AOC, Sanders barnstorm in Tucson with anti-Trump ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ message

Thousands of Tucsonans turned out Saturday to hear from progressive Democrats about pushing back against the administration of President Donald Trump as the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a stop at Catalina High School.

The series of rallies in cities in Arizona and Colorado comes after a controversial spending bill made its way

through Congress, amid sweeping cuts to government agencies and

the rise to power of Tesla CEO Elon Musk within Trump’s administration. The events are meant to call out Republicans in Congress for backing Trump despite the rapid-fire back-and-forth shifts that have roiled the economy and seen many federal workers summarily locked out of their jobs.

About 9,000 people – some of whom lined up for hours beforehand outside the school’s football field – listened to speeches by the independent Vermont senator and Democratic congresswoman from New York.

Ocasio-Cortez – often known by her initials AOC – took the stage after remarks by U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), Gina Santos of the Tucson Education Association union, and Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva. Before the speeches, the crowd was serenaded by Calexico, the alternative band originally from Tucson.

The congresswoman started with a personal story about U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, the Tucson Democrat who died last week.

When she first got to Congress after beating an incumbent

congressman she was met with hostility from many members, she said,

including some from her own party. But it was Grijalva who

welcomed her into the House.

“In this moment of grief I hope we all

carry on together and continue to choose and send people to Congress

who make Tucson proud and are committed to the public good,”

Ocasio-Cortez said.

She said the most divisive

people in our country, like Musk and Trump, are unknowingly bringing more

people together than ever. With every stop on the Democratic rally tour exceeding expected audience sizes, Ocasio-Cortez said this is a time for

class solidarity.

Ocasio-Cortez called out Republicans in Congress who voted in lockstep with Trump to pass the spending plan, which Democrats say threatens Medicaid and other programs.

Although the the rally was held in the district of Tucson Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, she instead named Rep. David Schweikert of Phoenix and Scottsdale, who she had blasted in a similar speech two days ago in Tempe.

“When

other Dems caved in the Senate, your senators voted no,” Ocasio-Cortez

said. “Arizona stood up; Arizona had a spine last week.”

She finished by saying that the goal of the event was to “commit to building the kind of country we deserve.”

Organizers said they initially planned on about 3,000 people showing up the for rally.

A fundraising email from Ocasio-Cortez’s political campaign sent afterwards claimed “23,620 showed up, making it the largest political rally in Arizona history.”

A close review of the crowd by Sentinel reporters, during the event and examining photos after, along with running crowd-size calculators on the football field space and bleachers at Catalina High, showed the audience to be around 9,000 at its peak.

While the event wasn’t set to begin until 11:30 a.m., thousands of people lined up for blocks, wrapping around the school campus and extending down the street.

When Rep. Casar took to the stage near the start of the event, he

said, “it’s time to fire up the engine of our grassroots democracy.”

“Donald Trump wants you to feel powerless. The billionaires want you

to feel powerless,” the Austin, Texas, Democrat said. “They’re afraid of

the lines of people wrapping around this high school right now.”

“It’s time to take on the rich, your power is what they’re afraid

of,” Casar said. “Your power is scaring republican office holders from

holding any town halls with their constituents.”

He said that House Speaker Mike Johnson has told Republican members of Congress to not hold town halls.

“In our darkest moments remember a better world is always possible,”

Casar said. “In the face of all this our greatest enemy is cynicism.

They want you to give up and tune out.”

Other rallies with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez were held in Denver and Greeley, Colo., on Friday, and Tempe, Ariz., and Las Vegas, Nev., on Thursday. Sanders’ campaign said the crowd at Arizona State University’s Mullet Arena was about 15,000 people.

Chula Robertson, 35, holds a sign while waiting in line for a rally featuring at Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at Catalina High School in Tucson on Saturday. — Kiara Adams/TucsonSentinel.com

“We’ve been in line since a little before 8,” Chula Robertson, 35, told the Sentinel on Saturday. “I was sad when Bernie didn’t win in 2016 but I’ve been a supporter since then so it’s nice to be out here and see him speak in person.”

Robertson also shared that she’s happy to see Democrats getting involved early before an election season, building up new leaders like Casar and Ocasio-Cortez.

Christina Stallard, 72, (right) and Karen Weilacher, 68, (left) wear hats and smile while waiting in line for a rally featuring at Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. — Kiara Adams/TucsonSentinel.com

Union sisters Christina Stallard, 72, and Karen Weilacher, 68, wore hats covered in buttons expressing their political opinions similar to the ones vendors were wearing.

“Democracy is important and it’s rapidly disappearing in this country and the people have had enough of the oligarchy, America is watching,” Stallard said.

“They’re taking away the things that make America great and giving billionaires a tax cut and hurting the American people,” Weilacher said. “I’ve been here since 8 a.m. and it’s important to me to show support and it’s important that those in power are noticing that the American people are paying attention.”

Roommates Ray Alade, 21, (left) and Rebekah Kimme, 21, (right) smile while waiting in line for the rally. — Kiara Adams/TucsonSentinel.com

Some of the American people paying attention also include the America’s youth. Childhood friends and college roommates Ray Alade, 21, and Rebekah Kimme 21, had different reasons for coming out to the event but both thought it was important.

“As a Black woman in Trump’s America it’s important to know there’s people fighting for me, my friends and my community,” Alade said. “Being here gives me a sense of security in these uncertain times and it’s showing that there are young people who care. It’s important to hear from people who actively have a role a position of power and to hear if there’s a plan for the future. I’m hearing a lot of ‘we’re working on it’ but what exactly is it you’re working on.”

Kimme recently took a fulltime teaching position with Teach for America and with the recent cuts to federal agencies she fears for her job security along with the future of her profession.

“Teach for America is designed to have educators who care about equity and diversity go into Title I schools and encourage students from low income backgrounds to succeed and thrive,” Kimme said. With the Department of Education potentially going away I know I have to put in the work to fight, but it’s so unfortunate these students won’t have the funding necessary and extra resources for students. These cuts dissuade current and future teachers from pursuing their careers.”

Closing out the rally, Sanders updated a line from President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, saying that what Americans are currently facing is “a government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, for the billionaires.”

He also recalled America’s Founding Fathers created this country so they would not be subject to a monarch.

“They took on the most powerful man in the world and created a government with separation of powers,” Sanders said. “America does not want a king! We want a leader. We are not going to let Trump undermine 250 years of this country being a model of democracy.”

The Vermont senator said that with the crowds he has seen at these rallies, that the American people are ready to stand up and fight.

He ended with a message of, “Brothers and sisters I don’t have PhD in math but I do know this: 99 percent is a hell of a bigger number than 1 percent.”