They thought this was Trump country. Hell no

[arenean]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders visited Wichita, Kansas, to woo progressives in support of congressional candidate James Thompson. Is the red state ready to turn blue? (The Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/26/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-bernie-sanders-kansas-james-thompson

[NCTraveler]

1. Interesting.

This guy was a registered Republican in 2016. He is taking on Democrat Laura Lombard who kicked off her campaign at an SEIU office.

[Uncle Joe]

2. This is a good read.

Thanks for the thread arenean.

[appalachiablue]

3. K & R. Interesting article & Kansas focus, thanx for posting.

[elleng]

4. 'Through the thick cement walls of this downtown Wichita convention hall, we heard the roar

of 4,000 Kansans awaiting speeches by Sanders, Thompson and progressive rocket ship Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in support of Thompson’s run for Congress. It was Ocasio-Cortez’s first political appearance outside New York after her remarkable primary win in June, when the 28-year-old democratic socialist defeated one of the most powerful House Democrats in Washington. Here in the midwest, Thompson – who also has never held office – has tapped into similar yearning for a representative who has more old friends at the local pub than in DC.

The choice of location for Ocasio-Cortez’s debut outside New York is poetic: like Sanders, she and Thompson have refused corporate donations, and this district is home to perhaps the greatest conservative influencers in US history – the Koch brothers, whose political network pledged to spend $400m on conservative candidates before the midterms.

It’s one thing to push the Democratic party left in New York City. It is quite another to rabble-rouse for universal healthcare, wind energy and a livable wage in Charles Koch’s backyard. Doing so takes, my friends in the north-east might say, “hutzpah”.

Or, as my Kansas farmer grandpa might have said: “That Jim is full of piss and vinegar.”'