The Washington Post - 20.10.2019

A6 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 , 2019

Rooney served as president and

CEO of one of America’s largest

private companies, Rooney Hold-

ings, an investment firm with in-

terests in real estate development,

construction, energy and more.

He’s been actively involved in

Republican politics, giving mil-

lions to candidates and their su-

per PACs.

“I didn’t take this job to keep it.

... I took this job to do the right
thing at all times,” he said Friday.
“A nd if that means I got to go f ind,

go back to my other job, that’s

okay, t oo. I like building buildings

and drilling oil wells.”

When asked for a comment on

Rooney’s retirement, National Re-

publican Congressional Commit-

tee spokesman Chris Pack wrote

back just: “R+13,” an allusion to

the party’s 13-point advantage in

the district.

In o ther words, it’s n ot a district

the GOP is worried about losing.

[email protected]

[email protected]

‘To put it bluntly, I am back’: After heart attack, Sanders returns to the campaign trail

flags.

For some attendees, it was also

an emotional moment. Few, if

any, politicians have cultivated a

core following as devoted as the

one Sanders has built since his

emergence on the national stage

as a presidential candidate four

years ago. His heart attack was a

shock for many of them.

“I think, if anything, this is

going to give him extra focus and

more,” said Alice Mosdell, 68, as

she started tearing up. Her friend

patted her on the back and fin-

ished her sentence for her.

“Stronger than ever,” said Maria

Concilio, who wore a “Feel the

Bern” Christmas sweater. “A nd

ready to make a difference,” add-

ed Mosdell, who came from Mill-

burn, N.J., wearing a Sanders

T-shirt.

Campaign officials and allies

said the developments of the past

week have created the feel of a

fresh start that has boosted mo-

rale, renewed confidence and

helped the team move past the

most difficult and uncertain

phase of the campaign.

Thanks to a huge network of

small-dollar donors, Sanders

started October with $33.7 mil-

lion in his campaign account, a

hefty sum that ensures he will

have the resources to compete in

early states and is not in any

danger of running low on cash in

the near future.

Still, questions remained

about what tack Sanders will take

in the months ahead. He has sent

mixed signals about how aggres-

sive his campaign schedule will

be, after running at a breakneck

pace for months. And at key

times, he has declined to take the

advice of his confidants, advisers

and friends.

[email protected]

[email protected]

“Find someone you don’t know

— maybe somebody who doesn’t

look like you,” Sanders told the

crowd as he wrapped up his

remarks. “My question now for

you is, ‘A re you willing to fight for

that person’ ” as hard as you fight

for yourself?

Saturday’s rally had a festive

atmosphere. One man came

dressed in an oversize Sanders

mask and held up a sign that said

“Enough i$ Enough!” The crowd

broke into chants of “We will

win!” The distinct anti-establish-

ment atmosphere that has been

evident at Sanders’s events this

year was clear as speakers railed

against large corporations to

cheers. Outside, a handful of

protesters waved Trump 2020

worked diligently to secure their

support, an effort that paid off at

a moment he needed most.

Bryan Charlot, a 25-year-old

from Manhattan, said he felt

Sanders had gotten an unfair

reputation that Ocasio-Cortez’s

endorsement could remedy. “Ev-

erybody thinks he hates women,

so to have a prominent female

voice out there on the trail for

him will be good,” Charlot said.

Sanders wrote his Saturday

speech himself, aides said, hon-

ing it over the past couple of days.

While he hit many of the populist

themes he has long talked about,

such as universal health care, he

also touched on inclusivity, call-

ing on supporters to fight for the

needs of others.

(D-Minn.), who, like Ocasio-Cor-

tez, is a member of an influential

group of liberal congresswomen

of color known as “the Squad.”

“It’s uniting different genera-

tions of Democrats,” said Jona-

than Glasser, 61, a South Orange,

N.J., resident who attended the

event. “A nd it’s momentum at a

time when some people think his

campaign is flagging because of

his health issues. Him doing so

great in the last debate was a

really big thing.”

The endorsements surprised

many top Democrats who won-

dered whether they would throw

their support to Warren, who is

also running as a champion of

liberal ideas, or stay neutral. But

behind the scenes, Sanders

with a debate performance that

won positive reviews, high-pro-

file endorsements and strong

fundraising that has expanded a

campaign account already flush

with cash.

Ye t his future in the race has

been obscured by lingering ques-

tions about his age, health and

ability to expand his support

beyond a limited, if loyal, base all

at a moment when former vice

president Joe Biden and Sen.

Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are

ahead of him in most polls.

Campaign officials hope the

addition of one of the party’s

biggest rising stars will help him

jump-start his campaign headed

into a crucial fall stretch. In her

remarks, Ocasio-Cortez delivered

an impassioned explanation for

why she decided to support Sand-

ers, saying “the only reason that I

had any hope in launching a

long-shot campaign for Congress

is because Bernie Sanders proved

you can run a grass-roots cam-

paign and win in an America

where we almost thought that

was impossible.”

She hugged Sanders after he

walked onstage. The two then

joined hands as the crowd erupt-

ed in cheers.

Sa nders’s anti-establishment

message and democratic socialist

platform calling for sweeping ex-

pansion of the social safety net

have made him a rock star on the

party’s left. But it has yet to gain

traction among a broader slice of

Democrats.

Sanders supporters are confi-

dent the endorsement by Ocasio-

Cortez, an electrifying figure who

is part of a youthful coalition of

Democrats who rose to power in

the 2018 midterms, will help

address some of those weakness-

es. Sanders also recently won the

endorsement of Rep. Ilhan Omar

BY SEAN SULLIVAN

AND CHELSEA JANES

new york — Sen. Bernie Sand-
ers returned to the campaign
trail Saturday with an endorse-
ment from Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, making a come-
back nearly three weeks after
suffering a heart attack with a
speech that sought to allay con-
cerns about his health and placed
a greater emphasis on the impor-
tance of diversity and inclusion.
Speaking under a sunny sky to
a crowd of more than 25,000 —
the largest any Democratic candi-
date has attracted this year — the
speech showcased for the first
time a striking new political alli-
ance between a 78-year-old sena-
tor from Vermont fresh off a
health scare and a 30-year-old
Latina congresswoman from
New York who represents a
younger and more diverse gener-
ation of Democrats.
“I am more than ready to
assume the office of president of
the United States,” Sanders said
after thanking supporters for
their best wishes as he recuperat-
ed. “I am more ready than ever to
help create a government based
on the principles of justice.”
“To put it bluntly,” he added, “I
am back.”
Saturday’s rally, billed as a
“Bernie’s Back” presidential cam-
paign event, was Sanders’s first
since suffering a heart attack on
Oct. 1 and having two stents
inserted to clear a blocked artery.
It served to signal that his candi-
dacy, which even some close con-
fidants were unsure would con-
tinue in the first days after his
health scare, had regained its
footing.
Over the past week, Sanders
has restored his standing as a
force in the fluid Democratic race

KENA BETANCUR/GETTY IMAGES

Sen. Bernie Sanders holds a rally Saturday in New York, nearly three weeks after a health scare and on

the heels of a strong debate performance and an endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

GOP congressman unopposed to impeachment is retiring

BY COLBY ITKOWITZ

AND MIKE DEBONIS

A day after Rep. Francis Rooney
(Fla.) became the first House Re-
publican to say he would consider
voting to impeach President
Trump, he announced his retire-
ment.
The two-term congressman
from a reliably conservative dis-

trict announced on Fox News on

Saturday that he has decided not

to run for reelection. His spokes-

man subsequently confirmed the

decision but did not immediately

respond to a request for an inter-

view with the congressman.

Rooney told reporters Friday

when asked about the political

consequences of potentially im-

peaching Trump that he wanted

“to get the facts and do the right

thing because I’ll be looking at m y

children a lot longer than I’m

looking to anybody in this build-

ing.”

In the same interview, Rooney

said he hadn’t made up his mind

yet on whether to run again.

Rooney denied that he was speak-

ing so freely because he might not

run.

“Whether I run again is a total-

ly different can of worms, okay?”

Rooney said. “That has to do with

family things, business, wanting

to do some different things. T his is

kind of a frustrating job for me. I

come from a world of action, deci-

sions, putting your money down

and seeing what happens. This is

a world of talk.”

Before running for Congress,

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