I was fortunate enough to Attend Bernie’s “A Future to Believe in” Rally on Saturday, February 27 at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin. I think the rally was only announced at 6:00 p.m. the previous evening (according to a person in the crowd I talked to) So this was less than 24 notice.
I wasn’t even going to go because of the location and the fact that public transportation doesn’t go anywhere near there, but fortunately a fellow Kossack who lives near me was volunteering at the event and offered to give me a ride.
We left about 6:45 a.m. (she had to be there by 7:30 a.m. while the gates to the public opened at 9:00 a.m.) I hung out with the volunteers for awhile. They couldn’t even get in until well after 7:30 because Secret Service was sweeping the area. I finally got in the public line around 8:30 a.m. One of the things I saw was a Bernie pickup truck used by the volunteers loaded with pamphlets and the blue “Bernie 2016” signs that were given out later.
Here’s a cute video of a little girl saying why she supports Bernie Sanders, and you can also get a sense of the people standing in line (Duration 0:40)
Secret Service set up the security screening (there were four of them) and people started going through about 8:50 a.m. For those who have wondered about being able to take cameras in — yes you can. The recommend just taking in cell phones, wallets, keys, but I took in a small bag about the size of a woman’s purse. All it had in it was my camera, my extra zoom lens, and my keys. Also, you have to take off your Bernie pins going through security because they will set off the metal detector. I had on sweat pants, so there was no belt for me to have to take off.
Then we had to stand in another line to actually get in the space — a grassy area in between two racetracks — where Bernie would be speaking. When they opened the gates, it was bedlam — people running to get as close to Bernie as they could. (Duration 0:55)
Originally, I was up kind of near to the front — about 8 rows back, but I started thinking. Did I really want to be standing in that one spot for several hours? As people began to fill up more rows behind me, I started to feel like I might be claustrophobic, so I backed out of the crowd and found a picnic table off to the side and about 50 yards away. I figured I could periodically stand on the table and with a zoom lens and get some pretty good shots. There ended up being being two other couples at that table and they were very friendly.
While we were waiting for the speeches to begin, there was a mix of music played. Some was prerecorded like Burn Baby Burn, On the Road Again, and Looking for America, but there was also a live band as well.
You were allowed to bring in your homemade signs, but they couldn’t be on a stick — only flat signs and banners that you could hold with your hands. Here was one I saw. The photo doesn’t do it justice. What looks like a gray border was actually aluminum foil so it was very shiny and flashy.
We watched as they chose people from the audience to appear on stage behind Bernie. Once they were assembled and given signs, they did a practice cheer, waving their signs and the audience joined in as well.
When the program actually began, a man and his litle girl came on stage and the little girl was kind of nervous. She couldn’t have been more than 5 years old and had this little sweet childlike voice. I think she was shy, but the crowd gave her a big hand with lots of cheering. All the spectators seemed to be so nice and happy to be there. It was nothing like a Trump rally where the attendees rant and rave about the undocumented workers and the Muslims.
Then it was time for the national anthem.
Next up to speak was former Texas State Senator Hector Uribe. He said that even coming close would be a victory for Bernie in Texas, given where he started. Just finishing with some good numbers should resonate with people in the states that vote afterward.
The crowd continued to grow. We heard later that the entrance gates for cars to the Circuit of The Americas had been closed at 11:00 a.m. but if you were inside those main gates you were allowed to try and make the rally. You just had to find a parking place, make your way to the security checkpoints, and then make your way to the area where Bernie was to speak. This is how big the crowd was from my vantage point between Hector Uribe speaking and Jim Hightower, who had yet to come on stage. I couldn’t get a shot of the whole crowd, because the press stands to my left were blocking my view.
The next speaker on stage was Jim Hightower, former Texas Agriculture Commissioner, who hasn’t held office since 1991, but is a political figure nonetheless.
“Hello Revolutionaries! Welcome to this palace of populism,” , he said in a sarcastic nod to the Circuit of The Americas. (COTA is pretty much a cathedral of corporate welfare.) “It was built for the rich people, but today it belongs to real people.”
While Hightower was speaking, all of a sudden there was an excited roar from the crowd. People had spotted Bernie and Jane making their way behind the stage. And then there was that glorious moment when Bernie and Jane actually came up on stage.
After Jane and Jim Hightower had left the stage Bernie began his speech. It started about 11:50 a.m.
This short video was taken by Zach — one of the Bernie volunteers here in Austin from the press platform. The first 40 seconds really gives you an good idea of the size of the crowd. The crowd in front of the platform and wrapped around both sides of it. (I was on the right side of the platform just behind it. Also, when the video is panned out, on the right side in the distance you can see people running. These were the people who had made it inside the COTA gates in their cars, but parked, went through the security checkpoints, and were running to hear Bernie speak.
Duration 3:23
I think Bernie was amazed by the size of the crowd.
The crowd ate it up.
After he was done with his speech, Bernie, Jane, a couple of singers, and a guitarist sang This Land is Your Land. (Duration 4:02)
(Right at the 3:00 minute mark, they sang a special stanza written specifically for Bernie’s candidacy. Jane and Bernie were truly delighted! Only in Austin — Live Music Capital of the World.
After that, it was time to leave.