Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[KeepTalking]

You and the Dalai Lama.

I don't know what the reference to Dalai Lama is in aid of

It's a Caddyshack reference from Bill Murray as Carl the greens keeper:

A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one -- big hitter, the Lama -- long, into a ten-thousand foot crevice, right at the base of this glacier. And do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga...gunga -- gunga lagunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

 

[Derec]

It's a Caddyshack reference from Bill Murray as Carl the greens keeper:

#brainfart. I had already forgotten I made the Caddyshack reference and thought the Lama maybe said something about oil and pipelines...

 

[Derec]

Oh get off it, Derec. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez graduated cum laude with a double major: one in International Relations and the other in Economics. Boston University's economics program is highly ranked both nationally and internationally.

I am aware of all that. Which makes her demonstrated ignorance of both so jarring. Her economics ignorance is obvious from her thinking GND doesn't have to be paid for or more generally her support for socialism. And international affairs? She once ran her mouth on Israel but when asked to elaborate, she said that she was not an "expert on geopolitics". Nobody was asking her to be an "expert on geopolitics", but you would expect a graduate in IntR to able to converse intelligently on an international issue she volunteered her opinion on.

A less generous person than me might wonder whether maybe the "cum laude" in her degree was obtained in a different sense of that word.

At least stick with something close to reality in you criticisms.

I never denied that she did not have a degree. I claimed that she is ignorant on these issues despite her degree.

 

[Derec]

If this wasn't serious it would be laugh out loud stuff! HTF could an economics graduate come up with such loony tunes ideas such as GND? Boston Uni taught the bimbo on how to cultivate money trees?

Reminds me of this.

“If," ["the management consultant"] said tersely, “we could for a moment move on to the subject of fiscal policy. . .”
“Fiscal policy!" whooped Ford Prefect. “Fiscal policy!"
The management consultant gave him a look that only a lungfish could have copied.
“Fiscal policy. . .” he repeated, “that is what I said.”
“How can you have money,” demanded Ford, “if none of you actually produces anything? It doesn't grow on trees you know.”
“If you would allow me to continue.. .”
Ford nodded dejectedly.
“Thank you. Since we decided a few weeks ago to adopt the leaf as legal tender, we have, of course, all become immensely rich.”
Ford stared in disbelief at the crowd who were murmuring appreciatively at this and greedily fingering the wads of leaves with which their track suits were stuffed.
“But we have also,” continued the management consultant, “run into a small inflation problem on account of the high level of leaf availability, which means that, I gather, the current going rate has something like three deciduous forests buying one ship’s peanut."

 

[Derec]

Just One Question With Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez - YouTube - said about "The Breakfast Club" that it was an old movie, and that she was surprised that that movie was in color.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Breakfast Club - Feb 15th, 1985
AOC - Oct 13th, 1989

 

[Derec]

Breakfast Club - Feb 15th, 1985
AOC - Oct 13th, 1989

So, most people are not that ignorant of things that happened four years before they were born.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Breakfast Club - Feb 15th, 1985
AOC - Oct 13th, 1989

So, most people are not that ignorant of things that happened four years before they were born.

What were all the movies that came out 4 years before you were born? (without looking them up on google). Don't go claiming the Breakfast Club is an exception--because many people haven't seen the Breakfast Club. I know it's hard for you to understand that people are different, but I was born before the Breakfast Club and didn't see it until years after it came out. Just hearing the name of the movie doesn't tell you what timeframe it's from either.

We did not own a television or a garbage disposal. Well, we sometimes owned a television but when we did, we did not have cable. I got access to cable much later than when the movie came out. Therefore, if someone had asked me prior to me seeing the movie if it were in color or not, I'd have no idea. Not everyone is the same Derec. Statistics about most people don't mean much in this context either.

The fact that you cannot relate to people different than you says a lot about you, not AOC.

 

[lpetrich]

'Cartoon Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' Election Special 2018 Sneak Peek | Our Cartoon President - YouTube - a cute bit of satire: Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi vs. AOC on having a career in Congress.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says 'We Need White People' To 'Do The Work' Of Racial and Economic Justice at Newsweek, linking to
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez full interview | Pod Save America - YouTube

She started off by saying that the legislative process is worse than she expected and that it can change from public sentiment -- and that we haven't seen this sort of thing since the sixties. She also stated that immigration is a very difficult issue for the Democratic Party, and that her district is something like 50% immigrant and speaking 200 languages. White people have to do a lot of the work of racial reconciliation, she says.

Trump likes to make an issue out of race because it hides his corruption: "that's how he steals the bag." Then her "come back" speech and what inspired it - she knows people who have lost family members to white-supremacist activism. She thinks that many people in DC seem to think that ordinary people are more policy-wonkish than they actually are, that they respond well to some strong vision. Like Trump's border wall. Politicians need to be better storytellers. They need to get the facts correct, but they should weave those facts into broader narratives.

I'm reminded of Gary Hart's candidacy in 1984. He started out with detailed policy proposals that he'd explain at length, but when a lot of people yawned over that, he changed it to "new ideas".

AOC then said that Democrats ought to invoke the successes of their past like the New Deal and civil-rights activism. She also stated that US history has been a battle between those who want more inclusion and their opponents. Arthur Schlesinger Sr and Jr have proposed a cycle of US history that fits that description rather well, an alternation between liberal and conservative phases.

She suspects that a confident candidate will win out over a timid one, and she wants renewable-energy jobs to be as high-quality as fossil-fuel ones. This can be extended to making renewable energy undersell fossil fuels. She also asks why much more willingness to bail out big banks than ordinary people. Then the Republicans trying to make her the face of the Democratic Party. A big responsibility, she concedes. She also doesn't think that we ought to have to choose between ramping up renewable energy and doing Medicare for All.

Then how she campaigned. She signed up new voters, making the primary turnout increase by 68%. She beat Joe Crowley 16,898 - 12,880, and that increase was 12,000 more voters. Most of that is likely from AOC's door-to-door campaigning, though the drama of a challenger may have added some.

She tells us that her constituents thank her for fighting, for trying, even if she doesn't always win. She comes from a heavily Democratic district (D+24), but it's not out of love for the Democratic Party. She noted that Democratic politicians often take their constituencies for granted, that they expect to get their supporters' votes as the lesser of the two evils, that it's their supporters' fault for not voting for them, and that "If you only voted for us, we'd pass all these things for you."

"That's bullshit! That's bullshit!"

She then described how she unseated Joe Crowley, a 20-year incumbent, the 4th most powerful Democratic politician, and a possible successor of Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker. But with his power, how much has he put it to use for the people of his district? AOC made a big issue out of that. She also said that "the other side will kill you and we won't" is a bad campaign pitch - that's not what the party tells Midwestern whites. She talks about how some Republicans respect her because she is so honest and willing to take risks.

As to where we are now, the US is falling apart, and we can use this moment to transform the US into something better. Like a society where everybody can go to the doctor or get educated as far as they wish. We have to decide that this is what we want to have, she says.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC has a very interesting habit: she moves her hands as she speaks. You can see that in a lot of videos of her in action.

She won by

• Having a very good ground game: signing up *lots* of voters
• Having a platform with an overall vision: giving people something worth voting for

That's something that "moderate" and "third way" and "neoliberal" sorts of Democrats have been very short on. AOC preferred to run on her positive proposals, and not on impeaching President Trump, despite the extreme moral ugliness of him and his administration.


Pod Save America on Twitter: "Rep. @AOC joins [MENTION=2]Jo[/MENTION]nfavs to discuss immigration, the fusion of politics and pop culture, her approach to fighting white supremacy & more. Watch the full interview here: [url]https://t.co/uIrWGKp40r https://t.co/Nny1hvGpd1" / Twitter[/url]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: " https://t.co/Z4aEvhHyEd" / Twitter noting
Pod Save America on Twitter: "*Saves for Trump's next tweet* [url]https://t.co/uIrWGKp40r
cc: @AOC https://t.co/StFIoOVzYj" / Twitter[/url] - a GIF of her saying "That's bullshit! That's bullshit!"
Referring to "moderate" Democrats grumbling about people not voting for them despite not promising to do very much for them.

Jon Favreau on Twitter: "Listen to @AOC’s answer on how we can have difficult conversations about race that are rooted in grace, love, and understanding - one of the best I’ve heard. https://t.co/TKaudcNFkd" / Twitter noting
Pod Save America on Twitter: ""The only way that we're going to get past this is with grace." Rep. @AOC shares her approach to fighting white supremacy on a new pod. "AOC calls BS." out now: [url]https://t.co/WQKiWjnwr5 https://t.co/kMPQPfubER" / Twitter[/url]

 

[lpetrich]

Phoenix - Lisztomania - Boston University Brat Pack Mashup - YouTube - AOC's college dance video. It is dated Sep 30, 2010, and it is the oldest known video of AOC ("Sandy Ocasio-Cortez").

It was presented by the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground at Boston University. "Do you have the guts to challenge your own thinking? In a world of locked minds, can you open yours? Our mission is to connect through shared creative experiences, exchange ideas, and explore differences. Push Your Boundaries!"

From April 8, 2011, a page survives that mentions AOC: The Thurman Center: Evolving with Students | BU Today | Boston University

Both Bratbo and Gilbert are part of the nation’s white racial majority, and race can be more crucial to minorities. But Morton and Alexandria “Sandy” Ocasio-Cortez (CAS’11), for whom ancestry is a point of pride and essential to their sense of self, also value the chance to mingle with others from different backgrounds.

...
Ocasio-Cortez, also an ambassador, stresses her Hispanic identity and Puerto Rican family. But Thurman’s writings urge readers “to act in accordance with your passion,” she says. “Some people are passionate about their cultural heritage, but some are passionate about other things that happen to have a cultural breadth—tea being one of them.”

“One of the things that allows people to expand who they are is to identify with other people’s passions. I identify with my cultural community, but I’ve learned a lot from Tino’s passion for literature.” (Did we mention the Thurman Center has a Book Club?)

"Alexandria" made a comment:

The Howard Thurman Center forms and fosters communities that develop cultures of their own. One need only to pop into Coffee & Conversation or visit BUcultureshock to see that cognitive diversity is just a part of Thurman’s mission as racial diversity – a crucial point largely overlooked in this article. Note how individuals were identified solely by race and not by field of study.

The HTC is a place for poets. It’s a place for public health professionals. It’s a place to connect entrepreneurs with painters and scientists with diplomats. And yes, it’s a place for culture. Come check us out.

This is her first known use of social media.

 

[lpetrich]

Boston University has many recent articles on AOC, for obvious reasons, and some of the contributors recall her BU days.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wins Upset Congressional Primary | Bostonia | Boston University

Four months before her BU graduation, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke at the University’s Martin Luther King Day commemoration about her generation, addressing the topic, “How can we be great?”

“What I see is that the Democratic Party takes working-class communities for granted, they take people of color for granted, and they just assume that we’re going to turn out no matter how bland or half-stepping these proposals are,” Ocasio-Cortez, who was an organizer for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, told the New York Times before the primary.

She is right about that, I think.

Kenneth Elmore (Wheelock’87), associate provost and dean of students, recalls meeting Ocasio-Cortez—“I knew her as Sandy”—when another student brought her to one of his weekly Coffee & Conversation forums. She was studying international relations at what is now the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies.

“Sandy’s friend introduced her as ‘the smartest person I know,’” Elmore says. “Through frequent conversations with her, it didn’t take long for me to agree.

“Sandy is brilliant—she is boldly curious and always present,” he says. “She makes me think and could always see multiple sides of any issue. Sandy is also heart and soul real. It is wonderful to see Sandy emerge as a leader—I can’t wait to see what happens when her time truly comes.”

The friend who introduced them, Mina Vahedi (Wheelock’11,’14), says she mentioned Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign to her political junkie cousin last summer, who replied, “She has no chance at all.”

But Vahedi, who lived on Ocasio-Cortez’s dorm floor freshman year (“Warren Towers, 16B”), was not surprised by the political upset. “She just has this energy that’s so motivated and ready just to work and make things happen,” Vahedi says. She recalls walking through the George Sherman Union with Ocasio-Cortez and joking with her about “when you’re president one day.”

“She didn’t make it seem like it was totally out of the question,” says Vahedi, who says she burst into tears of happiness when a Buzzfeed news alert announcing her friend’s victory crossed her phone Tuesday night while she was at a concert.

Raul Fernandez (COM’00, Wheelock’16), a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development lecturer, says that “while the political world is in shock, those of us who know Sandy best are beaming with pride, but unsurprised.” Her student years, he says, revealed a “rare combination of heart, smarts, and the ability to use her voice to bring people together,” along with an uncommon trait: “She listens—I mean, actually listens—when you speak.”

For example, she held back during Elmore’s weekly forums to hear others speak before sharing her views, Fernandez remembers.

She's said some very insightful things, like in AOC on How to Argue It's great that she's not an intellectual bully, as Ben Shapiro (for instance) is, that her intellect is combined with good moral character.

The Story Behind Ocasio-Cortez’s Dancing Video—from Those Who Made It | Bostonia | Boston University

He says Cortez was a friend and “sort of the face of the Thurman Center,” because of her ability to rally people to want to be a part of it.

Like Baker, Fernandez, then the assistant director of the Howard Thurman Center, now the assistant dean for equity, diversity, and inclusion at Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, recalls Ocasio-Cortez as being a leading student ambassador for the Center.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Urges Students to Become Activists | BU Today | Boston University

Ocasio-Cortez “was a bright shining light” when she was at BU, recalled Raul Fernandez (COM’00, Wheelock’16), ...

“Everybody knew her as one of the smartest people in the room for sure,” says Fernandez, who shares her Puerto Rican heritage. She didn’t talk about political ambitions then. “Her main focus was using the time she had on this planet to benefit people in the community.”

 

[lpetrich]

Ocasio-Cortez One of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People | Bostonia | Boston University -- notes some of her missteps.

Three NHI Alumni to run for Congress in 2018 - NHI Magazine - "participated in the 2005 National LDZ and the 2006 New York CWS" - making her 16 and 17 at the time. "As a writer and educator, she has remained involved with NHI as an educational director at CWS programs, a contributor to past NHI Magazine print editions, and as a consultant to NHI founder and President Ernesto Nieto."

LDZ = "... the Lorenzo de Zavala (LDZ) program allows students to learn public policy. At the LDZ, students go as far as to participate in a legislative session where they run for various posts — many become Representatives or Senators, creating their own version of Congress for just a few short days." - now she's one for real.


From NHI to Congress: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - NHI Magazine - this is in mid-2017, early in her campaign. "Years ago I worked for the late Senator Kennedy, but quickly exited politics after disliking the influence of money and dynastic power in our political system. I tried to focus on social entrepreneurship and community work instead." Like her book-publishing company, which never got very far.

She then described being with Brand New Congress and some of its candidates -- they could run as Democrats, Republicans, or Independents.

Unlike my opponent, I actually have experiences contributing to the community I seek to represent. I have organized here, educated here, and worked to make ends meet here. In addition to that on-the-ground experience, I have the policy expertise and the political will to champion legislation that the lobbied and entrenched establishment has been too scared to back for fear of losing their patronage.

... My experiences as an Educational Director and organizing through NHI has also shaped much of how we’re building our campaign for NY-14

Students from four nations converge on Cabrini for Northeast CWS - NHI Magazine

The program’s educational director, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, took a week from her campaign for a U.S. Congressional seat to help coordinate the Northeast CWS program. She said, “I often get asked at this program why I am taking a week off the campaign trail to work with 150 high school students. The answer is simple: It’s entirely centering. They are why I’m doing this. My background as an educator and working in my community is the only reason I’m running for Congress. Serving with them, and having the students serve me with their insights, and learning more about them and their passions, humanizes this race for me. It reminds me what’s important. It’s reminds me why I’m doing this and who I’m doing it for.”

Celebracion 2017 panel explores future of Latinos in politics - NHI Magazine late in 2017

And Ocasio-Cortez perhaps expressed that best in assessing the tribalism existing in today’s politics, noting, “The gas that fuels tribalism is fear. The antidote for that is hope and love. I practice a politics based on love.”

She is so unlike pResident tRump. She doesn't seem angry and embittered, as tRump often does.

 

[lpetrich]

Two NHI alumni elected to Congressional seats - NHI Magazine - "The National Hispanic Institute officially reached a new first in its nearly 40 years of developing Latino leaders, with the election of two NHI alumni to U.S. Congress this week." Including AOC.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez named 2017 NHI Person of the Year - NHI Magazine - for what she was getting ready to do in 2018.

Ocasio-Cortez is accustomed to beating the odds and forging forward with determination. She was tutored well by her father throughout her early years, and kept close company with her mother, grandmother, and younger brother. At just 17, her father suddenly became ill and died, but bearing the burden of that heavy and personal loss, she enrolled at Boston University, completed her program in four years, and graduated fourth in her class.

As a high school student, she participated in the NHI Lorenzo de Zavala Youth Legislative Session and became intensely involved in the organization’s work, going on to serve as an LDZ Secretary of State and a John F. Lopez Intern while in college.

NHI's Julio Cotto featured on MSNBC's Headliners - NHI Magazine - Julio Cotto on AOC at LDZ: “She will tell you, she ran for every position, she lost at everything, but by the end of the week, her peers had selected her as the Most Promising Female of that delegation, because they saw that never-quit attitude.”

Has 'Headliners: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' Early Interest in Policy - also Yorktown Heights High School and her research on extending nematodes' lives by feeding them antioxidants. Research that she said would be good for combating diseases of aging, and research that got her second place and an asteroid. She appeared on NBC Nightly News about that project. She was 17 at the time.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Transforming the DNA of Congressional Battles - NHI Magazine - "A lot of other campaigns hire professional organizers to knock on doors for you, but we’ve done the exact opposite. We go into communities and we train people ourselves in how to organize and then let them do it and organize their own communities on their own blocks." - Barack Obama was once a community organizer, but he wimped out as President, and one of the first things he did as ex-President was to arrange to give speeches before bankers.

"A lot of that is not being scared to take policy views that no one else has ever taken before." - like wanting to abolish ICE.

To me that’s a post-partisan, or even a non-partisan, point of view. We’re just trying to experiment with new ideas, and while I may be running as a Democrat in New York, I really do believe some of these ideas are something everybody can get behind. We’re smashing that idea that you have to be on one side or the other, or you have to be on one team or the other.

Seems like some of the US Founding Fathers - those who expressed opinions on political parties all deplored them. But US politicians started dividing themselves up into parties in George Washington's first term.

She also talked about how much of the US is solidly Democratic or solidly Republican, and how that can lead politicians to neglect their districts because those politicians take getting elected for granted.

Just by me, going out into the community and knocking on people’s doors, people are blown away because no one has ever knocked on their door before. No one has ever tried to engage them before. Our campaign is pursuing a strategy that no other campaign is willing to pursue.

That was really great that she was willing to do that.

I think one of the big things that we’ve been doing is floating really innovative policy positions that really capture people’s attention and start a conversation. It’s one even about agreeing or disagreeing. It’s about saying, “Hey, let’s consider something we’ve never done before.”

... A big thing of what we try to do is that we are, as we run, educating people that volunteer on our campaign on the essential skills of community organizing, so that they themselves can run for office or help the next person.

The Courage to Change | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - YouTube - her campaign video. She shows herself fixing her hair, applying makeup, and changing shoes, a sort of display of vulnerability that she would take to an extreme when she moved into DC.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stuns nation, embodies NHI with primary victory - NHI Magazine

AOC has been compared to Maxine Waters and Vito Marcantonio. Who are they?

 Vito Marcantonio

Vito Anthony Marcantonio (December 10, 1902 – August 9, 1954) was an Italian-American lawyer and leftist politician who served East Harlem for seven terms in the United States House of Representatives. Originally a member of the Republican Party and a supporter of Fiorello LaGuardia, he switched to the American Labor Party, believing that neither major party supported the interests of the working class. Later in his life, Marcantonio became more left-wing and was nationally known for his support from Communists during the 1940s.

Marcantonio represented the neighborhood of East Harlem in New York City, which was home to many ethnic Italians and Puerto Ricans. He spoke Spanish, Italian, and English.

In 1926, he started practicing law, representing radical individuals and organizations.

He ran for the US House in 1934 as a Republican, but was defeated in 1936. He joined the American Labor Party, and he was elected again in 1938, and got re-elected until 1950. He was popular enough to sometimes win the Democratic and Republican Party primaries.

He was a supporter of the Socialist and Communist Parties, of labor unions, and of black civil rights, wanting to outlaw poll taxes and make lynching a Federal crime.

Alex Ocasio-Cortéz in San Francisco - YouTube - fun to see all those emojis in its title. AOC has two nicknames, Alex and Sandy.

 

[Derec]

She also talked about how much of the US is solidly Democratic or solidly Republican, and how that can lead politicians to neglect their districts because those politicians take getting elected for granted.

It can also lead to extremists primarying more moderate incumbents and nevertheless winning the general election comfortably because the seat is so safe.
Sandy and the rest of her "squad" mates would never have been elected if not for extremely safe Dem districts.

 

[Derec]

AOC has been compared to Maxine Waters and Vito Marcantonio. Who are they?

He was a supporter of the Socialist and Communist Parties, of labor unions, and of black civil rights, wanting to outlaw poll taxes and make lynching a Federal crime.

So she is being compared to an actual card-carrying communist?

 

[lpetrich]

 Maxine Waters

Maxine Moore Waters (née Carr, August 15, 1938) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for California's 43rd congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Waters is currently in her 15th term in the House, having served since 1991. She previously represented the state's 29th district (1991–1993) and 35th district (1993–2013). She is the most senior of the twelve black women currently serving in Congress, and she chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 1997 to 1999.[1]

Before becoming a U.S. Representative, Waters served in the California State Assembly, to which she was first elected in 1976. As an Assemblywoman, she advocated divestment from South Africa's apartheid regime. In Congress, she has been an outspoken opponent of the Iraq War and of Republican Presidents George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.[2]

She has caused a lot of controversy over the years.

On July 29, 1994, Waters came to public attention when she repeatedly interrupted a speech by Peter King (R-NY). The presiding officer, Carrie Meek (D-FL), classed her behavior as "unruly and turbulent", and threatened to have the Sergeant at Arms present her with the Mace of the House of Representatives (the equivalent of a formal warning to desist). As of 2017, this is the most recent instance of the mace being employed for a disciplinary purpose. Waters was eventually suspended from the House for the rest of the day.

The closest that AOC has come is with a climate-change-activist demonstration in Nancy Pelosi's office. She felt that she had to join them, because it was about having a livable planet in their future.

She threatened to revoke a TV station's license for doing news stories that she disliked.

In 2006 she was involved in the debate over King Drew Medical Center. She criticized media coverage of the hospital and in 2006 Waters asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny a waiver of the cross ownership ban, and hence license renewal for KTLA-TV, a station the Los Angeles Times owned. She said, "The Los Angeles Times has had an inordinate effect on public opinion and has used it to harm the local community in specific instances." She requested that the FCC force the paper to either sell its station or risk losing that station's broadcast rights.[13] According to Broadcasting & Cable, the challenges raised "the specter of costly legal battles to defend station holdings... At a minimum, defending against one would cost tens of thousands of dollars in lawyers' fees and probably delay license renewal about three months".[14] Waters' petition was ultimately unsuccessful.[15]

AOC once did something similar. Donald Trump Jr. once trolled her with a meme that stated "Why are you so afraid of a socialist economy? Because Americans want to walk their dogs, not eat them." She responded

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "I have noticed that Junior here has a habit of posting nonsense about me whenever the Mueller investigation heats up.
Please, keep it coming Jr - it’s definitely a “very, very large brain” idea to troll a member of a body that will have subpoena power in a month.
Have fun! https://t.co/oQ6MsdJYCk" / Twitter

She later stated that she apologized for any threat in her statement, but stated that it was nevertheless good legal advice.

About the Rodney King verdict and the riots that it provoked in LA,

When south-central Los Angeles erupted in riots—in which 63 were killed—after the Rodney King verdict in 1992, Waters gained national attention when she led a chant of "No justice, no peace" at a rally in the midst of the riot.[29] She also "helped deliver relief supplies in Watts and demanded the resumption of vital services".[30][31] Waters described the riots as a rebellion, saying "If you call it a riot it sounds like it was just a bunch of crazy people who went out and did bad things for no reason. I maintain it was somewhat understandable, if not acceptable."[32] In her view, the violence was "a spontaneous reaction to a lot of injustice." In regards to the looting of Korean-owned stores by local black residents, she said in an interview with KABC radio host Michael Jackson: "There were mothers who took this as an opportunity to take some milk, to take some bread, to take some shoes... They are not crooks."[33]

AOC stated in a radio interview in July (Ebro in the Morning) that some people might feel that they have no choice but to riot.

In early 2018, Waters was among the members of Congress the Republican Jewish Coalition called on to resign due to her connections with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.[56][57] Between 1993 and 2006, Waters repeatedly met with and had publicity photos taken with Farrakhan.[58]

The closest that AOC has come is association with Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, I think.

BTW, Maxine Waters is the head of the House Financial Services Committee and AOC is in that committee.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC has been compared to Maxine Waters and Vito Marcantonio. Who are they?

He was a supporter of the Socialist and Communist Parties, of labor unions, and of black civil rights, wanting to outlaw poll taxes and make lynching a Federal crime.

So she is being compared to an actual card-carrying communist?

Yes indeed: Vito Marcantonio: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Socialist Predecessor in Congress | National Review

For my part, I don't think that AOC is much more radical than (say) FDR.