Kenosha---No Jerry Springer here.
For Chris Hayes, that's just fine.
Hayes--host of MSNBC's "All In with Chris Hayes"-- was pleased with how the taping of Monday night's program went at UAW Local 72 headquarters earlier in the day. It featured former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, an audience of about 200 and a post-election discussion on issues ranging from economics to immigration.
Probably the harshest comment was a remark by an audience member who described Sen. Sanders' proposal for free college tuition as "absurd." Sanders didn't seem ruffled and calmly responded.
Hayes had been looking for a civil discussion of the issues and voters' feelings. "That was sort of the point," Hayes told reporters afterward. "I (didn't) want to set up a Roman coliseum here. There's a lot to be learned in these settings." Holding such a forum in the aftermath of the election, he said, minimized the political posturing that often times overrides a thorough discussion of the issues.
Although the audience Monday tilted Democrat, Sanders was flanked in the center of the stage by four Trump voters, including 38 year-old Jamie Sebena, a Kenosha bartender and car hop.
Speaking to a reporter afterward, Sebena said Sanders was "awesome" and "very nice." But she stopped short of saying that she would've voted for him had he been on the general election ballot. For one thing, Sebena disagreed with Sanders' call for a $15 an hour minimum wage, saying it could lead to unintended, negative consequences, something that Sanders vigorously disputed.
All in all, Sebena enjoyed the experience. "I think it was great--get everybody together and hopefully everybody can get along and figure out a way to make this all work."
The discussion included Sanders' analysis of the election results and his perception of the Trump transition. Sanders said Trump got himself elected in part by promising to fight for the little guy. But his nomination of billionaires to cabinet positions and his selection of a former Goldman Sachs president to a key economic post flies in the face of Trump's campaign rhetoric. "That's not taking on the establishment," Sanders said.
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