Eyeing a comeback in Oklahoma, Bernie Sanders rallies supporters in Norman

Sep. 23--NORMAN -- Bernie Sanders rallied thousands of supporters at a local park Sunday as he pushes for a second victory in Oklahoma, a state he won during the 2016 presidential primary.

In a 39-minute speech, the U.S. senator from Vermont ran through a slew of his policy proposals, including Medicare for all, raising the minimum wage, free college tuition at public colleges and universities and a climate change plan that helps workers in fossil fuels jobs transition.

Sanders also took shots at President Donald Trump, but not rival Democratic presidential candidates, at the rally held at Norman's Reaves Park.

Sanders started off with a nod to Oklahoma's own Woody Guthrie, whom he called one of the country's great songwriters.

He said Guthrie's song "Which Side Are You On?" is asking whether people whether they are on the side of working people or powerful, wealthy people.

"We are here to say to Woody, 'we are on the working side of this country,'" he said.

The presidential hopeful devoted a large portion of his speech to talking about the inequality between the top 1% of people in America and those who are at the bottom and struggling to get by. Sanders, who has his own unique brand of liberalism, is one of the more progressive Democrats seeking the presidency.

Sanders also delved into several issues he noted are probably touchy subjects in Oklahoma.

Like many of the Democratic presidential candidates, Sanders called for stronger gun control measures. He vowed to expand background checks, end the gun show loophole and ban the sale of assault weapons.

"Now, what the American people want, and that is true, that is true in rural areas like Vermont, and I suspect in Oklahoma, and that is true in urban areas," he said. "What the American people want is common-sense gun safety legislation."

Sanders also said climate change is developing into a global crisis. He touted his comprehensive climate change plan, which takes into account workers in the fossil fuels industry.

Those workers would continued to receive their salary and health benefits for five years after they lose their jobs. Sanders said his plan also would provide job training to help those workers find employment in other fields.

Now is the time to act because scientists estimate the country has only 11 years to curb some major effects of climate change, Sanders said.

"We have a president who thinks climate change is a hoax," he said. "Well, I happen to believe that Donald Trump is a hoax. I think we actually need a president who believes in science."

Sanders didn't hold back when it came to Trump, whom he called a pathological liar and the most dangerous president in modern history, among other insults.

Trump won all of Oklahoma's 77 counties in the 2016 presidential election.

Sanders also doubled down on his Medicare for all health plan, his idea that the U.S. needs a single-payer health care system wherein the government provides care to the people.

His comments on the high costs of health care got perhaps the loudest cheers of his entire speech.

Sanders vowed to enact criminal justice reforms, including expunging the records of people who have served jail time for possessing marijuana.

He also promised a "humane border policy that does not snatch babies from the arms of their mothers," an unsubtle critique of Trump's family separation policy in place at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The rally drew 4,062 people, according to campaign staff who relayed the number from Norman recreation superintendent Justin Olsen.

During Sanders's last visit to Oklahoma, more than 6,000 supporters packed the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City mere days before Oklahoma's 2016 presidential primary, which Sanders won.

Oklahoma Democrats will choose their presidential nominee on Super Tuesday, which falls on March 3 next year.

Decked out in a blue shirt with more than a dozen images of Sanders's face on it, Morgan Bonfiglio, 26, was determined to see the candidate in person.

Bonfiglio said she is enthralled with his message regarding Medicare for all, free college, college loan payback and income inequality.

As a veterinary assistant, Bonfiglio said she works more than 40 hours a week, sometimes more than 12 or 13 hours a day, and is still working to pay off school loans and other debts.

"We were always told of this dream that if you work hard anything is possible," she said. "We work so hard and still can't afford to buy a house or pay off all our debts.

"I believe Bernie can make that happen."

Sanders, the only current Democratic presidential candidate who also ran four years ago, faces the challenge of keeping his supporters from straying elsewhere as Democratic voters have more candidates to choose from this election cycle.

Both fundraising numbers and polling show Sanders near the top of the pack as nearly 20 Democrats vie for their party's nomination.

Sanders's visit to Norman followed recent campaign stops from presidential hopefuls Beto O'Rourke and Cory Booker. But Sanders, a leading candidate in the presidential race, drew a larger crowd.

This was Sanders's first campaign stop in Oklahoma during the 2020 election cycle.

Staff writer Adam Kemp contributed to this report.

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