How Bernie Sanders Makes His Mega-Rallies - Politico [View all]

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How Bernie Sanders makes his mega-rallies
Bernie’s campaign has been channeling grassroots enthusiasm into massive rallies. Now, it’s working to whip all those supporters into a sophisticated political machine.
By Ben Schreckinger - Politico
8/19/15 5:43 AM EDT


AP Photo

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RENO, Nev. — Twenty-seven hours before Bernie Sanders recited his case for “political revolution” to 4,500 supporters at the local branch of the state university here on Tuesday night, the first of the Sander-istas had already wandered in from the desert.

Bearded, he wore a t-shirt in the style of Shepard Fairey’s iconic image of Barack Obama — emblazoned instead with Sanders’ face and the message, “Hope is nice, but I prefer no bullsh—.” It was mid-afternoon on Monday, and the volunteer training did not begin until 7 p.m. But Paul Sherman, 68, was on campus and eager to help.

By the time the training rolled around, another 100-odd Sander-istas had materialized to learn the ropes of running a political rally on the fly. A day later they would be manning checkpoints, directing foot traffic, registering voters, collecting data on attendees, hawking merchandise and distributing water. A volunteer pep squad would give out campaign signs and lead cheers.

This is how the Summer of Sanders — the string of unexpectedly large campaign rallies that’s exceeding even Barack Obama’s 2007 draws with attendance that often numbers in the tens of thousands — has come together.

Finding no shortage of willing supporters, the campaign for the 73-year-old Vermont senator has raced to channel the enthusiasm of a largely self-organizing movement into massive, attention-grabbing rallies.

“They’ve reversed the normal political formula” in which professional staffers take the lead and pound the phone to drum up crowds, said Chip Evans, a liberal radio host and former chairman of the Washoe County Democratic Party, who watched the event take shape and said he was struck by the extent to which it had been organized by local amateurs.

Now, the campaign is working to...

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More: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/bernie-sanders-rallies-2016-grassroots-support-121512.html