DEC 15, 2019
Julia Conley / Common
Dreams
Sen. Bernie Sanders held his
largest rally yet in the key state of New Hampshire on Friday night, joined by
Rep. Ilhan Omar, who has faced racist attacks since taking office earlier this
year but who received a warm welcome from the crowd of more than 1,300 people.
The rally was reportedly the
largest of any Democratic primary candidate in the state so far, according to
the campaign; last month, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg reported
that he drew “about 1,300” to a rally in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
“The political revolution is
strong in New Hampshire,” said Sanders campaign New Hampshire state director
Shannon Jackson. “We are seeing incredible enthusiasm from voters across the
state. Sanders and Omar represent a vision for the future of economic, racial,
environmental, and social justice, and the voters of New Hampshire are on
board. The multiethnic working class coalition we are building was on display
today and will ultimately lead us to victory on February 11th.”
Omar’s appearance with Sanders
came hours after a Washington Examiner op-ed claimed the Vermont senator is
running “the most anti-Semitic [campaign] in decades” despite the fact that
Sanders’ fathers’ family members were killed in the Holocaust. Omar, one of the
first Muslim women to be elected to Congress and, like Sanders, a vocal critic
of Israel’s violations of Palestinians’ human rights, was named as an example
of the senator’s allyship with anti-Semites.
The editorial raised alarm
among progressives concerned that anti-Sanders groups could level the same
attacks that weakened outgoing British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign
in Thursday’s general election—but the New Hampshire crowd showed enthusiasm
for Omar’s appearance.
Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks at a
Bernie Sanders rally in Nashua, NH.
“It’s not an issue. It doesn’t
bother me in the least,” one attendee, Fred Voelker of Franklin, N.H., told the
Concord Monitor of Omar’s participation.
Sanders referred to claims of
Omar’s anti-Semitism in a tweet about her appearence with him in Nashua as well
as at events across the state.
Rep. @Ilhan Omar has stood up to some of the
ugliest racism thrown at a member of the United States Congress, and she has
stood up with pride and dignity. I'm honored to have her support and to join
the people of New Hampshire with her today.
In her comments while
introducing the senator, Omar offered a defense of Sanders’ so-called “radical”
agenda aimed at passing Medicare for All, creating jobs and eliminating fossil
fuel emissions through the Green New Deal, and forcing the wealthiest Americans
and corporations to pay a fair share of their income to narrow the wealth gap.
“If believing that 500,000
Americans should not be forced into medical bankruptcy every single year is
radical, than we’re proud to be radical,” Omar said.
Watch Sanders’ and Omar’s
comments in their entirety below:
Trump is a racist, a sexist, a
homophobe, a xenophobe and a religious bigot. Our campaign is the strongest to
defeat him because it is rooted in human solidarity. Join us live for our rally
with @ilhanmn in Nashua, NH: https://www.pscp.tv/w/cMQkKDMyNzU3OTl8MWxEeExvb2JPdnFKbWseTP6NGwdiQrH96Hf4iiYRAPqps-v13g3NMsVp4aoq …
No comments:
Post a Comment