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Ocasio-Cortez joins Bernie Sanders for comeback rally in New York Ocasio-Cortez joins Bernie Sanders for comeback rally in New York
(about 1 hour later)
Bernie Sanders addressed a rally in New York City on Saturday, his first since he paused his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination due to health concerns. The blue signs, “Bernie” shirts and chants of “We will win!” were back on Saturday afternoon as Bernie Sanders held his first rally since pausing his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination due to problems with his health.
Will Ocasio-Cortez's Sanders endorsement shake up the 2020 race?Will Ocasio-Cortez's Sanders endorsement shake up the 2020 race?
“We got a permit for 20,000,” he said, “and we had to close the doors.” The Vermont senator stopped campaigning at the beginning of October, after treatment for an artery blockage. Sanders had a heart attack, his campaign said as he was released from hospital.
He added: “I look at this huge crowd, brothers and sisters, I have no doubt that the political revolution is going to sweep … Donald Trump out of office and bring the change that this country has long needed.” At 78, Sanders is the oldest major presidential candidate. If elected, he will be the oldest president inaugurated. Asked in Tuesday’s debate how he would “reassure Democratic voters that you’re up to the stress of the presidency”, he plugged the New York event.
Sanders was joined by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York congresswoman and progressive star who gave him a surprise endorsement. Ocasio-Cortez’s district is less than a mile from Long Island City, the Queens neighborhood where Sanders set his stage. “We are going to be mounting a vigorous campaign all over this country,” he said. “That is how I think I can reassure the American people.”
In her remarks, Ocasio-Cortez said: “It wasn’t until I heard of a man named Bernie Sanders that I began to question and assert and recognize my inherent value as a human being that deserves healthcare, housing, education and a living wage.” On Saturday, Sanders strolled on stage to Back in Black by AC/DC.
The Vermont senator abruptly paused his campaign at the beginning of October, after undergoing treatment for an artery blockage. Sanders had a heart attack, his campaign said as he was released from hospital. “Let me take this opportunity,” he said, “to thank the many people across this nation who in my time of illness sent me and my family their prayers, their well-wishes and their love. It has meant the world to [my wife Jane] and me, and I thank all of you so very much.”
At 78, Sanders is the oldest major presidential candidate. If elected, he will be the oldest president inaugurated. As he was recovering, Sanders said his campaign was going to change. He told reporters outside his home in Burlington, Vermont he had felt “more fatigued than I usually have been” and should have “listened to those symptoms”. There is no question that I and my family have faced adversity over these last few weeks,
But just a day later, the old Bernie was back. He said he “misspoke” and would be getting “back into the groove of a very rigorous campaign. I love doing rallies and I love doing town meetings.” The media, he said, “drives me a little bit nuts to make a big deal out of it”. He was, he said, happy to report that he is “more than ever ready to carry out with you the epic struggle that we face today”.
In New York, he thanked “the many people across this nation who in my time of illness sent me and my family their prayers, their well-wishes and their love”. “There is no question that I and my family have faced adversity over these last few weeks,” Sanders said. “The untold story is that people everywhere in this country, in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, are facing their own adversities.”
“Along with the great medical care that I received,” he added, “I am happy to report to you that I am more than ready to carry out with you the epic struggle that we face today. I am more than ready to assume than ready to assume the office of president of the United States … Sanders then launched into policy proposals on education, climate change and healthcare. His speech lasted almost an hour.
“To put it in one way: I am back.”
Though Sanders trails the former vice-president Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren in most polls, he is beating them in fundraising. From July to September, Sanders raised $25.3m, edging out Warren’s $24.6m and Biden’s $15.2m.Though Sanders trails the former vice-president Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren in most polls, he is beating them in fundraising. From July to September, Sanders raised $25.3m, edging out Warren’s $24.6m and Biden’s $15.2m.
Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement is expected to boost or at least sustain Sanders’ support. Before she became a political celebrity in her own right, she was an organizer for Sanders. Some founders of Justice Democrats, the political action committee that helped organize her campaign, are former Sanders staffers. There was no shortage of support in Queensbridge Park. Sanders said the campaign got a permit for 20,000 and had to turn people away. The security company handling the event reportedly said more than 25,000 were there.
“I was born across this river in the Boogie-Down,” she told Sanders’ New York crowd on Saturday, with a reference to the Bronx borough’s role in the early days of hip-hop. “And like many first-, second- and third-generation Americans, I was born in multiple contexts. One supporter stood out.
“My mom was born in Puerto Rico, my dad was born in the South Bronx while the Bronx was burning … when landlords began to turn to arsonists because the insurance payouts were more valuable than the people living in these buildings. “Holy cow!” said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “What’s up, New York City?”
“That was the backdrop by which my parents started their lives, and the backdrop in which I started mine was a one-apartment bedroom in Parkchester in the Bronx. They worked hard, they had a mattress on the floor, they had a crib in the closet, and that’s how we started our American dream.” The 30-year-old congresswoman and progressive star gave Sanders a surprise endorsement this week. Her district is less than a mile from Long Island City, where Sanders set his stage. They were joined by New York politicians, the director and writer Michael Moore, and Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan.
She also paid tribute to Sanders, saying “in 2016, he fundamentally changed politics in America”. Before she became a celebrity in her own right, Ocasio-Cortez was an organizer for Sanders. Some founders of Justice Democrats, the political action committee that helped organize her campaign, are former Sanders staffers.
“I’m proud to say,” she added, “that the only reason I had [any] hope in launching a long-shot campaign for Congress is because Bernie Sanders proved that you can run a grassroots campaign in an America where we almost thought it wasn’t possible.” “I’m proud to say that the only reason I had any hope in launching a long-shot campaign for Congress is because Bernie Sanders proved that you can run a grassroots campaign in an America where we almost thought it wasn’t possible,” she said.
Sanders paid tribute in return. When I was a baby, my family relied on Planned Parenthood for pre-natal care. Then, Bernie Sanders fought for me
“It is hard to believe the degree to which a less than one year this woman, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress … has transformed politics in America. Ocasio-Cortez spoke about her upbringing in a working-class family, her mother born in Puerto Rico and her father in the South Bronx. When she was born, she said, her parents had a one-bedroom apartment with a mattress on the floor and a crib on the closet.
The Chicago teachers' strike shows how to go on offense against neoliberalism | Miles Kampf-Lassin and Micah Uetricht “That’s how we started our American dream,” she said.
“She has been a defender of the working class in our country, she has taken on the greed of Wall Street … she has been the leader in the fight of gentrification, rent control, affordable housing, and all within one year, she has electrified this country when she introduced the concept of the Green New Deal. Ocasio-Cortez said Sanders’ support for access to healthcare and housing directly benefited her family.
“Alexandria has become an inspiration to millions of people, not just across New York but across this country, who now understand the importance of political participation and standing up for justice. “When you rewind on that story, when I was a baby, my family relied on Planned Parenthood for pre-natal care. Then, Bernie Sanders fought for me. When the federal government decided to discriminate and abandon my queer family and friends, Bernie Sanders was putting his career on the line for us.”
In Tuesday’s debate, when asked how he would “reassure Democratic voters that you’re up to the stress of the presidency”, Sanders plugged the New York rally and said it would just be a continuation of his “vigorous” campaign. Ocasio-Cortez reflected on her first nine months in Congress.
On Saturday, he said: “I am so delighted that Alexandria is part of our campaign, and I look forward to traveling with her all over this country.” “Every trick in the book, psychological and otherwise, is used to get us to abandon the working class,” she said. “It has been in that experience … that I have grown to appreciate the enormous consistent, non-stop advocacy of Senator Bernie Sanders.”
Sanders thanked Ocasio-Cortez and said: “It is hard to believe the degree to which she has transformed politics in America.
“I am so delighted that Alexandria is part of our campaign, and I look forward to traveling with her all over this country,” he added.
Among the fans, Ron Widelec, 38, a teacher from Westchester county, proudly sported a hoodie from 2016.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez knows: Bernie Sanders is the most progressive choice | Arwa Mahdawi
“He looked great at the debate, so any concerns I had are gone,” he said. “I invite any of the candidates to try to keep up with him.”
Julia Camacchio, 21, a student based in Middlebury, Vermont, said she was initially on the fence between Sanders and Warren but was persuaded when Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, another member of the progressive “Squad”, endorsed Sanders.
“To see that added extra support for me really solidified my vote,” she said.
Multiple supporters suggested Sanders’ health problems, while concerning, were hyped by the media.
“Every time he’s mentioned now, [the media has] to mention the word ‘heart attack’ with his name,” Widelec said. “I think that is a deliberative effort to minimize him.”
Al Merenda, 60, from Newburgh, New York, who was accompanied by his 10-year-old son, said that he had two stents inserted in his heart about 10 years ago: “It doesn’t mean anything, and you’re good to go for another 20 years.
“He’s fine. He’s more than fine. Even if he wasn’t, it’s still a better pick. Even if something happens, you still want him in office.”
US elections 2020US elections 2020
Bernie SandersBernie Sanders
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez
DemocratsDemocrats
New YorkNew York
VermontVermont
US politicsUS politics
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