Bernie Sanders and the people of the Morehouse rally

By THOMAS HARTWELL

I'm a fairly new journalist. I haven't had the experiences that many seasoned field reporters have. I don't have stories and I don't have a crazy interview history. I'm emerging -- budding, if you will -- so covering a presidential campaign event, really covering it, was exhilarating. I can tell that I'm in the right line of work and that Tuesday night was the beginning of my own stories.

More than 4,800 gather to hear Sanders speak at
 Morehouse College, Tuesday. Photo by Thomas Hartwell

Bernie Sanders came to Morehouse College, Tuesday, and so did thousands of supporters. I arrived at 4:30, the event was set to start at 7, and began hunting for parking -- a challenge in the area. It wasn't that there weren't spots available or that there was already overwhelming traffic, but I didn't want to pay at a meter or embarrass myself with an attempt at parallel parking. I asked a couple police officers as I was driving to and fro, but received only a, "We don't know where the event is," before I could even roll my window all the way down. "Well, what about parking?" I said. "Don't know that either," they said. I eventually found a deck at Morehouse School of Medicine and talked a rather friendly parking attendant into letting me "borrow" a reserved spot for a few hours, which probably really meant "park illegally and pay me $5." 

Shortly after getting out of my car, I noticed three women parading down the sidewalk in the direction of Morehouse's main campus, the eldest of the group sporting a tie-dye skirt and matching headband. Rosie Trimmer, as I was introduced to her, was garbed in what I can only describe as "hippie attire" to match her headband and skirt -- a description, I gathered, she would take as a compliment -- and she carried a homemade Bernie sign. The sign read, "4 generations + 4 women + 4 ever + 4 Bernie = '16' election. Vote with your soul!" I took a picture of the trio, wished them well, and took a moment to stand there and think through the night's do's and don'ts, letting my eyes blur before realizing I had no idea where I was supposed to go. Rosie and her group hadn't gotten far, though, and since I assumed they'd know where they were headed, I followed their lead. 

Rosie Trimmer (left), April Gaffney and Tybee Trimmer (right)
support Sanders with signs and attire. Photo by Thomas Hartwell

Turns out, I parked MILES from Morehouse's Forbes Arena, where the rally was to be held, and when I finally got to the check-in line, it too was miles long (it wasn't literally miles, but without exaggeration, it probably stretched 3/4 of a mile). I stood in line for about 20 minutes until volunteers began walking along the sidewalk registering people via their smartphones. I showed them a press pass I had been provided by Kennesaw State University College of Communication and Media, and they sent me to the media entrance. I approached the media check-in table reluctantly -- I was only a lowly student journalist, and I was getting involved with hotshots from the Times, CNN and others. But working from the foundation of a piece of wisdom I have received from many throughout the years, "Look like you know what you're doing and no one asks any questions," I strutted up, gave them my name and said, "I'm with KSU News." I got in. My name was not on the press list, I was added and I was given a Bernie Sanders press pass.

Alexander Meyer, Morehouse College sophomore, prepares for
 Sanders' speech. Photo by Thomas Hartwell

I interviewed students of Morehouse College, local high school students and a 93-year-old Bernie supporter. The atmosphere was electrifying, Sanders' surrogates and his own speech were intense and passionate, but the rhetoric did not excite me as much as the people of the event. The people I talked to were, for the most part well-informed, excited and just as passionate as the candidate they backed. My experience showed me I'm in the right line of work. Being surrounded by thousands of people, snapping pictures left and right, just being amid the chaos gives me energy for my future in journalism.

If you want a hard news story for this event, check it out here.

Sanders arrives at Morehouse College, rallies diverse audience of thousands

By THOMAS HARTWELL

Bernie Sanders speaks to nearly 5,000 at Morehouse College, Tuesday. Photo by Thomas Hartwell

ATLANTA – Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders paid a visit to Morehouse College, Tuesday, drawing a millennial-dominated crowd of nearly 5,000.

Sanders has run a campaign on a foundation of racial, ethnic and socio-economic equality in the 2016 presidential race. His speeches often revolve around the control of wealth in America and the discrepancy in the ownership of that wealth. The rhetoric at the Morehouse rally did not stray from that, and Sanders received energetic support from the audience.

 “We need an economy for all of us,” said Sanders. “Not just the 1 percent.”

Sanders also spoke to his growth in popularity and polls over the course of the 2016 presidential campaign. He cited several states where he either won or is winning according to polls and what those numbers looked like at the beginning of the campaign season, namely in Iowa and New Hampshire.

“We started in Georgia way way way down,” said Sanders. “And you know what? I think we’re going to win right here.”

Several surrogates also spoke on Sanders’ behalf, including rapper and Morehouse alumnus, Killer Mike, who gave an impassioned speech on Sanders’ stance on racial equality. After speaking, Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, spoke candidly about the difference in Clinton and Sanders’ equality policies.

Rapper "Killer Mike" speaks on behalf of Bernie Sanders in preparation for Sanders' speech. Photo by Thomas Hartwell

 “Bernie Sanders’ policy advances everyone now. Hillary Clinton’s policy is, ‘Hold up and wait,’” said Render. “Bernie Sanders takes donations of $30 from working-class folks. Hillary Clinton takes millions of dollars from special interests. Bernie Sanders is interested in restoring regulations that will help us all, Hillary Clinton is interested in co-oping and doing more corporate things that are harmful for the worker class.”

Millennial rally attendees energized the atmosphere and said they felt as if Sanders’ policies recognized and valued the needs of young or less fortunate subcultures of voters, such as college students and ethnic minorities, and focused on a government “for the people.”

“Bernie is the only candidate that’s really supported primarily by the people,” said Morehouse College sophomore, Alexander Meyer. “He’s the candidate that has the most integrity, he’s the most progressive candidate, the candidate that actually wants forward change in our country without either keeping a status quo or launching us backwards into regression, and that’s why I support Bernie Sanders.”

Sanders has steadily gained popularity over the course of the 2016 presidential campaign, surprising many, both with his closing poll gaps on Hillary Clinton and, as especially noted in Iowa, with his ability to mobilize and excite a young voter audience.

“I think it’s important for young people to get involved, because this is going to be their future,” said 16-year-old Sanders supporter, Caragan Thiel.

Caragan Thiel and her mother, Tonya Thiel, brandish their Bernie buttons in wait for the
beginning of the Atlanta rally. Photo by Thomas Hartwell

Even though she and others her age will not be able to vote in the 2016 election, Thiel said they should still be paying close attention.

 “Legislative policy that’s passed right now and foreign policy and things that go on in this country that happen now are going to affect us later,” said Thiel.

While Sanders is considered by many the owner of the millennial vote, he rallied the support of voters young and old under Morehouse’s Forbes Arena lights – some voters older than others. 93-year-old Charlene Coburn dismissed the idea that Sanders and older voters don’t see eye to eye.

“I’m for the good of the people – whoever can do and change some of the things we need corrected now,” said Coburn. “Experience is another factor. Sanders has been in the federal avenue, he seems to be a rather level-headed person, and he wants to improve and do better for everyone concerned. We need someone who is sincere, who can walk the walk and talk the talk.”

Sanders’ visit to Morehouse College comes before an important two weeks for presidential hopefuls. He moves to Nevada in coming days ahead of Saturday’s caucuses, according to his campaign’s Facebook schedule, and is expected to campaign heavily in South Carolina soon after.

Who won the debate? Dem edition

By THOMAS HARTWELL

The Democratic debate on Feb. 11 was an exciting one. The decidedly less divided and less aggressive Democratic candidates agreed on most topics, but had very different rhetoric and solutions. Unlike in the year's Republican debates, a lack of outright shouting at each other and with only a couple candidates on stage, Hillary and Bernie had plenty of time to talk through the issues.

BERNIE
Bernie did well at the debate Thursday, opening with the issues he has highlighted as the most pressing domestically: Social and racial inequality, financial stability, healthcare for all and, of course, Wall Street speculation.

Sanders had a few well-liked quotes and strong statements that might be especially important since the next stop is South Carolina -- a state almost decided by the black vote. In discussion of police and community relations, a topic that has proved especially hot-button for many in light of the many unarmed black men killed by police lately, Bernie called for the "demilitarization of local police departments" as well as a diversification of those departments to ensure that they "look like the community they are serving." His focus on race inequality continued with an answer to his critics' one-issue candidate attack. The economy that he wants to create, he said, "which is already paid for" by his "tax Wall Street speculation" is for those who are less fortunate financially, which is why he continues and will continue to address it. It would "keep children off of street corners." His strongest racial inequality statement, though, came when he compared the amount of white versus black people who have been jailed for marijuana use. The use between the races is almost equal, he said, but the incarceration rate is 4 times higher for blacks. He was smart to include this statement going into a very important primary.

Sanders also came out strong on immigration. He received roaring audience support after saying that the U.S. people must "stand up to the Trumps of the world who are trying to divide us up." Sanders supported Obama's use of executive orders on the issue, but said he would go even further -- a statement that also received roaring support. (It was at this point that I think Hillary tried to grab a little of that support by throwing in a little "me too"-type statement). A path to citizenship, said Bernie, is essential to bringing families and citizens together, not dividing them up.

Bernie didn't impress on foreign policy, again. He doesn't seem incredibly bothered by the critics on this issue, though. He allowed that Russia and Syria should be taken seriously, but sort of pushed them to the side saying, for example, that the U.S. should try to make nice with Putin, but not let him "get away" with anything. Also, his stage presence still is not that of Hillary Clinton who, for example, has experience debating on these kinds of fronts. A strong and impassioned overall performance, but a performance poked full of holes by Clinton. 8/10.

HILLARY
Hillary struck a few blows to Bernie's campaign efforts and debate performances, trying to shake the foundation on which he has built his rapidly growing campaign. She spoke first about the numbers not adding up in reference to Bernie's economic, education and healthcare plans. While she agreed with several of the ideas, she accused Bernie of having little foresight experience enough to speak with any ethos on the subject. Clinton gave the audience a call to action on the two varying economic plans: "Vet both of our proposals."

Hillary's proposals seemed more prepared and actionable than Bernie's, and she certainly got into the nitty-gritty of those topics, which did well for her. Both Sanders and Clinton put a price tag on a couple of their ideas (both $100 billion), but Clinton challenged Sanders on the gathering of his proposed funds. Sanders' ideas pivot of governors making monetary commitments that he suggests, and "I'm not convinced" that would happen, said Clinton.

Where Bernie lacked, Clinton was strong as well -- foreign policy. Hillary's ability to expand from years of experience as well as her own interest particularly in foreign policy allowed for an expansion beyond what Sanders could offer. She spoke eloquently on domestic terrorism, ISIS, online defense and local, state and federal law enforcement. There were times, however, that debate viewers' eyes may have glazed over. It's important in a debate to back up claims, but going too far into detail or focusing on one topic for too long has the potential to lose attention from viewers. Clinton's expansion also may have been taken as "show-offy" at times.

I think where Hillary lacked was in her attempts to cast off doubts of trust in her. The 'Yeah, I have Super PACs, but the majority of my donors are small' message she brought prompted my answer: "The majority are small donors, because 2 people gave you millions." She also seemed to repeat words that had come out of Sander's mouth seconds before -- a tactic that seemed acceptable to audience members, but didn't get past me. Stronger policy speech paired with a more confident stage presence won Hillary this debate. 9/10.