Photo by Mary Altaffer/AP
Thousands of Bernie Sanders supporters swarmed across New York's iconic Washington Square Park Wednesday night ahead of a make-or-break primary in the state on April 19.The rally — one of the largest yet for the Vermont senator — drew some 27,000 people who filled the park and swarmed the surrounding streets of Greenwich Village, according to campaign estimates. The pre-speech line-up incorporated a slate of New York celebrities and bands including actress Rosario Dawson, filmmaker Spike Lee, and the indie-rock band Vampire Weekend, who performed at dusk at the base of the park's recognizable marble arch.Sanders, who began his stump speech by noting he and wife, Jane, had left New York when they were kids, reiterated the campaign's belief that a win in New York would propel him to the White House.He couched that statement later by saying that the state's closed primary system, which precludes independents and other unaffiliated voters from casting ballots, would provide a challenge to the campaign, but said that high voter turnout was the key to victory."I think we've got a surprise for the establishment," Sanders said to thunderous cheers. "I think that if we have a large voter turnout on Tuesday, we're gonna win this thing!"
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Sanders surrogates also received rapturous applause for their introductory speeches, although healthcare activist and physician Paul Song caught some controversy when he referred to "corporate Democratic whores," while advocating for Sanders's single-payer healthcare system."Medicare-for-all will never happen if we continue to elect corporate Democratic whores who are beholden to big pharma and the private insurance industry instead of us," Song said Wednesday night.The comments sparked criticism from Clinton supporters and the campaign's communications director Jennifer Palmieri, who called the language "distressing."Song walked later back the comments in a tweet on Wednesday, while the Sanders campaign also tweeted Thursday:"Dr. Song's comment was inappropriate and insensitive. There's no room for language like that in our political discourse."Related: Vatican Says the Pope Didn't Invite Sanders and Isn't Planning to Meet With Him
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