Bernie Sanders riles rowdy crowd in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — A raspy-voiced Bernie Sanders crowed Saturday night that he's turned what some called a 'fringe campaign' into a movement that brought out more than 1,200 in Cedar Rapids with at least that many expected at a second event in Iowa City.

'The eyes of America and much of the world will be on Iowa Monday night, and the choices the people of Iowa face are not just the names on the ballot,' the Vermont senator said at a boisterous event at the DoubleTree Convention Center Complex in downtown Cedar Rapids.

'The real choice is whether we continue with status-quo politics, or whether Iowa leads this nation into a political revolution that transforms America.'

Sanders acknowledged he's trailing Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in polls of likely Iowa caucusgoers, but cited an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showing Sanders outperformingClinton in a hypothetical general election against GOP front-runner Donald Trump.

Republicans claimed more seats in Congress in 2014 because a lot of people — especially young people — didn't vote, Sanders said.

'The campaign right now that has the energy and has the momentum and brings young people in is our campaign,' he said.

Sanders countered recent attacks from Clinton claiming he doesn't support pro-choice or gun control. Clinton has cited Sanders' 2005 vote that provided some protection for gun makers and sellers against lawsuits for unlawful use of the firearms.

'I lost an election a long time ago because I was the only candidate to say maybe we shouldn't be selling assault weapons in the United States,' Sanders told the crowd. 'I got a D- voting record from the NRA.'

Sanders said he's proud of the more than 3 million people who have donated an average $27 each to support his campaign. After all, Sanders' platform is built on leveling the playing field for middle-class Americans, he said.

'The United States government has got to represent all of us, not just the 1 percent,' Sanders said. 'When people like Donald Trump want to divide us up with bigotry and hatred, we are going to being our people together.'

He said he plans to work toward universal health care, expand Social Security and provide paid family medical leave. He also wants make state colleges and universities free. Sanders said he would pay for these changes by increasing taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

Sanders' message has long resonated with Becky Smiley, 61, of Cedar Rapids. She had just finished six hours of door knocking for Sanders before coming to the event.

'When you hear him speak, you know,' she said.

Mao Song, a 26-year-old chemistry graduate from China, came to see Sanders with Tom Coyle, 51, of Cedar Rapids.

'It's totally different from my country,' Song said. 'But I like it.'

Coyle, an employee at Rockwell-Collins, said he still is vacillating between Sanders and Clinton, but he agrees with Sanders' views on income inequality.

'The big banks have been controlling everything,' he said. Meanwhile, 'our wages have been stagnant.'