An Organizer’s Perspective

Bernie Sanders is dominating the 2020 democratic presidential primary, and that’s due in large part to organizing his massive grassroots army. Today we spoke with Hannah Ehrlinspiel, National Student Organizing Desk for the Sanders campaign to better understand what’s made his campaign so effective.

Can you tell me a little bit about your background, particularly as an organizer?

Sure, I grew up Virginia where my family is very conservative. All Trump voters, I was not raised as an organizer. Working in the world at my age I saw a lot of things, the recession, out of control Wall Street speculation, massive deportations, I thought, “well this is bullshit” but what do you do when it’s just you and your friends talking. You just feel totally powerless and totally hopeless. 2016 came about, Trump won, and something snapped inside me that I couldn’t just be angry online anymore. I joined the Democratic Socialists of America as a response and someone phone-banked me to come to a meeting and asked if I could volunteer to set up chairs. I became more involved with DSA, organizing for single-payer healthcare, and my union.

Why were you working so hard in unpaid positions?

Organizing for me is so rewarding because its a transformation from an individual to a collective, you may not get along with everyone you volunteer with but you’re all working towards the same goal. Fighting against the neo-liberal dream and putting aside your ego to work for the larger collective.

What made you start organizing for Bernie?

I was apart of a local and national DSA for Bernie campaign. People are so disengaged, so disaffected and so misinformed. People think of politics as voting for President every four years, so this campaign appealed to me as a tool to generate awareness for issues like Medicare For All. If you like this kind of politics, you may like socialism and what we’re fighting for. I thought the Sanders campaign would be the most strategic vector for me to be organizing in so I applied to be the National Student Organizing Desk on Bernie’s campaign and got the job.

How has working on the Bernie campaign been different than organizing in the past?

Well, to be honest, I went into this job not knowing what to think. All of my organizing had been unpaid, volunteer. Our strategy used to be created by me and others, but now it came from the top down and I was getting paid for it. I’m a marxist, with a background in theory, so everything I do is focused on pushing marxism, specifically in the labor movement. I’ve been totally amazed by young people. 9/10 of the ones I talk to have a beautiful, intuitive understanding that this election is just the beginning. When Bernie wins we get one night of rest, then it’s back to organizing. What is democratic socialism? It’s about democratic control over your life, it’s for a better life.

What makes the Bernie campaign so special to you?

To me, I think a big part is the messaging. Not just the messaging, but also the organization. Bernie’s is the only campaign with a student organizing campaign. Bernie’s strategy also differs from the conventional democrat strategy. How do most campaigns work? They find people who vote democrat and try to win them over. How do we win the Bernie campaign? Let’s reach out to people who don’t vote. Why is Bernie the best choice for college students? They don’t have the luxury of paying attention to politics. Let’s target non-traditional voters.The biggest difference is who Bernie is bringing into politics. Bernie’s fighting for mass policies, which require a mass movement and getting as many people involved with politics as possible.

Another difference is the amount we want to empower volunteers to become organizers. Of course this benefits Bernie, but to me if we just get people out voting that’s not enough, it could actually backfire if his policies don’t get passed. Fascism rises when the left is discredited and the right moves in to takes its’ place.

Moving onto some Fort Collins specific issues, what is Senator Sanders proposing to improve drinking water standards?

He’s been talking a lot about clean water in Flint, Detroit, and across the nation. There are thousands of families who can’t pay their water bills, sacrificing clean drinking water. The richest country in the world can’t provide affordable drinking water. Nestle, is bottling water for free, but due to tax cuts by politicians, is making billions. Similar to other issues, water companies are owned by a few who make big decisions for everyone. Bernie thinks water should be democratically owned and funded. The people would decide we should have clean drinking water. Clean water is also apart of the Green New Deal, and his strong climate plan.

Now what’s on every Rams mind, what’s his plan to ensure affordable housing?

Bernie’s proposing federal rent control, overriding state laws. We need to be fighting for housing at the federal level through executive action, and Bernie’s the only one talking about actual public housing. Public housing would be huge in addressing the rent crisis.

I have to ask. Elizabeth Warren is also running in this primary with a lot of progressive policies as a woman. For you, why Bernie over her?

If I don’t have healthcare, I don’t care who’s in the White House. Women can face harassment in the workplace and can be fired for almost any reason. I think Bernie is the most feminist candidate of anyone. When I think of feminist issues, I think of healthcare. What do I need as a woman? I need to be able to go to the doctor and get treated. Liz Warren was a Republican during the sexist Reagan era. I don’t trust her on Medicare for All. I don’t trust her theory of change or power, even if the policies are similar, to enact them. I don’t appreciate how she uses her identity to divide people. Just being a woman doesn’t make you a good person.

We finished our interview with a simple question. What is the most important issue to you in Bernie’s platform?

Medicare for All. People would be healthier, more likely to go on strike and more likely to leave an abusive relationship or job. Most of all, when workers see that we can pass Medicare for All, workers will start asking, how far can we go?

With Bernie as President, it’s all on the table.