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Daniel P. Finney,, dafinney@dmreg.com 11:51 p.m. CDT September 14, 2014

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks Saturday at a town hall meeting in Dubuque. He also spoke Sunday at gatherings in Waterloo and Des Moines. (Photo: Mike Burley, Dubuque Telegraph Herald/Associated Press )

Voters must fight to repeal policies pushed through Congress by the billionaire ruling class if the United States hopes to restore its middle class and protect representative democracy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said Sunday in Des Moines.

Earlier this year, Sanders said he was prepared to run for president in 2016. The fiery liberal who describes himself as a socialist independent told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday that his trip to Iowa was an effort to check the pulse of voters in the home of states first-in-the-nation caucuses.

More than 250 people filled the basement community room of Grace United Methodist Church near Drake University in Des Moines. Though the sampling was small and the audience obviously partisan toward progressives, Sanders message inspired roaring applause during his hourlong speech.

Sanders touched on a broad range of issues, from campaign financing to the economy, but stressed that community organizations must turn out the vote against widespread apathy.

The pundits tell us, if we dont change it in the next two months, that 60 percent of the American people are not going to vote, Sanders said. Of the 60 percent who dont vote, 70 to 80 percent of those who make minimum wage will not vote. Theyve given up on the political process. Something like 75 percent of young people arent going to vote.

So thats democracy. The people who are the future of America are not going to vote. The people who are hurting the most economically are turned off, so they dont vote.

Sanders cautioned the standing-room-only crowd: You have people who are not turned off, and that is the billionaire class who are going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to elect candidates to represent the rich and the powerful.

Sanders spoke in favor of expanding Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and other federal benefits, including requiring those with the highest incomes to pay more into the system.

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Sanders cautions progressives about voter apathy