Ms Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Backs Bernie Sanders at Packed NYC Rally by Andrea Germanos!
(2019-10-20 at 13:57:44 )

Ms Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Backs Bernie Sanders at Packed NYC Rally by Andrea Germanos

"With Alexandria, with Ilhan, and others on board, we are going to put together a coalition that is going to win and win big," Mr. Sanders said ahead of the event.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) holds hands with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) during his speech at a campaign rally in Queensbridge Park on October 19, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City

"I am back," Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said Saturday, as he spoke to over 25,000 people at a rally in New York City that featured Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed the Vermont senators White House bid.

The "Bernie Is Back" event, which kicked off shortly after 1 pm in Queensbridge Park in Queens, marked the campaigns first rally since Mr. Sanders was hospitalized for a heart attack earlier this month. Mr. Sanders told the crowd he was "more ready than ever to carry on with you the epic struggle that we face today" and "more than ready to assume the office of president of the United States."

Ms Ocasio-Cortezs endorsement was reported earlier this week by the Washington Post.

THIS CROWD!!!

Thousands upon thousands are here in Queensbridge Park - with a line still in the streets - for the #BerniesBack rally with AOC -Bill Neidhardt

The capacity for the rally was 20,000, but so many people came the campaign had to turn people away, said Mr. Sanders.

According to the campaign, nearly 26,000 people were in attendance.

"Our priority is not only defeating Donald Trump," Ms Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd. "It is defeating the system of which he is a symptom."

"It was not 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 health care, housing, education and a living wage." -AOC

The two lawmakers sung each others praises. Ms AOC praised Mr. Sanders for his "non-stop advocacy" including fighting for a single-payer healthcare system while she was a child relying on CHIP.

Mr. Sanders, meanwhile, called Ms Ocasio-Cortez a "fierce defender of the working class of our country" who has "taken on the greed of Wall Street" and "electrified this country" with her Green New Deal legislation.

At the rally, Mr. Sanders said in a tweet Friday night, "we will say, without apology: Safe and decent housing is an essential right. A Green New Deal is the only sufficient response to our climate crisis. And the obscene greed of corporate America must end."

On social media, the campaign shared remarks from other speakers at the rally, including campaign co-chair and San Juan, Puerto Rico Mayor Caren Yulín Cruz, filmmaker Michael Moore, and campaign co-chair Nina Turner.

"We want a justice system that does not gun down Black folks in their houses. We are going to clean up this criminal injustice system." -Nina Turner

"We must win because of a fundamental value that power is in the streets and government is to serve the people, not just the 1%. We must win because there is too much at stake." -Carmen Yulin Cruz

Speaking to NBC News Saturday before the rally began, Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who was an organizer for Mr. Sanders 2016 campaign, said her endorsement was due to "a moment of clarity" about the role she wanted to play. She said she decided, "I want to be part of a mass movement."

"It was less about... being overly politically calculating," she said, "and it was more about the authenticity and clarity of that moment."

Mr. Sanders has also received the endorsement of two other members of the Squad—Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)

Explaining her support, Ms Omar said in a video released this week: "The senator is the only candidate that is proposing a complete cancellation of student debt. The senator is the only candidate that is proposing to provide universal school meals. The senator is the only candidate that wants to make sure that we end our endless wars and will fight for human rights and hold everyone accountable regardless of whether they are an ally or a foe."

In a phone call with supporters on Friday, Mr. Sanders said the rally would be a "powerful event" and touched on key issues of his campaign including income and wealth inequality, Medicare for All, and the climate crisis.

The campaign, added Mr. Sanders, has "a great path to victory."

That path relies on generating "the largest voter turnout by far in the history of our country" to counter President Donald Trump, whom Mr. Sanders called "the most dangerous president in the history of this country," as well as a "formidable opponent" who will have "unlimited amounts of money from his billionaire friends and from others."

That makes the endorsements from Ms Ocasio-Cortez, Ms Omar, and other progressives so key, said Mr. Sanders, as "they are able to generate and are generating enormous support among young people, among people of color, among working class people all over this country."

"With Alexandria, with Ilhan, and others on board," Mr. Sanders continued, "we are going to put together a coalition that is going to win and win big" and be able to create "an economy and a government that works for everybody and not just the one percent and wealthy campaign contributors."

Reprinted here from "Common Dreams" has been providing breaking news & views for the progressive community since 1997. We are independent, non-profit, advertising-free and 100% reader supported.