Sanders supporters still talking revolution at base camp in S. Jersey
At a campsite in South Jersey surrounded by tall pines and swamp hardwoods, supporters of Bernie Sanders sat around a fire well into the early morning hours of Monday talking 'bout a political revolution.
At a campsite in South Jersey surrounded by tall pines and swamp hardwoods, supporters of Bernie Sanders sat around a fire well into the early morning hours of Monday talking 'bout a political revolution.
Scores of protesters from around the country have set up a base of operations at Parvin State Park in Salem County, where they will rest in between days of demonstrations against the Democratic National Convention and presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton.
On Sunday, some stayed behind to rest, but many ventured into Philadelphia to protest and march under a punishing hot sun.
"I'm tired. It was hard," said Richard Hoffman, 66, a retired cabinet maker from Walla Walla, Wash., after returning to the campground.
But Hoffman, who served as an Army combat engineer in South Korea in the late-1960s and was wounded by shrapnel from a land mine, was unbowed.
"To me, this is the most important election we've ever had," he said.
Hoffman was part of a caravan from Seattle of more than 20 Bernie supporters - part of a national "Journey for Bernie" descending on the DNC.
Evan Duke, 43, a marketing manager and longtime activist from Seattle, organized the Washington state contingent.
"You can't vote every four years and expect to change anything," Duke said.
David Tudor, 60 of Olympia, Wash., agreed.
"This is a daily thing," said Tudor, who served in the Army 82nd Airborne Division in the late-1970s and early-1980s.
Duke, lamenting that there were too many scattered protests this week, spent the night trying to persuade others that there needs to be one unifying event.
Using the hashtag "CriticalMass" on social media, he hoped to get everyone together at the gates sealing off the Wells Fargo Center, where the main convention activities are occurring, and demand to be heard. The timing of the action was still being worked out.
Otherwise, the Seattle group, which included some people they picked up on their cross-country drive, planned to livestream and record video of the outpouring for Sanders outside the convention.
"He was a good candidate. He still is," said Eric Stover, 49, an iron worker from Seattle, echoing the hope expressed by his comrades that Sanders might still take action on the convention floor to seize the nomination.
At the campground, the group was boisterous but well-behaved. As they engaged one another, songs by Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, The Who, and Rage Against the Machine, played in the background.
Their voices rose only on occasion to decry the Democratic National Committee, which they believed manipulated the primaries in favor of Clinton, who they all despise.
Their anger was fueled by the WikiLeaks release of DNC emails showing officials plotting against Sanders' campaign.
"They stole our votes!" Megan Lewis, 18, of Reno, Nev., declared loudly for everyone to hear.
She got a ride to the East Coast with the "Journey for Bernie" caravan that originated in California.
"I couldn't sit by and do nothing," she said.
Lewis embraced being with like-minded people.
"It's inspiring," she said. "It keeps people going. It gives people a future to believe in."
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