By SARAH EWALL-WICE, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN OMAHA, NE
Thousands of Democrats bundled up on a freezing night and headed to downtown Omaha. It’s a blue dot in a red state.
The group of completely freaked out Americans were there seeking guidance on how to fight back against President Trump’s agenda.
The man of the hour was Senator Bernie Sanders, who launched his new national tour in Nebraska.
Some of the attendees who showed up were longtime supporters. Others were Democrats who have been shaken by what they have been seeing out of Washington in the start of Trump’s second term.
‘I do not understand how he can just put [billionaire Elon] Musk in charge of things and create this Department of Government Efficiency, which makes government less efficient,’ said Michael Pradher, a 70-year-old retiree.
‘It just seems like it’s a total takeover of the government, where they’re not even getting checks or balances from Congress,’ Pradher said. ‘It is shocking.’
‘I swore and did my service towards the Constitution and all the rights that it protects, and I’m seeing every day that there’s always a potential for a step back,’ said veteran Benjamin Dominguez, 32.
More than 2,400 people gathered in Omaha, NE on February 21 to hear what Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) thinks they should do to fight back against President Trump’s agenda and billionaire supporters
‘I’m a retired attorney, and I’m most offended by what he’s done to the judicial system and the way he’s just destroying everything that we all worked hard for since Watergate,’ said Pamela Anderson, 70.
Her husband Marvin, 72, agreed.
‘I remember Watergate very well. I attended one of the Senate hearings on Watergate, and this Watergate pales in comparison to Trump’s attack on the Constitution and governmental institutions, presidential norms,’ he said.
Democrats expressed fear the country will become less safe and healthy under Trump’s control, and he will isolate allies to the point where no one comes to support the U.S. in a time of need.
For a Sanders event, one can expect a progressive crowd. But some audience members said they were just seeking guidance and any sense of hope.
‘It’s honestly astonishing just seeing all this happening in real time,’ said Ahria Dominguez, 26. She said she never thought she would see a small group of billionaires like Musk handed control ‘in this day and age.’
‘Hitler only took a month to take over the government,’ said veteran Tim Arnold, 69. ‘This is exactly like what they did.’
Arnold called the situation ‘panic time.’
There was a deep sense of frustration and nerves were on edge. One woman began to cry as her friend discussed the state of the country.
‘I feel like he really wants to be a dictator,’ said Angela Gourley, 56, of Trump. She also likened the situation to 1930s Germany.
‘Pretty soon, I feel like it’s not going to matter, our votes might not be counted, so we need to do something now before it’s too late,’ Gourley continued.
Democrats were freaked out over Trump’s Cabinet nominees, social media posts about the law and being a ‘king,’ efforts to slash the federal government and GOP attacks on the courts
Multiple attendees told DailyMail.com they had been calling and writing to their representatives and senators. During his remarks, Sanders urged more people to contact their lawmakers as well.
The state has a completely Republican congressional delegation, and Democrats said they believe GOP members are scared and intimidated.
‘The senators and the Republican representatives are the worst because they’re all falling in line. Step out of line and do the right thing,’ said Susan Lyons, 62.
Lyons said she was appalled by the firing of federal workers and ‘just the cruelty’ in how it was being executed.
“I just cannot believe people are acting this way, especially the people that claim to be religious,’ said Susan Lyons, 62. ‘They don’t care about the people. It’s awful.’
While the rage in Omaha was largely directed at congressional Republicans giving up their checks and balances without a whimper of protest, attendees were largely resigned to the fact Democrats are in the minority and had limited options to push back.
But some attendees believed Democrats needed to do more.
‘There’s no need to go to the bipartisan side,’ said Michael Sutton DePennes, 29. ‘If we were being strong armed before, we need to just return the favor.’
‘We’ve been stepped on for too long, and too many Democrats are just being walked over, and that needs to stop,’ he continued.
The Andersons were also disappointed Democrats signaled they could work across the aisle in any way at this moment in time.
‘The first few days when they all said, “Oh, We’ll cooperate. We’ll work across the aisle,” like, no, that’s not what we want,’ said Pamela Anderson.
‘Stand up and protest it. Make it known how awful these things are. But it almost was like giving them a seal of approval by not saying this is disgusting,’ she said.
‘It seems like we’ve kind of thrown in the towel. It doesn’t feel like there is any want to or desire to even push back on anything,’ Dominguez said.
‘I think it’s up to the courts right now to stop all this stuff,’ Arnold said.
Many expressed a sense of exhaustion. Some raised concerns they believe people are feeling overwhelmed, so they’ve turned away from the news for now, desperately seeking a break after a brutal election year.
Where Democrats have found comfort is in the fact the U.S. will hold midterms next year.
‘I’m hoping that more and more people, more and more Congress people, will see that their constituents are being actually hurt by all of this, and that they will start making backroom alliances if they have to, to overcome this cowardice,’ Anderson said.
Others believe their own colleagues, who voted Republican, are already growing concerned over how Trump policies could have a negative impact.
Gourley works for a trucking company. She said the costs if Trump does follow through and slap his threatened tariffs on Mexico has her team concerned.
