U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, called for a “political revolution,” in front of a crowd of 9,500 people Wednesday at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
"This is the largest event any 2016 candidate has had so far," Sanders told the crowd, which included Madison Mayor Paul Soglin and other local and state politicians.
Sanders, an independent who is running for the Democratic nomination for the 2016 presidential election, emphasized his desire to reduce income inequality and reform campaign finance laws, among other progressive policy proposals.
"Income inequality is the great moral issue of our time, the great economic issue of our time and it is the great political issue of our time," Sanders said.
Sanders criticized the Democratic and Republican parties for taking advantage of the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC ruling, which eased campaign finance laws, saying it allowed more money to get into the campaign process.
"I will not nominate anyone to the Supreme Court unless he or she was committed to overturning Citizens United," Sanders said.
In an hour-long speech, Sanders laid out other proposals he would try to enact as president, including tuition-free public colleges, a minimum wage of $15 and family and medical leave.
"This campaign isn't about Bernie," said Dave Palmer, a Mount Pleasant resident who drove to Madison for the rally. "It's about the things he's saying. He tells things the way they are."
Sanders trails in polls for the Democratic nomination behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, though he scored a strong second-place finish in a June 8 Wisconsin straw poll, losing to Clinton 49 percent to 41 percent.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin responded to Sanders' visit to the state by placing billboards labeling Clinton and Sanders as "Left and Lefter," as well as launching a website of the same name criticizing the policy positions of the Democratic candidates.
Gov. Scott Walker is widely expected to announce a run for president in the next few weeks.
