At a "Fighting Oligarchy" rally in Missoula, Montana on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) quoted abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
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00:00Let me read something to you, which was a statement made in 1857, a few years ago,
00:28by the great abolitionist, Frederick Douglass.
00:31You all remember Frederick Douglass?
00:35I want you to hear what he said.
00:37This is in the years preceding the Civil War,
00:40when the great struggle of the time was whether or not this country would end the nightmare of slavery.
00:46Listen closely to what Douglass said back then and see its relevance for today.
00:52This is what he said, and I quote,
00:54Power concedes nothing without a demand.
01:00Got that?
01:01In other words, nobody on top is ever going to give you something unless you demand it.
01:09And then he continued,
01:09It never did, and it never will.
01:13Find out just what any people will quietly submit to,
01:18and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them.
01:26And these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows or with both.
01:31The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.
01:44Brothers and sisters, we are tired of being oppressed.
01:49We believe in democracy, not authoritarianism.
02:09We believe in an economy that works for all,
02:12not just for Musk and his fellow billionaires.
02:15Brothers and sisters, let's stand together, let's go forward, let us win this struggle.