(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Bernie and AOC bring the fight and fire to Missoula, Montana [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-17
I haven’t seen any diaries up on yesterday’s FIGHTING OLIGARCHY rally in Missoula, Montana. Let me tell you, that event was LIT and deserves a shout out! It was held at University of Montana’s Adams Center, an events venue with a seating capacity of 7,500. Not only did the arena have a capacity crowd, an overflow of 1,500 listened outside.
I knew the rally was going to be big. I attended the April 5th Hands Off rally at the Missoula Courthouse and there were 3,000 there, even without big name politicians! I had an hour’s drive to town, then found my way to one of several lines that snaked around campus buildings for blocks. An event volunteer helping to count bodies said our part of the line may not get in. I decided to stay in line and crossed fingers. When the doors opened at 10:30 am, the line moved quickly and my pals and I cheered as we made it through the metal detectors!
Capacity crowd at the Adams Center, University of Montana, Missoula. AOC at the podium.
The program kicked off at noon. First up were two U of M students, Olivia Vesovich and Lander Busse, who were among 16 youth plaintiffs who sued the state (Held v. Montana) — and won — for violating their Montana Constitutional right to a stable climate system. Both students spoke with passion about the Trump administration’s corruption, and called out Trump’s collaborators, Montana Republican politicians Steve Daines, Tim Sheehy, Ryan Zinke, and Greg Gianforte to a loud chorus of boos. It’s notable that Lander Busse is the son of Ryan Busse, Democratic candidate for MT Governor in 2024.
Starting off with Gen Z speakers set the perfect tone for this rally. Gen Z comprised a large proportion of the audience — maybe 40-50% — and they were there to see their hero, AOC.
Following a great music set by rock band Comic Sans, three environmental leaders spoke on issues dear to the heart of Montanans. Anne Hedges with the Montana Environmental Information Center, spoke about Treasure State oligarchs, past and present. She urged Montanans to continue fighting for a healthy climate against monopolizing utilities.
Sam Forstag, a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service and union leader, called out the mass firings of federal employees undertaken by DOGE and Musk, including critical firefighter personnel making only $15 an hour while they put their lives on the line.
Tracy Stone-Manning, former director of Bureau of Land Management and current president of The Wilderness Society, sounded the alarm about potential sales of public lands to offset the federal deficit and lock in tax cuts for billionaires. Montanans’ unofficial slogan is “Keep public lands in public hands,” so tread carefully Republican officials.
AOC said of Sara Nelson, she’s “one of the most bad-ass women in America.” I couldn’t agree more!
Next up was Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. I was so excited to hear her address, as I’ve been a fan of hers since her powerful campaigning for Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Sara was incendiary! She spoke about the importance of labor, unions, and social justice to our democracy, and the threat corporate greed and Musk pose to our economy and quality of life. Whoah! She said what I’ve been wishing for: “Get ready for a General Strike!” and the crowd roared. What a powerhouse! Don’t miss her address in the video below (7:44-20:15).
Sara introduced AOC, who was given a thunderous welcome. AOC spoke for a half hour, acknowledging people’s frustration and heartache watching Trump and the oligarchs actively break the country and ignore everyday working Americans. She reminded us that our current political situation didn’t just materialize: it’s been building for decades, and is directly tied to the extreme, ever-growing wealth inequality in the U.S.
Near the end of her address, AOC shared some late-breaking news with the crowd: 12 Republicans, including districts the Fight Oligarchy tour visited, fired a warning shot to Speaker Mike Johnson that they won't vote for a budget reconciliation package that cuts Medicaid. As AOC says in the following video, “We got them on their back foot! We got ‘em scared! We got ‘em running! But our job is not done.”
Then it was Bernie at bat. He began with a personal anecdote about Missoula. His daughter attended U of M, where she met her future husband. Bernie thanked U of M for bringing them together and giving him two beautiful grandkids.
Bernie covered a lot of ground. He began by blasting extreme income equality in the U.S., the excessive power of billionaire bros, and Trump’s daily undermining of the Constitution. He spoke in support of Medicare for All, free college tuition, education, raising the minimum wage, expanding Social Security, human rights, due process for immigrants, and protections for federal workers. Each topic earned a standing ovation.
I especially enjoyed the part where Bernie called out Representative Ryan Zinke (MT-01, the district the rally was in), challenging him to sit down and “have a meeting with a few thousand people” to ask if he will vote to cut Medicaid, education, and nutrition programs to give massive tax breaks to millionaires. Well done, Bernie.
I hope many of you will take the opportunity to attend one of the upcoming stops on the FIGHTING OLIGARCHY tour. These events are making a difference in battleground states and districts.
See the full event here:
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/17/2317033/-Bernie-and-AOC-bring-the-fight-and-fire-to-Missoula-Montana?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
