National Nurses United

Riding their big, red #BernieBus around the nation, nurses regis- tered and talked with voters about Bernie at college campuses, at farmers markets, at sports games, at parades and street festivals, at official Bernie rallies, town halls, and press conferences, and more. Others volunteered weekends to knock on doors in swing states or squeezed in time between shifts to phonebank for Bernie. They passed out thousands of pieces of Bernie gear to eager students, working parents, and seniors. Some nurses followed Bernie's lead and themselves ran for election, stepping up to win delegate spots in their states to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this July. For the second half of the Democratic primary campaign season, California activities and events dominated much of the action. Nurse volunteers focused heavily on registering voters, especially young voters, so college campus visits were a mainstay of the Bernie Bus schedule. At each stop, from Arcata to San Diego, students eagerly registered, picked up signs, stickers, and buttons to share with friends, and shared stories of struggling to pay for college on part-time, minimum-wage jobs with no benefits. "I have been so impressed by the college students we meet," said Cokie Giles, a Maine RN and a California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee copresident. "These kids are informed about the issues and know what they are fighting for." Many students said Sanders' plan for free public colleges really resonated with them. "You know, it's ironic that you go to school to get a better job or to get a job, and after you're doing with school, you're so in debt that when you get a job, you just have it to pay off school," noted Craig Mitchell, student body president at Los Angeles Southwest College, part of the Los Angeles Community College Dis- trict schools. "So it's a vicious cycle. At some point, something's got to be done, because the students are more in debt now than ever. And it's not fair. Education should be free." Mitchell said the student body is fighting ever-increasing tuition hikes and the steep price of textbooks. In Southern California, closer to the entertainment capital of the country, nurses often got a chance to stump for Bernie alongside celebrity supporters of the democratic socialist senator. At the Uni- versity of California San Diego, nurses met up with Ben and Jerry's 22 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 1 6 In the fierce contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination, it would have been easy and safe for U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to just keep quiet and stick to the party script in supporting Clinton. After all, as a rising star in the Democratic Party and vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, Gabbard, 35, was not only expected to adhere to establishment politics, but faced political backlash from her own party if she failed to do so. But doing what's easy is not Gabbard's way, nor why she ran for office to represent Hawaii's 2nd District in the first place. Instead, Gabbard, one of the few women combat veterans in political office, chose to resign in February her position with the DNC so that she could be free to endorse and campaign for Sanders. Gabbard had been frustrated that while Clinton served as Secretary of State, key issues were not raised, questions were not asked, and leaders were not held accountable for the United State's war actions and military policies. "There was no way I could stand on the sidelines, not ask these questions, and let her get elected," said Gabbard in an interview with NNU nurse and staff leaders at NNU's headquarters on June 2. "It was not a hard deci- sion to leave [my DNC position]. I knew I could make a far bigger difference being free to be out there and campaign for Bernie." As one of Sanders' key surrogates and the main one qualified to speak about military and foreign policy, Gabbard proved to be a critical and eminently credible translator for the campaign of Sanders' humanist approach to global diplomacy and use of mili- tary force. "It's a question of judgment. There is a function of Showing True Patriotism U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was critical translator of Sanders' humanist "The nurses truly have become an icon in conjunction with the Bernie campaign. They weren't applauding me personally, but our amazing organization." —Amy Glass, RN

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