As festivalgoers flocked to the desert for Coachella weekend, Katherine Clark-Goldman wore her bohemian skirt and peace sign earrings to a “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in Downtown Los Angeles.
Clark-Goldman, 62, attended the event to advocate for her family. Her husband Michael Goldman is an elevator constructor and union member of 40 years who said he can’t retire because of his dwindling pension. Her 85-year-old mother, a navy veteran currently recovering from a hip replacement in a Santa Monica nursing home, is worried about her government assistance benefits being stripped.
“I’m writing postcards to the White House and mailing them,” Clark-Goldman said. “I’m asking, ‘Why are you trying to take my mother’s Social Security and VA benefits away?‘”
Cuts to retirement and health programs were prominent topics for many rally speakers, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who sported a blue L.A. Dodgers hat throughout his speech.
“I invite the president to come to tell the people here why you think it’s a great idea to cut Medicaid and nutrition and health care so you can give tax breaks to billionaires,” Sanders said. “The people of L.A. would love to hear that.”
The Southern California stop on Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour kicked off Saturday morning at Gloria Molina Grand Park in Downtown L.A. and amassed a crowd of 36,000. Sanders said it was the largest rally attendance he’s ever had.
The Vermont senator’s speech also spotlighted wealth inequality. He said three people own more wealth than the bottom half of American society, or 170 million people.
“Right behind [Trump] during his inauguration were the three wealthiest people in this country: Mr. Musk, Mr. Bezos and Mr. Zuckerberg,” Sanders said, met with the loudest boos of the afternoon. He was referring to Elon Musk of Tesla, Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders’ partner on the tour, talked about a budget resolution advanced by Republicans this week that could potentially cut $880 billion from healthcare programs.
“They take that money and give it to billionaires who elected them in the form of tax cuts and sweetheart government contracts to companies like SpaceX,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referencing Musk’s space technology company.
Clark-Goldman said she also opposes Trump because of his administration’s elimination of women military accomplishments on some government web pages, citing DEI. Her daughter, Alysse Perez, served nine years in special forces in the U.S. Air Force and received the John Levitow Award, the highest honor for Air Force graduates.
“She was a top airman out at Edwards [Air Force Base], not because she was a woman, but because she got top scores,” Clark-Goldman said.
Amy Dunki, a 32-year-old sales representative for a liquor company, attended the rally wearing a white dress with “Tax the Rich” in red lettering on the back, an homage to Ocasio-Cortez’s 2021 Met Gala dress. Dunki said she admires the New York congresswoman because she is not afraid to speak her mind and stand up to the wealthy.
She, along with two other rallygoers Annenberg Media spoke to, viewed the headlining duo as a “passing of the torch.”
“Because AOC is so passionate and also a nonwhite female, she is very much a target for conservatives and people really don’t like her,” Dunki said. “And I think Bernie really helped her bridge that gap in a way.”
Beyond the main crowd was a dirt lot reminiscent of the Coachella fairgrounds. Attendees laid out blankets, grabbed grub from food trucks and watched the event on a large screen.
Before her performance, singer Maggie Rogers said, “Welcome to Bernie-chella!” Folk musician and political activist Joan Baez, 84, also took the stage, covering John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Another folk icon, Neil Young, chanted “Take America Back!” before chugging the intro to “Rockin’ in the Free World” on his electric guitar. Sanders said the musical performances were purposeful not just as entertainment but because “we’re going to make our revolution with joy.”
“We’re going to sing and dance our way to victory against hatred and divisiveness,” the senator told the crowd, to raucous cheers.
Supporters of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez praised the nationwide tour but condemned other Democratic leadership for their subdued response to the second Trump administration’s policies.
“I think they’re extremely weak, all of the leaders like Schumer,” Joshua Coda, a 42-year-old social services worker said, referencing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York — who some want Ocasio-Cortez to challenge in a primary. “The younger left I’m more aligned with, and those drive the energy to come out and do things and speak to people.”
Ocasio-Cortez praised California’s senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla while urging for “a Democratic Party that fights harder for us.” She also criticized California’s Republican legislators.
“We have to start working now to give David Valadao, Young Kim and Ken Calvert the boot and replace them with a brawling Democrat who will stand for the working people of California,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez continue the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour Sunday in Salt Lake City, Utah.