I attended the Bernie Sanders/Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gathering in Nampa, Idaho, on Monday, April 15, 2025, and was deeply impressed by:

• The number of attendees (estimated at 12,500) in a supposedly red state when the reason for the rally was clearly anti-Trump and anti-Musk;

• The energy generated by the crowd, strongly against the anti-democratic actions of the Trump II administration in the four months since his inauguration;

• The feeling of being part of a movement to preserve the democracy whose underlying principles have been attacked since the first day of this administration.

The objective of this movement — to defend our democracy from the billionaire oligarchs —was emphasized over and over by AOC and Bernie. Urging the crowd to reject the dehumanizing efforts the present administration has been attempting to accomplish since Trump took office, both AOC and Bernie stressed the necessity of linking arms with others in this struggle to preserve our democracy. That challenge was accepted by the thousands of attendees, in ways that left no doubt how concerned and ready for action they were.

The list of illegal and unconstitutional acts is already long and growing longer daily: Attacks on separation of the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government thus blatantly ignoring our Constitution; installing an unelected/unvetted person with unlimited power over the agencies of government (Elon Musk); denying due process of law to people who are legally in our country, then deporting them to other countries and denying any responsibility for their return.

Of the seemingly endless tactics that Trump and his supporters have been employing, the centuries-old one called “divide-and conquer” is the most threatening. Normally used against our enemies, that tactic is now being used to divide American citizens. By capitalizing on those divisions in order to install a new form of government, an oligarchy, Trump and his billionaire friends would then be free to replace the democracy we — and our ancestors — have fought so hard to create and defend.

I came away from the Feel the Bern rally with a sense of optimism that’s been seriously lacking in my life for decades, mostly because of the lack of action by our country regarding climate change. Monday’s rally changed that. After being part of that crowd, seeing and feeling the energy and commitment of those thousands, my optimism was seriously renewed. A government of the people, by the people and for the people — rather than one that benefits only the oligarchs — is again possible in this country.

Bernie and AOC were right when they said that if we believers-in-democracy will join together, we can defend our form of government from those who would destroy it. All of us must do whatever we can to help. Considering the precarious position our democracy is now in, it’s imperative that we all be active participants in this defense.

As a lifelong resident of the Northwest, almost all of it in Oregon, I’ve learned that we have much more that unites us than divides us. Describing us as either red or blue is totally inaccurate. We may have differences, but those differences become insignificant when we face a threat like the present one: the replacement of our democracy with an oligarchy.

Please join with me — and the millions of other Americans — who are committed to saving our democratic form of government.

Mike Higgins

Baker City