Sen. Bernie Sanders, former State Rep. Charles Booker host rally in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) appeared in Louisville Sunday alongside former Ky. State Representative Charles Booker, hosting a rally discussing a “progressive vision for America.”

Sanders announced the rally Thursday as a contrast of positions of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who led the opposition of the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion emergency legislative package created to assist Americans during the pandemic.

I am on my way to Kentucky to give a major address at 2:30 p.m. ET about the future of our country and the choices we have to make. The vision of Sen. Mitch McConnell and the Republican Establishment versus that of the Progressive movement could not be clearer.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 2, 2021

“Our country has an historic opportunity to address the long-standing crises facing the working families of Kentucky, Vermont and the entire country,” Sanders said in a release. “We cannot go down the path of ‘trickle-down economics’ where the rich become much richer while working families continue to struggle. Unlike Sen. McConnell, I believe that we need to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, guarantee healthcare to all Americans as a human right, lower the cost of prescription drugs, provide high-quality childcare for the children of this country, make college affordable for all and significantly reduce student debt.”

Charles Booker, who sought the Democratic nomination for Senate in 2020, joined Sanders at Sunday’s rally in downtown Louisville at the PARC Plaza.

During his speech, Booker once again alluded to a possible run for US Senate in 2022.

“I’m so excited about what we can do together that I launched an exploratory for US Senate,” Booker said. “I believe in you so much, I believe in Kentucky so much, that I’m going to give my all to you and I said I want to consider doing what people think is impossible. I want to tell a story about what we can do to change the narrative for our future.”