Live Blogging From Debate Night With We Want Bernie Worcester

I'm live blogging the Democratic debate from the Sahara Restaurant on Highland St in Worcester.  I arrived early and snagged a table with an electric outlet.  As of 6:30 (Db - 2) there are about eight people at the bar.  I ordered the Port Said chicken dish which is pretty tasty.  The waiter told me that this is the first time in twenty years that he has felt real enthusiasm for a client.  I told him the last time I was this excited it was when McGovern was running.  I'm not sure he knew who I was talking about.

7:16 and nothing happening yet.  I politely explained to the pair at the table next to me that Sanders had been Mayor of Burlington , Congressman and then Senator.  O'Malley and Chafee had been governors.

I had been thinking of this as a Hillary/Bernie smackdown, but there are three other players.  I kind of like Lincoln Chafee in spite of, or maybe because of his partrician air. He also projects this things are not so bad let's not rock the boat so much attitude. In some ways he is actually a classic conservative.

7:31

Chris Horton We Want Bernie - Worcester.  Problems coordinating seat of the pants.  Progressive Democrats of America is what allowed Bernie to hit the ground running. Have since severed ties as they cannot coordinate with the campaign. Chris thinks that "they" will try to do something.  If they can't find something, they will just start lying.  I asked Chis who "they" are. - Billionaires, owners of media.  He is a little fuzzy on exactly who "they" are but sure that there is a "they"

7:55 Chris put the material - flyers and bumper stickers next to me.  Bumper stickers are only if you are going to use them - not souveneirs.

Room is starting to fill.  Good age mix.  Pretty white.  Chris expects them to run out of stickers so I just took a Bernie2016 and left the FeelTheBern for the insiders.

8:05

Confusion about start time.  I'm afraid I will have to give up my plug to get a better seat.  We'll see.

8:22

Starting to fill up.  Chatting with a student from Mass College of Pharmacy.  Looks to be about 40.  According to website RSVP was 108

8:28

Chris announces a meeting at Jillians Friday at 6:00.  People going to NH on Sunday

11:00

Guess I'm just not much of a live blogger.  The crowd was not that pumped up, but it was pretty enthusiastic,  One assessment I heard was that the debate was worthwhile because it was grownups, while the Republicans are the kids table.

Noted Catholic Historian Not Surprised By Dorothy Day Reference In Pope Francis Speech

The other day I included in a tax post on the IRS and church endorsements of political candidates, the fantasy that Pope Francis might endorse his biggest fan among the candidates - Bernie Sanders

The point was that he actually could do that without jeopardizing the exempt status of Catholic institutions as long as he made it clear that it was a personal endorsement.  A plenary indulgence in exchange for a Sanders vote would be a big problem.

So I couldn't resist thinking that when Pope Francis mentioned four Americans in his speech to a joint session of Congress and one of them was Dorothy Day that might have been kind of a dog whistle Sanders endorsement.

In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement. Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.

Fortunately, I have an expert that I could run my whacky theory by.  That would be David J, O'Brien Professor Emeritus at the College of the Holy Cross.  He did not think that was the case at all and actually gave me the possible inside scoop on why Dorothy Day might have been on the mind of Pope Francis.

Not at all----currently an active canonization campaign for Day and Cardinal Dolan on last trip to Rome spoke to Pope about her and gave him materials----Merton a big surprise but he is internationally  still read and useful model for seekers and interfaith dialogue--but astonishing included in marvelously crafted speech and there will be lots of speculation about speech drafters----I would have thought the four Americans were part of effort to lift discussion to teran-partisan level-

Other possible evidence of Pope Francis not necessarily "feeling the Bern" is a line from the prepared text that he left out.

If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance.

According to this account the omission was accidental.

Nonetheless Sanders, himself, did pick up on the Dorothy Day mention.

She was a very, very progressive ... socialist who organized working people and the poor to stand up to the wealthy and the powerful and to fight for social justice.