AOC to endorse Bernie Sanders today

Following on Ilhan Omar's endorsement of Bernie Sanders earlier this week, Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is expected to make her own endorsement for Sanders's candidacy today.

Persistent rumors have Tlaib ready to endorse Sanders as well, though she has lately said that she is not ready to make any public endorsements (she and Sanders are due to visit her district in Detroit this month).

AOC's endorsement is not surprising, given that she campaigned for Sanders in 2016. The remaining "Squad" member, Ayanna Pressley [D-MA], has not endorsed anyone; her district is in Elizabeth Warren's home state.

Writing in Vice, Leila Ettachfini presents the case for feminists supporting Sanders over Warren: "But to act as if Warren is inarguably the evolved form of the Vermont senator is simplistic at best. Sanders' policy proposals on many issues that affect women could be considered more progressive than Warren's-specifically when it comes to addressing low-income women of color. While Warren wants to reduce rents for Americans by 10 percent, Sanders supports national rent control. While Warren only recently changed her previously unwaivering pro-Israel views, Sanders has condemned the Israeli occupation of Palestine since the 1980s. And while Warren's newfound support of Medicare for All has left some questioning her commitment to the issue, Sanders has supported single-payer healthcare for decades."

I am a donor to both Sanders' and Warren's campaigns. In anticipation of AOC's endorsement, I have made another donation to the Sanders campaign. I was also a donor to AOC's campaign.

It remains unclear whether Sanders's campaign can fully rebound following the candidate's heart attack, which required not only a hospital stay but also the insertion of two stents in an artery and drew renewed attention to his age. But for Sanders, the past 48 hours have been some of the most productive of the race.

He raised more than $620,000 from 40,000-plus contributions Tuesday, his campaign said.

Thirty-five percent of all money raised on ActBlue - the main online clearinghouse Democrats use to raise money - between the hours of 9 and 10 p.m. Eastern time went to Sanders, the campaign said, even though there are 18 Democrats in the race and 12 appeared on the debate stage.

But sustaining momentum has been a challenge. After an impressive start, Sanders stagnated over the summer and struggled to keep up with Warren and Biden in the polls. Campaign officials are hoping things will turn out differently this time, particularly as the year's end is rapidly approaching and candidates do not have unlimited time to mount a surge.

"This is the moment, in our perspective, that everything has to move in the upward direction," Shakir said. "It was our view that we wanted to start off the fourth quarter with some strength. I think rolling out a couple major endorsements of people who can inspire a lot of young people around this country is a good marker, I hope, of success in the next months to come."

How Sanders scored a coup and won the backing of Ocasio-Cortez and Omar [Sean Sullivan and Chelsea Janes/Washington Post]

(via Naked Capitalism)

(Image: Phil Roeder, CC BY, modified; nrkbeta, CC BY-SA, modified)