(C) Common Dreams
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2,600 people come out to Altoona High School for Sen. Bernie Sanders [1]
['Weau Staff']
Date: 2025-03-08
ALTOONA, Wis. (WEAU) - At Altoona High School, around 2,600 people turn out to see Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders Saturday morning. The independent senator made the stop to Eau Claire County as part of his “Fighting Oligarchy: Where We Go From Here” tour.
In the senator’s announcement on the visit, topics including “cuts to Medicaid, housing, nutrition, education and other basic needs.” The press release said the tour is targeting districts that were narrowly won by Republicans in the 2024 general election. Kamala Harris won the November election in the city of Altoona with 2,765 votes. President Donald Trump received 2,406 votes, according to Eau Claire County’s official canvassed election results.
In revisiting the Chippewa Valley, the Vermont lawmaker sharing his current political concerns from cuts to social security... “So it’s a death sentence I think for a lot of people, we can’t do that.” Sen. Sanders said.
To proposed layoffs with the Department of Veterans Affairs, as Sen. Sanders said “I’ve been on the phone with a lot of veterans organizations recently and I could tell you they’re very concerned with the Trump proposal, Musk proposal to cut 83,000 positions at the Veterans Administration. That means that our veterans will see a lower quality of healthcare, there will be longer waiting periods, they’ll get their benefits in a much longer time.”
His concerns didn’t end there, the Independent speaking to those in attendance on how he says the current administration may harm the rural and working class communities.
“I worry very much that people all over this country in rural areas especially, do not stand up. What we’re going to see in the next few months, a massive over a trillion dollars of tax breaks for the top one percent. We can stop it.” he said.
In response to Senator Sanders visiting Altoona, the Republican Party of Eau Claire County’s Vice Chair Frank Kappus told WEAU “Bernie Sanders has been a Senator for probably too many years. He’s been there since the billionaires and large corporations helped fund him and re-elect him as a Senator.”
Senator Sanders saying expressing concerns about the current political climate is important, which is something practiced in Vermont.
“All over the state, all towns have meetings. And they argue about how much they want to put into the schools or the roads, everyone gets up and they yell and they scream and they do their thing. It’s called a democracy!...So we prefer the arguing, and yelling and the debating rather than having people telling us how to live our lives.” Sen. Sanders said.
Emphasizing all Americans, regardless of their political affiliation, need to speak up to protect democracy.
Copyright 2025 WEAU. All rights reserved.
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[1] Url:
https://www.weau.com/2025/03/08/hundreds-come-out-altoona-high-school-sen-bernie-sanders/
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