AOC draws a Democratic opponent for 2020

[brooklynite]

WPIX-TV

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will face a challenge from her own party when she runs for re-election in 2020.
New York City councilman Fernando Cabrera announced his intention to challenge the freshman congresswoman in the 14th district on Thursday.

“My entire life has been dedicated to the service of our community and our merciful God,” Cabrera said in a press release. “With today’s announcement, I am taking the next step on that journey as I seek to represent the under-represented voters of the 14th congressional district. I know many will dismiss this effort as a quixotic mission taking on our media-star congresswoman. To them I say, while it is a mission, there is nothing quixotic or naïve about it.”

Cabrera has served on the city council since 2010. He’s not currently a resident of the district. However, he says he can improve on Ocasio-Cortez’s record.

“Honestly,” said Cabrera, “I feel like I have done more for the residents of the Bronx and Queens during my tenure on the Council than Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has done during her term in office. In my opinion, my opponent has been far more focused on the Green New Deal and building her national profile than she has been on the basic needs of our community like creating jobs, fighting crime and protecting and educating our children.”

I need to double-check, but I'm guessing Cabrera is term-limited from his Council seat after 2021.

[BlueMississippi]

1. Go Fernando !!!!

We need hard-working, loyal Democrats in congress. Not someone trying to be a twitter celebrity.

[brooklynite]

3. FWIW -- Cabrera is a Minister with a spotty record on LGBTQ rights

[Shell_Seas]

4. I don't think AOC is trying to be a twitter celebrity, it's just a thing for that generation.

I happen to like her passion and ideas.

[BeyondGeography]

8. Ridiculous post

"I think one of the biggest myths about Congress is that it's an easy job; or that the hours are light and that members don't really work hard. It's a really easy myth to believe, especially with Congressional approval ratings at an all-time low," Ocasio-Cortez posted to her Instagram.

"But if you're really here trying to get stuff done—no matter your politics—it's an extremely demanding job. It's only 'easy' if you're not showing up for your community, if you don't do town halls, if you're not trying to advocate or build coalitions or introduce and pass cutting-edge legislation.

"Even members I completely disagree with who are advancing corporate interests still work overtime because it takes a ton of work to pass an agenda, no matter what it is."

https://www.newsweek.com/aoc-ocasio-cortez-congress-easy-job-instagram-1431310

Watch any of her hearing videos. She obviously does near homework in addition to building a national presence. She’s a force and she will only grow in stature. Sorry.

[pangaia]

10. I thought one of the rules was don't 'bash' dems?

[Mosby]

17. The rules are whatever a du jury decides at that moment.

[Lucky Luciano]

2. LOL. I thought the missions from god were what the wingnuts said. LOL

Bring it on Fernando. Haha

[liskddksil]

5. Someone who should have no place in the Democratic Party

Even as Councilman Fernando Cabrera insisted Friday he did not support the harsh anti-gay laws of Uganda, a country whose “Godly” government he praised on video, his colleagues in the City Council slammed his comments and his record on issues that matter to the lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual community.

“Today, somewhere in Uganda, there is a teenager. There is a teenager who is trying to come to terms with his or her sexuality, wondering whether or not they should live or die, whether or not they should commit suicide or they should take up the struggle to fight for equality in their own country,” Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, who is gay, said today at a City Hall press conference. “And Fernando Cabrera sent a message to those young people, intended or not: that we don’t give a shit if you live or die.”

https://observer.com/2014/09/lgbt-council-members-lash-out-at-cabrera-over-uganda-comments/

[brooklynite]

6. Religious figures play a large role in NYC Democratic politics...

...and they're not a liberal as you might imagine. Former State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. (from the same political geography as Cabrera) is a case in point.

[Blue_true]

18. I can hear Rep. Ocasio-Cortez taking her whup-ass can opener out of her kitchen pantry drawer. nt

[2naSalit]

7. Good luck with that, dude.

I think she has a solid seat and I hope her constituents re-elect her for as many terms as she decides to run for in Congress and any other office she makes a bid to win. She's only a star because her mission is what her constituents want.

[pangaia]

9. ",,,,,,and our merciful God" What does that have to do with anything?

[TidalWave46]

11. Nothing wrong with a good primary fight.

AOC best out one of the most progressive members in the house in the last primary for this seat.

AOC is safe. While nationalizing house races is one of the worst things we have seen in politics it all but guarantees that bomb throwers will win primaries in safe districts, left or tight.

Primary time! Let’s get it on!

[RobertDevereaux]

12. A frivolous challenge, let's hope. And a God mention? Please.

[George II]

13. She's not very popular in her district. Cabrera is the second Democrat to announce...

...a primary challenge.

[BeckyDem]

14. He was a Republican until 2008. I doubt he will defeat her on any level on any issue.

The New York Post reports that Cabrera personally opposes same sex marriage and abortion, but accepts the laws of the land. And while Ocasio-Cortez thinks billionaires shouldn’t exist, Cabrera has preached the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” that is prevalent among conservate Evangelical Christians, saying that “it’s harder being rich than being poor.”

https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/campaigns-elections/city-councilman-fernando-cabrera-challenging-aoc.html

[Amimnoch]

15. I like AOC's chutzpah.

I do often wish she'd spend less time attacking Democratic Party members and platform and focused more on a positive message against Republicans. She needs to realize that we're on the same side, and the more experienced members like Speaker Pelosi aren't against what she wants, but knows better how to time them right. Like the impeachment as an example.

[Me.]

16. She Has Two Opponents

[Celerity]

19. Cabrera is an anti-LGBTQ bigot with ties to a hate group and is a DINO anti-choicer

Fernando Cabrera Draws Fire for Ties to Hate Group

https://observer.com/2014/06/fernando-cabrera-draws-fire-for-ties-to-hate-group/

A Bronx councilman and senate contender has a controversial Family secret.

Councilman Fernando Cabrera, a pastor and socially conservative Democrat, recently appeared on the radio show of the Family Research Council, a right-leaning organization that was labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law center four years ago. Mr. Cabrera also participated in a 2012 FRC event that included Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum, leading a top rival to slam him for being out of touch with the heavily Democratic Bronx.

“This just affirms what we’ve known all along—that Fernando Cabrera never really left the Republican Party, and is totally out of step with the values of true Democrats,” Karthik Ganapathy, a spokesman for State Senator Gustavo Rivera, told the Observer. “From rallying against marriage equality to opposing a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions, Mr. Cabrera’s entire record shows he simply does not have the progressive credentials to represent our neighborhoods in Albany.”

Mr. Cabrera is challenging Mr. Rivera for his west Bronx seat. Elected in 2009, Mr. Cabrera is a former Republican who is one of the more conservative members of the overwhelmingly liberal City Council.

Though his not known for making incendiary remarks, Mr. Cabrera is tied to a group that is: the FRC was classified a hate group due to anti-gay speech from its leaders, including a call for gay men and lesbians to be imprisoned. The FRC joined groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the Nation of Islam when it was slapped with the designation by the influential civil rights organization.

snip

https://www.frcblog.com/tags/Fernando%20Cabrera/

On Sunday, September 9, 2012, Family Research Council and American Family Association hosted iPledge Sunday from First Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC, an event streamed to thousands of churches and home groups across the nation encouraging Christians to Pray, Prepare, and Participate in the 2012 election.

Participants included Tony Perkins, Kirk Cameron, Sen. Rick Santorum, Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., Kristan Hawkins, Franklin Graham, Dr. Mark Harris, NYC Fernando Cabrera, and others.


Pol praises African gov't targeting gays

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140903/BLOGS04/140909970/pol-praises-african-gov-t-targeting-gays

A YouTube video has surfaced showing Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera in Uganda praising the leadership of the African country for its socially conservative positions, amid widespread international condemnation for its passing one of the world's most severe anti-gay laws.

The Ugandan law, which was passed last December by its parliament and signed in February, reportedly created lifetime prison sentences for some homosexual acts. (It initially would have imposed the death penalty, but was ultimately amended.) The law made it a crime to "promote" homosexuality, and to rent an apartment to an LGBT person without informing other tenants or the authorities.

Mr. Cabrera is attempting to unseat Bronx state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, and socially conservative positions may well hurt his chances in the Democratic primary. Gay rights activists recently reacted angrily when Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel endorsed Mr. Cabrera.

In a video shot during a visit to the African country in January, Mr. Cabrera, a socially conservative pastor in the Bronx, appeared to praise the country’s leaders for standing up to President Barack Obama and others who had condemned the Ugandan government's actions.

"Godly people are in government," Mr. Cabrera said, referring to Uganda's leadership. "Gay marriage is not accepted in this country. Even when the United States of America has put pressure and has told Uganda, 'We’re not going to fund you anymore unless you allow gay marriage.' And they have stood in their place. Why? Because the Christians have assumed the place of decision-making for the nation."

snip





yep, he is a real gem