Sanders to huge NC crowd: Establishment nervous

“When we began the campaign, a lot of the media said, ‘Well, you know, Bernie Sanders is a nice guy, he’s a fringe candidate because who in America thinks we’re prepared to stand up to the billionaire class and fight for justice?'” Sanders said. “Well it turns out that the people in Greensboro, and the people all over this country are saying ‘Enough is enough.’ That this great country belongs to all of us, and not just a handful of very wealthy people.”

The crowd cheered.

“What we are seeing all over this country, and I must tell you is making the establishment a little bit nervous … it is 150,000 people who’ve signed up to volunteer, who tonight are knocking on doors all over America,” the self-described socialist said.

“The other thing which makes the establishment nervous, is the way campaigns are run today, is the candidates hold these little dinners and their super PACs and they walk out of those parties with $3 million dollars or $5 million dollars,” Sanders said. “I’m proud to tell you that this campaign does not and will not have a super PAC.”

“I am often asked by the media, or the political pundits, and they say … ‘How does it happen that you’re drawing crowds like this?'” said Sanders. “The answer is pretty simple, that in the year 2015, the American people are sick and tired of establishment politics, they are sick and tired of establishment economics, and they want real change in this country, and that is what this campaign is about.”

“I do not represent the interests of corporate America or the billionaire class — I don’t want their money,” he said to cheers.

Sanders said that he has had 400,000 contributions to his campaign averaging $31.20. “What we are looking at is a people’s campaign, a campaign of millions of ordinary Americans, many of whom are working longer hours for lower wages, who are demanding an economy that works for all of us, and not just the one percent,” he said.

“I think one of the reasons we have been successful is pretty simple, and that is we are telling the truth,” he said. “We are talking about issues that most other candidates do not talk about … perhaps most importantly, what we are saying, this campaign is not just about Bernie Sanders … we cannot accomplish what we have to accomplish … unless we make a political revolution.”

The overflow crowd that appeared to hear Sanders at the 5,000 person Greensboro Coliseum would seem to dash the Hillary Clinton campaign’s hopes that his populist message would not translate in a deeply African-American, Southern state.