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Saddling up for Bernie Sanders

Woman to ride from Cortez to Glenwood
Mikel Carmon is riding her horse from Cortez to Glenwood Springs to support Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Mikel Carmon says the country needs Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to lead the way forward.

To help get the word out about Sanders’ vision for Americans, she’s riding her horse from Cortez to Glenwood Springs.

“Bernie has integrity, and he can’t be bought by big money corporations,” Carmon said of her favorite candidate. “That is getting pretty rare these days.”

As Carmon prepared to begin her journey from the Montezuma County Fairgrounds last week, her horse, Cherokee, obsessively scratched the ground, eager to go.

“She’s not my first choice because she’s skittish in traffic, but the other one ended up pregnant,” said Carmon, a counselor from Arizona.

Her plan is to talk to “anyone and everyone” about Sanders, the longtime U.S. senator from Vermont.

She admits the conservative Western Slope is not in Sanders’ liberal camp, but she’s convinced that many Republicans actually agree with his views, but just don’t realize it or don’t want to admit it.

“Bernie looks out for the working class, he’s got our back, an independent thinker who knows small businesses need support, not tax breaks for big corporations,” she said. “That aligns with Republican values.”

Take the minimum wage, she said, “it is not enough to live off of” – something Sanders would change as president.

“To allow corporations to squeeze profits from the working man trying to support his family is unethical,” she said.

Campaign reform is needed, Carmon said, to end limitless contributions by corporations to candidates, a “sell out situation” that is eroding the basis of democracy.

Carmon will travel to Rico, Telluride, Ridgway, Ouray, Montrose, Delta, Grand Junction, Parachute, Rifle and, finally, Glenwood Springs.

She needs volunteers to help with logistics and set up speaking engagements.

To volunteer for “Ride for the Bern,” visit http://bit.ly/1WPwnxQ.



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