Bernie Sanders Holds Rally in Cathedral City [UPDATED]

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA - Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders urged a raucous Cathedral City crowd Wednesday to "stand up to the status quo" and be part of a "political revolution."

The 74-year-old Democratic presidential contender discussed a wide range of issues, including getting big money out of politics, his plan to make public colleges and universities tuition-free, combating climate change and ensuring universal health care.

More than 1,000 supporters lined up outside the Big League Dreams Sports Park in Cathedral City, with some of them camping outside the ballfield through the night, for a chance to see Sanders at the free rally themed "A Future to Believe In."

Sanders took the stage at noon, telling the crowd "the theme of this campaign is the political revolution and, guess what, you are the revolutionaries."

He railed against a political system that he said was "controlled by a handful of billionaires."

Free tuition and universal health care have been major tenets of Sanders' campaign and he addressed criticisms of the perceived unrealism of funding those programs.

"It's always a funny thing that when you fight for working families, you fight for low-income families, suddenly, it's just so expensive we can't afford it. But when you go to war in Iraq, no problem, we've got trillions of dollars," Sanders said.

Regarding education, Sanders said American students invariably faced exorbitant student loan debt unseen in other nations, citing free tuition costs in some European countries, something Sanders said was "not a radical idea" for the United States.

"What (those countries) understand is that investing in their young people is investing in the future of their economies," Sanders said. "We should not be punishing people for doing the right thing and getting an education."

Sanders told the crowd that taxing Wall Street speculation would "bring in more than enough money to provide free tuition and substantially lower our student debt."

Other topics Sanders covered included universal healthcare, which he said should be a guaranteed right for all Americans, and combating climate change, which he called a "moral responsibility" for all people to undertake.

Sanders scoffed at denials that climate change is a manmade phenomenon that threatens the planet, saying, "It saddens me that the Republican Party, with very few exceptions, is so beholden to the fossil fuel industry that they don't have the guts to acknowledge reality."

Sanders did take one swipe at fellow Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, when he said he opposed fracking, something that was "not the position of my Democratic opponent, Secretary Clinton."

As he concluded his nearly hour-long speech, he again called on his supporters to turn out en masse for the June 7 primary, noting that 475 delegates are at stake.

"If we have a large voter turnout, we are going to win the California primary," Sanders told the crowd. "Let this great state, one of the most progressive states in America, tell the world that you are ready for the political revolution."

Sanders was scheduled to hold another rally late this afternoon at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in Lancaster. He held rallies in Anaheim, Riverside and San Bernardino on Tuesday.

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– By City News Service. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr