WAPAKONETA — Holding signs with phrases like, “Fighting for the Middle Class,” “Power to the People” and “Save America,” members of West Central Ohio for Bernie Sanders stood by Bellefontaine Avenue, receiving honks and hand waves of support from some of the midday commuters.
“We’ve only had one heckler so far,” organizer Joe Monbeck said, “and he was pretty tame.”
Monbeck and the other Sanders backers knew going into Friday’s rally that they are in the minority when it comes to political viewpoints in the region, with Auglaize and surrounding counties leaning heavily Republican. However, they see glimmers of hope for their cause in area voting booths.
“Over the last eight years, you can see with all the election results that 2008 was better than it was in 2004, and here in Auglaize County, there was more support for Barack Obama in 2012 than there was in 2008,” he said.
Wapakoneta resident Sallie Cooper had never rallied behind a candidate before but had said if Sanders would run, she would back him.
“Bernie is attracting supporters in both parties,” she said. “I’ve followed him for years. If you’ve looked back on his political career, he’s always fought for the underdog.”
While Sanders has touched on such points as ending corporate tax breaks and taxing top earners to fund social programs, Monbeck noted that what Sanders has to say is relevant to people at the local level, as well.
“A lot of businesses along this street are minimum-wage businesses,” Monbeck said. “There has been a big redistribution of wealth over the past 40 years to the upper class, and it’s time for that money to come back to the middle class. One way to do that is to raise the minimum wage. Bernie’s proposal is to raise it to $15 an hour, and with that comes a lot of purchasing power.”
Wapakoneta resident Mark Chadwick added, “He also wants to invest in infrastructure, which would give people in the Rust Belt more job opportunities.”
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
