Tonight I stood in a line of over 20,000 people to see the next President speak

[Bjorn Against]

Tonight I stood with over 20,000 people in a line that stretched for blocks to hear the next President of the United States deliver a powerful speech.

I have been to many political events before but I have never seen this many young people at any of them. Thousands of young people turned out to see a candidate that respects their intelligence and speaks to them just like he speaks to everyone else. He is a candidate that realizes you don't win the votes of young people by playing them a Katy Perry or Demi Lovato song, but instead you treat them with respect and engage them on the issues that matter to them.

Bernie's speech was great, it was filled with substance and covered as many issues as he could possibly squeeze into a single hour.

By the time he finished most people in the arena had been on their feet for two to three hours between their time standing in line and continuing to stand through the speech, many people were no doubt sore by the end of it but that did not dampen the enthusiasm one bit.

People are sick of the status quo, we need to move away from the Third Way politics that have left progressives feeling that not even the people they vote for can be trusted.

It is time to reject the people who are so cold that they would tell a family that lacks health care that their desire to see a doctor is as absurd as wanting a unicorn.

It is time to reject a party leadership that seems to value contributions from the big banks more than they value the people who vote for them.

It is time to embrace real change in this country, and it is time to elect Bernie Sanders to lead us in bringing about that change.

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for sharing, Bjorn Against.

[WillyT]

2. + 1,000,000,000 - What You Said !!!

[Samantha]

3. Very interesting read

Thank you for sharing this experience.

Sam

[Fawke Em]

4. But....but.. but, Hillary won ALL the debates, according to the establishment media.

Hillary has all the establishment endorsements!

Hillary has all this so-called experience, according to the establishment.

Seriously,

It looked like GREAT night! Glad you got to go!

[Nyan]

5. Thanks for the inspiring post, Bjorn Against.

I'm with you 100%

[Gregorian]

6. I'm watching the last five minutes. He's perfected some of the key issues. Incredible.

And you're in the crowd. How cool.

The way he's nailing these important issues is unbeatable.

[zentrum]

7. Thanks so much

….for being there and for telling us about it.

I hope they always have Democratic voter registration tables at these events.

[MrMickeysMom]

8. Thanks for the best bedtime story I could have tonight, Bjorn...

I look forward to the replay somewhere here tomorrow... crowds in all.

It has a happy ending and it's worth a long hard fight to move it forward.

[Indepatriot]

9. K&R!!!!

Very nicely said.

[Ed Suspicious]

10. Thanks for the recap! I was really feeling down today, until I read this!

[snagglepuss]

11. Terrific post. Very powerful. Thanks.

[MissDeeds]

12. + a zillion

Wish I could have been there! Bernie Sanders is the greatest candidate of my lifetime!

[global1]

13. You Mentioned The Young People In Attendance At This Event....

I hope every one of them at this event and those around the country that have felt the Bern go home and convince their parents to vote for Bernie - this could grow exponentially. We are well on our way to a 'political revolution'.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

14. Good on ya, Bjorn!

This proves beyond a doubt, time after time, it doesn't matter even when debates are scheduled at hinky times, the crowds always find Bernie. And this massive show of support will help him win the Iowa caucuses.

K&R

[Kalidurga]

15. Were you in the main auditorium of the overflow?

I was in the overflow. I think I was one of the last people in line for about a minute then 50 more people showed up then a few dozen after that, I am not sure I looked back and I couldn't see the end of the line anymore.

[Bjorn Against]

16. I was in the main area

I got there early so I was able to get pretty close to the stage.

[Kalidurga]

18. Cool

I got lost so I was about a half an hour later than I had anticipated. The overflow had about 5,000 and Bernie came to talk to us first. I was so like wow, that is so cool he came to talk to us stragglers.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

40. Fantastic!

[Eric J in MN]

28. What time did you get in line? NT

NT

[Bjorn Against]

34. I think it was around 5:15 or so.

[Kalidurga]

36. about 6:45

and the line kept growing

[geardaddy]

52. About 3:00 n/t

[humbled_opinion]

17. You are participating in a political revolution... Love it n/t

[Fuddnik]

19. Godamn Right! Viva la Revolution!

[WillyT]

20. Did It Look Anything Like This:

DULink: http://upload.democraticunderground.com/12511074257

[Bjorn Against]

21. That would be the one

15,000 in the main room and another 5,000 in the overflow.

[WillyT]

22. :fistbump:

[Cassiopeia]

23. In 2008 millions of young/first time voters were not counted in the polling

and the polling "experts" are making the same mistake this year.

Bernie 2016!

[Scruffy1]

24. I was there from 4 until 10 pm.

The crowd was amazing. Young, old and in between. When I was done ushering, I went to the overflow room to see him on video, and was blown away when Keith Elison and Bernie cam e running to the stage to make sure everyone had a chance to see and here him live. This tough old bastard cried.

[Le Taz Hot]

25. That was my experience in L.A. too last August

A sea of young, enthusiastic and VERY politically savvy young people as far as the eye could see. Like you, I've been to many many political rallies but I'd never experienced anything like that event.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[litlbilly]

43. Same for me in Portland. Im still waiting for someplace to beat 28k:)

[Warren DeMontague]

26. KICK AND REC AND REC AND KICK

[Eric J in MN]

27. Who spoke at the rally before Bernie Sanders? NT

NT

[Bjorn Against]

31. A couple of college students and Keith Ellison

[AtomicKitten]

29. Thanks for your reporting.

[Chef Eric]

30. A great post. Thank you. nt

[SammyWinstonJack]

32. +1000000

[left-of-center2012]

33. Has Hillary ever had 20,000 people?

Seems I read in the past she favors smaller, more 'intimate' groups?
I recall her DU supporters cheered when she drew 1,000 women in Boston.

[rhett o rick]

58. She prefers small groups that contribute to her campaign and her personal fortune in the

multi thousand dollar range. I think Goldman-Sachs, one of the worst of the worse, has given her personal fortune over $600,000 dollars. They obviously hope she will look favorably upon them when regulation comes up. Can we spell G R A F T?

[kenfrequed]

35. I was stuck in overflow

I arrived at around 6:30pm foolishly thinking I had time. Still, the numbers were incredible and Bernie did stop in to talk to the overflow room for a bit to talk to us. I have never been at a Rally in Minnesota that was this big.

I think the establishment is going to be in for a shock.

[geardaddy]

48. We got there at about 3:00

We were standing about 20-30 feet from the lectern!

[kenfrequed]

49. Lucky!

The earliest I could have arrived was 6pm after work. Didn't get there till 6:30pm.

Still it was incredible!

[geardaddy]

50. Yes it was.

I thought the young Somali-American woman's speech was very moving and Keith's introduction was fantastic!

I loved that he called out the Waltons, too.

[AzDar]

37. Bernie!!

[GoneFishin]

38. K&R

[LongTomH]

39. +10,000 -- Glad you had the chance to hear Bernie speak.

I heard him at the Jefferson / Jackson Dinner in Des Moines, IA back in November.

[cui bono]

41. Great post!

Agree with all your sentiments.

I wish I had gone to see Bernie when he came out before he declared, when he was feeling it out. It was a much smaller venue but I was busy. Had I known he was actually going to run and it would turn into what it has I would have changed my plans!

.

[Thespian2]

42. Right On!!

[politicaljunkie41910]

44. I'm sure it had nothing to do with all the FREE STUFF Bernie's promising!!!!!!

[Ivan Kaputski]

45. k and r

[libdem4life]

46. His calling out of WalMart...wow...it's almost scary. WalMart has eaten alive all of the

local businesses wherever they go. Of course, Hillary loves them. I'm sure even she cringes just a bit when he not only calls them out, but tells them to "get off welfare" I love it.

[geardaddy]

47. I did too!

Great post about the event! Great event!

[chervilant]

51. It's also time for Hi11ary supporters

to acknowledge that support for Bernie is increasing by leaps and bounds, and it's not going to stop.

I am so excited!!!

[mobeau69]

53. Video of St. Paul Rally

[smiley]

54. k&r

[greiner3]

55. Can you imagine his strategy being named after him

The Bernie Strategy.

Sounds much better than The Southern Strategy

[sellitman]

56. Bravo!

Well said. I wish I had your writing skills

[Arugula Latte]

57. "Richest, most powerful nation in the world! But fuck you if you think that means

anything in terms of citizens getting the very basics in life! If that's what you want, you're a leftist loon!"

Yeah, that message is not resonating. But Bernie's sure is!

[dflprincess]

59. I spoke to a couple friends who attended

(I couldn't get out of work in time to go)

They said pretty much what you did, lots of young people (they're both 70) and the energy was incredible. They've been active in the DFL forever and, besides seeing Bernie and being right down in front, was that the "kids" they spoke to were all pumped about going to the caucus.

I think Bernie has a real shot at taking Minnesota.