With Democratic Party caucuses taking place this Saturday in Washington, the two candidates vying for the presidential nomination are zeroing in on the state. On Sunday, Bernie Sanders spoke to a large crowd at Key Arena in Seattle and he’s expected to make a return visit to the state later this week. Hillary Clinton campaigned in Washington on Tuesday.Sanders Promotes A 'Political Revolution'
Speaking before a crowd of 10,000 (and 5,000 outside the arena who could listen on loudspeakers), Sanders said he believes “Seattle is ready for a political revolution.”
He also talked about how the nation’s economic, campaign finance and criminal justice systems are, in his words, “rigged” and he addressed the controversy surrounding recent police shootings in the country.
“The vast majority of police officers are honest, hard working and have a really hard job, but, like any other public official when a police officer breaks the law that office must be held accountable,” Sanders said.
'On health care, Sanders, who favors a single-payer national healthcare program, said, “I believe that healthcare is a right of all people not a privilege.”
Clinton: 'Two-thirds of all minimum wage workers are women'
On her visit to Washington, Hillary Clinton expressed support for a Washington state ballot initiative that would phase in a $13.50 minimum wage. Sanders says he’s for a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour.
Speaking to a crowd packed into a gymnasium at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, Clinton also talked about the need to raise the minimum wage across the country.
“We need to raise it on the federal level. It is just wrong that anybody who works full time would still be mired in poverty and, you know, two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers are women,” Clinton said.
Clinton told the crowd of about 1500 (as with the Sanders rally, there were also people outside who couldn’t get in) that she’ll stand up for unions and the American labor movement and talked about creating jobs to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
“It’s not just what you see, the roads, the bridges, the tunnels, the ports, the airports, it’s what you don’t see, it’s the deteriorating water systems across America,” Clinton said.
Caucuses This Saturday
Washington State Democratic Party caucuses begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Here's a link to the Party's page explaining how to participate:
http://www.wa-democrats.org/page/2016-democratic-caucuses
The Washington State Republican Party will use the results of the state Presidential Primary on May 24 to choose a presidential nominee. Here's a link to their website:
