'm not running for Congress because I'm angry,” said Regunberg, “I'm running for Congress because I'm hopeful…”
Regunberg then brought Senator Bernie Sanders onto the stage, as quoted above. The speech Senator Sanders gave was classic Sanders, touching on all his major points, plus a few that were very much in the news today:
“When we look to the future, we also look to the growth of artificial intelligence and robotics,” said Senator Sanders. “And in my view, you can look at that very important issue in one of two ways. You can say that it is all right for the large corporations who are going to use robotics and artificial intelligence to throw millions of workers out on the street as they enrich themselves, or you can look at the new technologies and say, “Wow, we are going to see a significant increase in worker productivity and it is going to be workers who benefit from that increased productivity.
“Instead of talking about throwing workers out on the street, we should be talking about reducing the work week to 32 hours.”
Outside the venue, someone had hired an electronic billboard truck to circle the theater with a message critical of Sanders for not endorsing a person of color or a woman in the Congressional District One special election. The driver of the truck undercut the message somewhat with a handheld sign.
See my Congressional District One race interviews here:
See my other articles on the Congressional District One race interviews here:
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Live in Providence: Bernie Sanders endorses Aaron Regunberg for CD 1
Great coverage. Thanks!