Would-be president’s big speech this week inspiring

It was great this week to be able to see and hear — live and in person! — a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2016.

As an early caucus state, Nevada should get used to being on the front lines for presidential-contender visits. But it’s still a thrill to be able to hear from a person you usually only get to see on TV.

And boy, what a speech. Some highlights that I found particularly compelling:

“We are in a struggle for the very nature of American democracy.”

“This country is increasingly moving in the direction of an oligarchy.” And, “Trying to buy an election is not freedom of speech.”

“People who vote against good legislation for working people, children, the elderly, they have to pay a political price.” Amen!

“The great middle class of America that was the envy of the world is now disappearing.”

And that was just the beginning.

Did you know that the top 1 percent of income earners in America own 37 percent of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 60 percent own just 1.7 percent? And that most of all the new income earned since the Wall Street crash of 2008 has gone to the top 20 percent of income earners? You would have heard that, if you’d been at the speech.

Oh, and the infamous Koch Brothers? They increased their wealth by $12 billion last year, and spent a lot of that trying to influence elections up and down the ticket. “These guys are spending huge sums of money,” our potential future president said.

You might have missed the fact that David Koch once ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket, back in 1980, when even Republican icon Ronald Reagan was insufficiently conservative.

The platform? Repealing federal campaign finance laws and disbanding the Federal Election Commission, abolishing Medicare and Medicaid, repealing the “fraudulent … virtually bankrupt Social Security system,” abolishing the minimum wage and disbanding the Environmental Protection Agency. (You’ve got to hand it to those Koch Brothers; they are consistent and single-minded in their agenda.)

“They believe that, quote, unquote, ‘freedom’ is getting rid of the government in almost every aspect of their lives, which means that working people have no rights.” An appreciative crowd at the speech really ate that one up!

Not to mention this one: “These guys [the Koch Brothers] need more and more money. They can’t help themselves. … You’d think if you had $85 billion in wealth, you might feel financially secure.”

Our own Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid came in for some praise, too. He was lauded as a good friend of working people, the subject of unnaturally venomous attacks from haters. “Any elected leader who tries to stand up for working families is going to get beaten up,” we were told.

Reid, in fact, helped out when Vegas’ famous visitor went to him for help getting more money for community health clinics. In just a short time, Reid had scared up $12 billion for centers that do everything from medical and dental care to mental health counseling.

“So you’ve got a good senator there who’s fighting for working families.” That’s high praise, considering the source.

While corporate interests such as the Koch brothers try to divide voters with various wedge issues, or make it harder for people to vote, or try to convince everyone through tsunamis of negative advertising that all politicians are corrupt and it’s no use going to the polls, this once and future leader argued for hope.

“Our job is to do exactly the opposite, is to bring people together around an agenda for working families.

“You don’t have the right to throw up your hands.”

Besides, “if it’s not important, why the hell are they spending $400 million trying to buy this election?” Good question!

Americans should have the right to health care and a good job, especially if the U.S. can see its way to spending $1 trillion (just a third of the ultimate cost of the Iraq War) on repairing crumbling infrastructure projects. That would lead to 13 million new jobs.

“Is America ready for a candidate who will take on the corporate power?” That was the challenge issued near the end of this classic speech.

Truly, it was refreshing and inspiring to hear a live speech by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who spoke to a small crowd at the Culinary Training Center on Wednesday.

What? Who’d you think I was talking about?

Steve Sebelius is a Las Vegas Review-Journal political columnist who blogs at SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.