A Tale of Two Rallies

By: Lindsay Carter

The last time I was on national TV, my crazed eyes appeared on ESPN in front of a Pickle Rick cutout during Elon’s 50 point loss to the UNC Men’s basketball team. This time, however, I could be seen sitting stone-faced behind Bernie Sanders trying not to become the next meme of the 2020 election. Perhaps I was focusing too hard, but most of Bernie’s points sounded like business as usual stemming all the way back to his 2016 campaign. The crowd was full of die-hard fans who even brought their children along, yet there was a surprising lack of diversity that has put the demographics of Iowa at odds with the stereotypical supporters of the Sanders campaign. While canvassing the past few days, it seemed that many Iowans are somewhere between voting for Sanders and Warren. This makes sense since the two appear very similar at first glance in terms of their policies. However, being able to see both of them in person really helped to distinguish the differences in both policy and personality.

For starters, Elizabeth warren is the most enthusiastic, limber grandma I have ever seen. The constant fist-pumps mixed with the twinkle in her eyes when talking about her plans really portrayed her as an authentic woman who has worked so hard in life to be where she is now. Even the brightly colored and oddly nostalgic elementary school gym helped to give her the vibe of a kind-hearted candidate. Her speech came off as a call to action for voters to help her unite the Democratic Party, rather than a reminder that Donald Trump needs to be defeated. Her energy lasted even through the tough questions and never-ending “selfie line”, which negates nearly any question about her age playing a factor in the race. Even her husband Bruce was accessible for anyone to connect with. By letting her policy plans arise naturally as a part of the audience’s questions, I was able to be more engaged in her responses because it felt like she was speaking directly to the audience.

As similar as they are on policy issues, the Warren and Sanders rallies were in complete opposition of each other. The dull stone floors and empty space at Bernie’s event sums up the atmosphere perfectly. Perhaps it was that Sanders flew through many issues other than healthcare in his speech, or that he looked extremely frail and hunched over, but I was just not feeling the bern. The energy and charisma was simply not there, and the entire experience felt very scripted. He may have had another campaign event, but he still made himself relatively inaccessible to the crowd, which may in-turn make him seem inauthentic, even after leading the latest polls. It will be interesting to see if any voters on the fence between Warren and Sanders make their final decisions based on the candidates live performances.