An out but not down U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders rallied supporters of Democratic congressional candidate Pramila Jayapal and took swipes at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in a fiery get-out-the-vote speech in downtown Seattle on Saturday night.
Speaking to about 1,500 cheering fans at The Showbox theater, Sanders said he came with a list of offensive comments made by Trump, who has been accused by a number of women of sexual harassment and misconduct, but couldn’t bring himself to repeat any of them.
Instead, Sanders vowed to do everything he could to prevent Trump from winning the presidency, He praised state Sen. Jayapal as a successful politician who personally understands the immigrant experience and as a leader whose values represent what’s best about the country.
“We have got to inject morality into the political process,” Sanders said. But he wasn’t just talking about decency in personal and professional lives.
Sanders used Trump as an example of an economy and election system that favor the rich and connected.
In remarks that echoed his campaign stump speeches, Sanders worked up the room by taking on Wall Street greed as well as income and criminal-justice inequality. He called for solutions to climate change and better access to higher education.
Jayapal, who is running against fellow Democrat Brady Pi?ero Walkinshaw in the 7th District, took a cue from the night’s turbulent weather to encourage people to stay motivated in what has been a roller-coaster election season, one that has left many of Sanders’ most ardent supporters dispirited.
“There’s a storm brewing around us,” but not the one blowing in from the Pacific, she said. “It’s the one that’s going to challenge the status quo and forge a new path” for the country.
Both reaffirmed their support for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But if the rally reflects the local sentiment among Sanders-wing progressives toward Clinton, she still has work to do to gain their trust.
The mere mention of Clinton’s name by Sanders and Jayapal was met with the evening’s loudest boos and jeers.
But the prevailing feeling was determination in the face of exasperation over what one speaker called a “dumpster fire” of an election season.
