Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[lpetrich]

The Dig: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Winning Power - 2018 Jul 9

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a 28-year old Latina working-class champion committed to social transformation who beat one of the most powerful men in Congress: the King of Queens. Dan had an extended conversation with her about how organized people won her election, how she’ll stay accountable to those movements now that she’s a rock star, establishment myopia and denial, The Congressional Progressive Caucus' shortcomings, and where the insurgency goes from here. Then Intercept D.C. Bureau Chief Ryan Grim on left media and left electoral politics, why mainstream media missed Ocasio-Cortez, and why Emily's List fails to support left women challengers.

Very interesting interviews with AOC and RG.

AOC talked about how she campaigned. She expected her opponent Joe Crowley to run a typical DCCC campaign. That's the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Instead, she campaigned by reaching out to the people in her district, with 120,000 door knockings, 170,000 text messages, and 120,000 phone calls. She herself did some of that, and she ended up wearing holes in some of her shoes.

An early part of her campaign was getting people registered to vote for the primary election, complete with changing their registration to Democratic if necessary. That was the hardest part, with lots of slammed doors and yelling.

Joe Crowley had plenty of TV ads and some 10 to 15 mailers per address -- "Victoria's Secret catalogs" with glossy head shots. AOC sent out 3 postcards each to 50,000 people -- that was as much as her campaign could afford. She got hundreds of volunteers, including some from states like MA and OH and IA. By comparison, JC had hardly any campaigners on the ground.

AOC seems to like how a lot of people didn't seem to have much of a clue about her victory - they thought that it was all about identity politics. This was despite a lot of journalists following her campaign. She recalls a Spanish-language TV channel doing an interview with her about her campaign. She has this short description of herself: an educator, an organizer, and a champion of working people.

Her campaign involved getting support from the Democratic Socialists of America, Black Lives Matter activists, the Justice Democrats, etc. This involved a lot of meetings in person. She calls her candidate a "movement candidacy", instead of one that is only about her: "I'm the best one". For her debate with Joe Crowley, she prepared for many questions that he might have asked her -- preparation that came in handy when she won. But when he asked her if she would endorse him if he won, she was unprepared. She answered that she would have to consult with the movement.

 

[Harry Bosch]

If a worker owned co-op happens to make a profit, is this plowed back into the co-op, or is it shared by the workers, meaning the co-op remains stagnant with no possibility of growth, which in turn eventually means less employment. Derec's example of the East German made vehicle Trabant is a perfect example. Socialism will always stifle incentive.

If a CEO running business happens to make a profit, is this plowed back into the business, or is it distributed to the chief officers of the business, meaning the business remains stagnant with no possibility of growth, which in turn eventually means less employment. The example of Sears consumed by vulture capitalists is a perfect example. Capitalism will always stifle incentive.

It really depends on the CEO and the strategic decisions made by the company. A good CEO will balance the needs of the shareholder, the workers, and the company with each other. Sears's fate was sealed by the decisions of management well before the VC firms broke them up. Sears, very similar to Toys R US, didn't keep up with technology and training it's workers. They didn't keep their edge. They relied on location and attractive real estate. Today, real estate means nothing. The best retailers have terrible locations. But they listen to their customers and have fantastic people and technology.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC noted that her campaign has lots of online chats among her ~150 campaign volunteers.

New York voter-registration laws are very bad, she says, though they may now be improved over 2018. Like finding only 5 registered Democrats in an 8-story apartment building.

She got 68% more turnout than was typical for the previous midterm elections, in 2014. Her strategy of seeking out new voters is how she got all these voters. In-the-middle people, fence-sitters, only decide around 1 week before an election, she claims. "Triple primes" - those who voted in the three most recent elections - were not her first priority. Maybe second or third. She got her voters some months before the election.

Not long after AOC's primary election, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) claimed that AOC's proposals would not do well in the Midwest. AOC responded by pointing out that Bernie Sanders did well there.

JC's campaign was financed by big donations, AOC's with small ones. JC's campaigning: anti-Trump. AOC agrees with his assessment, but thinks that one ought to offer more. She prefers a positive approach to fighting the Democratic establishment. Political machines can sometimes be vulnerable to challengers -- they may become complacent and decrepit and asleep at the wheel. Sort of like the Wizard of Oz, where The Great Oz turns out to be a fake.

She organized in living rooms, arranging meetings there to present her proposals and discuss issues. She suspects that electoral consultants tend to recommend what makes them money, like lots of TV ads. There isn't much money in campaigners on the ground.

She'd focus on 1's and 2's, where those were from how would-be voters rated here: 1: strong +, 2: lean +, 3: neutral, 4: lean -, 5: strong -.

A nice thing about digital organizing is that one gets much better numbers than with TV ads and the like.

The Progressive Caucus has the problem of being not very cohesive, despite its size. The Freedom Caucus has been more effective, despite its smaller size, because it is more cohesive.

Puerto Rico suffers from colonialism, like 4,000 people dying as a result of Hurricane Maria. If PR was a state, that would likely not have happened, and may also if PR was independent.

AOC's primary challenge of JC was the first one for JC in 14 years. She claimed that she was not alone, mentioning Julia Salazar and Cori Bush, also challenging incumbents. JS became NY State Senator, while CB lost in MO-01. AOC didn't campaign for CB this year, but CB won this year.

 

[Swammerdami]

I was elated to see a YouTube of AOC — whom I'd never heard of — when she won her 2018 Primary. I fell in love with her personality, but was not a real supporter of her left-wing politics and didn't really expect to pay any more attention to her. (There are plenty of brilliant personalities on YouTube to choose from.) The haters and liars started ranting about her and I paid little attention.

But she grew on me. She is a marvelous person, and clearly more intelligent than her detractors. Her questioning of Michael Cohen in Committee should be a model for the hundreds of Congresscritters who'd rather gloat about their own farts than do useful work.

I still disapprove of her more extreme views, but I'm enraptured by her! While I'm a centrist, the U.S.A. has gone way too far right-wing and I'm delighted to see leftists push on the "Overton window" as hard as they can. We need to push American politics back from insanity. Only then need we worry whether the progressive agenda goes too far.

 

[lpetrich]

Then Intercept journalist Ryan Grim came on.

The Intercept covered AOC's first run, unlike most other publications. RG mentioned a certain problem with covering a candidate like AOC. A failure could be embarrassing. Considering this, it was good of the makers of "Knock Down The House" to feature the failed campaigns of three of the four candidates that they tracked - Cori Bush, Paula Jean Swearengin, and Amy Vilela. The successful one was AOC.

Then something about who would become House Speaker. AOC favored Barbara Lee, but went along with Nancy Pelosi after her challengers for that position came from the right.

Then some of what Joe Crowley was involved with in Queens - what RG called a foreclosure mill.

Then about EMILY's List ("Early Money Is Like Yeast"). It didn't support AOC, Cynthia Nixon, or any other challenger of an establishment Democrat. But it was apparently willing to support some opponent of abortion who was establishment.

Low-turnout elections are relatively easy to win, because it takes relatively little campaigning. But even then, it can take a lot of work, like getting 4 times the necessary ballot-petition signatures and getting 68% more than the usual turnout of such elections, to get a 12% margin of victory on one's first time.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC retweeted
Public Citizen on Twitter: "If @AOC's Green New Deal is "extreme," how would describe the blood-soaked skies of Oregon? Business as usual?" / Twitter
noting
Christine Pitawanich on Twitter: "This is nuts. Downtown Stayton at 12:22pm. Be safe, everyone. #KGW #Oregon #Fire #Smoke #LionsheadFire @KGWNews https://t.co/ff4MKKU4qm" / Twitter

Derek Marshall on Twitter: "Blown away by the level of coordinated food distribution undertaken by the @AOC campaign. ..." / Twitter

Blown away by the level of coordinated food distribution undertaken by the @AOC campaign. Every campaign and elected official in the country should be standing up to meet the needs of their communities. Thousands have been showing up in district each week to receive extra help.

don_br:
Here's why it's not happening in other places:
1) @AOC cares about her constituents and actually wants to help them.
2) most Representatives feel their obligation to serve ends when they're elected - that's when it should START!

deletingsoun:
Her opponents don't like her because she actually does what they say they would. This is not just a campaign slogan for her, she is really out there trying to help her constituents. Love @AOC.

CowboyGuru:
Love her or hate her, nobody can deny that @RepAOC is on the front lines of her community more than basically any other member of congress. And her district is densely populated and very diverse. Which speaks volumes about the reps of poor, sparsely populated districts elsewhere.

Beverly Collins:
Is that fresh vegetables and fruit I see? That is most excellent of people to donate this food. Whether you agree with her style of politics or not, this is how you take care of your people. I am wholly impressed.
(me: indeed it is)

jae4revolution:
Major shout out to an incredible human being and Congressperson!

I've volunteered for her campaign's food pantry distribution. It's an impressive operation that has been such a help to the community.

 

[Harry Bosch]

I was elated to see a YouTube of AOC — whom I'd never heard of — when she won her 2018 Primary. I fell in love with her personality, but was not a real supporter of her left-wing politics and didn't really expect to pay any more attention to her. (There are plenty of brilliant personalities on YouTube to choose from.) The haters and liars started ranting about her and I paid little attention.

But she grew on me. She is a marvelous person, and clearly more intelligent than her detractors. Her questioning of Michael Cohen in Committee should be a model for the hundreds of Congresscritters who'd rather gloat about their own farts than do useful work.

I still disapprove of her more extreme views, but I'm enraptured by her! While I'm a centrist, the U.S.A. has gone way too far right-wing and I'm delighted to see leftists push on the "Overton window" as hard as they can. We need to push American politics back from insanity. Only then need we worry whether the progressive agenda goes too far.

My problem with AOC is that her primary focus and passion are primaries and beating democrats that she dosn't personally like. She isn't a team player. She wants a small tent which I just don't think is a winning strategy for dems. I like democrats who want to beat the religious right and the republicans. Sanders is to my left. And he fights very hard in primaries. But he also fights in the election. He has my respect.

 

[Derec]

AOC retweeted
Public Citizen on Twitter: "If @AOC's Green New Deal is "extreme," how would describe the blood-soaked skies of Oregon? Business as usual?" / Twitter

This is the fallacy of the excluded middle. Especially since AOC's GND involves many programs that are just giveaways to the Left and have nothing to do with climate or the environment.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I was elated to see a YouTube of AOC — whom I'd never heard of — when she won her 2018 Primary. I fell in love with her personality, but was not a real supporter of her left-wing politics and didn't really expect to pay any more attention to her. (There are plenty of brilliant personalities on YouTube to choose from.) The haters and liars started ranting about her and I paid little attention.

But she grew on me. She is a marvelous person, and clearly more intelligent than her detractors. Her questioning of Michael Cohen in Committee should be a model for the hundreds of Congresscritters who'd rather gloat about their own farts than do useful work.

I still disapprove of her more extreme views, but I'm enraptured by her! While I'm a centrist, the U.S.A. has gone way too far right-wing and I'm delighted to see leftists push on the "Overton window" as hard as they can. We need to push American politics back from insanity. Only then need we worry whether the progressive agenda goes too far.

My problem with AOC is that her primary focus and passion are primaries and beating democrats that she dosn't personally like. She isn't a team player. She wants a small tent which I just don't think is a winning strategy for dems. I like democrats who want to beat the religious right and the republicans. Sanders is to my left. And he fights very hard in primaries. But he also fights in the election. He has my respect.

If AOC can get more progressives seated, more power to her. If they can retain their seats, then people have accepted them and their radical ideas. If the Democrats take back the White House and with a good turnout possibly the Senate, using the ACA as a cornerstone, the window will shift toward more progressive ideas. But this has to be built brick by brick.

 

[lpetrich]

• DC Comics Honors Beyoncé, Janelle Monáe, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, AOC & More as 'Wonder Women of History' | Billboard
• DC celebreates Beyoncé, RBG, AOC & more as Wonder Women of History | GamesRadar+
• WONDERFUL WOMEN OF HISTORY | DC

1. Keiko Agena - actress
2. Beyoncé - singer-actress
3. Dominique Dawes - the first African American gymnast to win an individual Olympic medal
4. Teara Fraser - Iskwew Air CEO and Founder
5. Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Supreme Court justice
6. Emma Gonzalez - Parkland shooting survivor and gun control advocate
7. Judith Heumann - disability rights activist
8. Marsha P. Johnson - transgender activist and Stonewall uprising figure
9. Janelle Monáe - singer-actress
10. Tig Notaro - stand-up comic
11. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - US Rep
12. Ellen Ochoa - NASA's first Hispanic female astronaut
13. Rashida Tlaib - US Rep
14. Elizabeth Warren - US Senator
15. Serena Williams - 23-time Grand Slam winning tennis player
16. Edith Windsor - LGBTQ+ rights activist
17. Dr. Shi Zhengli - deputy director of Wuhan Institute of Virology and China's "Bat Woman"

Descriptions of all but Beyoncé and RBG from the Billboard article.

It should come out on Dec 1.

DC Comics ‘Wonder Women Of History’ To Feature ‘Real World Heroes’ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib | The Daily Wire - "No conservative women were included."

What did they expect? Sarah Palin? Laura Ingraham?

 

[Harry Bosch]

I was elated to see a YouTube of AOC — whom I'd never heard of — when she won her 2018 Primary. I fell in love with her personality, but was not a real supporter of her left-wing politics and didn't really expect to pay any more attention to her. (There are plenty of brilliant personalities on YouTube to choose from.) The haters and liars started ranting about her and I paid little attention.

But she grew on me. She is a marvelous person, and clearly more intelligent than her detractors. Her questioning of Michael Cohen in Committee should be a model for the hundreds of Congresscritters who'd rather gloat about their own farts than do useful work.

I still disapprove of her more extreme views, but I'm enraptured by her! While I'm a centrist, the U.S.A. has gone way too far right-wing and I'm delighted to see leftists push on the "Overton window" as hard as they can. We need to push American politics back from insanity. Only then need we worry whether the progressive agenda goes too far.

My problem with AOC is that her primary focus and passion are primaries and beating democrats that she dosn't personally like. She isn't a team player. She wants a small tent which I just don't think is a winning strategy for dems. I like democrats who want to beat the religious right and the republicans. Sanders is to my left. And he fights very hard in primaries. But he also fights in the election. He has my respect.

If AOC can get more progressives seated, more power to her. If they can retain their seats, then people have accepted them and their radical ideas. If the Democrats take back the White House and with a good turnout possibly the Senate, using the ACA as a cornerstone, the window will shift toward more progressive ideas. But this has to be built brick by brick.

Yea, she does a great job getting progressives elected in safe democratic areas. This is a good thing. But she's just not a national player. She's a minor leaguer, not ready for the majors yet (not bad for a new representative). BS, like him or not, is a national player. He's going after Trump. He's fighting for the national election. He's major league.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC, other 'Squad' members bring dogs to work - AOC recently Instagrammed on her pet dog Deco in her office.

“Okay, one perk of being a member of Congress is that you set your own puppy policies,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said before turning the screen to her loyal companion, “So in a time of Covid and self-isolation, I get to bring a friend with me.”

In a second story, Deco was pictured sitting on a leather chair in what appeared to be AOC’s Congressional office.

“Deco says we need to pass a second stimulus check, state & local funding for schools, expanded unemployment insurance and guaranteed healthcare. That’s why he’s my policy pup extraordinaire,” she quipped in a blurb under the one-year-old Frenchie.

AOC spotted with boyfriend Riley Roberts on NYC date

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wore the Most Divisive Version of These Already-Controversial Comfy Shoes - some rather fancy sandals.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Cannabis should be legalized & records should be expunged ASAP.

It’s strange that the more conservative step of decriminalization is seen by some as too controversial or “risky.”

Each day we postpone is a day we let communities be ravaged & profiled. It must end. #LegalizeIt" / Twitter

Noting
Natalie Fertig on Twitter: "In today's #MorningCannabis newsletter: Rep @AOC told me the fears that marijuana could negatively impact the election for Democrats are a bad calculation.

"I think this is a win, win, win policy and I think that we should be doing this before the election,” she said. #cannabis https://t.co/x5K7ReuIPi" / Twitter
noting

"If you're trying to punt it as a result of a that political calculation, I disagree with calculation," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), co-sponsor of the bill. think this is a win, win, win policy and think that we should be doing this before the election."

Natalie Fertig on Twitter: "Sen. @CoryBooker yesterday said something similar: that if the House passes the #MOREAct it will show what Dems can do, and turn out Dem voters to take back the Senate. #cannabisnews https://t.co/eEJlg7BxxQ" / Twitter
noting

BOOKER CITES MORE ACT IN PLEA TO VOTERS Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is making the case that the upcoming vote on the MORE Act should spur Americans to head to the polls in November. "This [House vote] doesn't amount to change. It amounts to showing greater potential and promise for change," Booker said during a panel hosted by The Appeal and NowThis.

"Look at what the House has been passing,' he said, citing a variety of social and climate justice oriented bills that have little support from the Republican-controlled Senate. "Those bills are being stopped here in the Senate, and the Senate will flip if we all get out there and vote.*

 

[lpetrich]

Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie 米维 on Twitter: "Fellas, read more Angela Davis. You don’t know you need it, but you really, really do." / Twitter

I don't see what's so special about her, and she was apparently an orthodox pro-Soviet Communist for a long time.

Emergency Workplace Organizing on Twitter: "STARTING NOW: pandemic workplace organizing panel with us and @AOC! ..." / Twitter - should be interesting to watch.

Might she eventually do a show on how to be a vigilante?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter:
" My @USPS stamp haul today:
1. Succulent Boutonniere stamp
2. Thank You gold foil stamps
3. Earth Day forever stamps
https://t.co/aVsCp5iBHV" / Twitter
noting
voyager 1 on Twitter: "@AOC insta story where she shows off her stamp haul is legit the cutest thing ive seen today " / Twitter

These stamps:
Contemporary Boutonniere Stamp | USPS.com
Thank You Stamp | USPS.com
Earth Day Stamp | USPS.com

 

[lpetrich]

The Hill on Twitter: "Rep. @AOC: "I rise today to recognize Mr. Hope Lee, a revered constituent of #NY14, who is celebrating his 100th birthday this year and has served so valiantly for our country. During WWII, received a Bronze Star Medal of Honor, 2 Purple Hearts and a Combat Infantry Badge." https://t.co/D8J4KwPvNF" / Twitter - with some video of her addressing Congress about this one of her constituents.

Ocasio-Cortez: 'We can likely push' Biden 'in a more progressive direction' if he's elected | Just The News

"I think it's important to acknowledge that we can have, in some cases, very large disagreements — it doesn't mean that we're trying to undermine the party or undermine each other," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Just the News.

...
"Of course I do," said Ocasio-Cortez. "We're different people, and clearly I, in the primary, one of the reasons why I was supportive of Senator Sanders was because of how progressive his stances are, but, you know, the primaries are over, and right now what is most important is to make sure that we ensure a Democratic victory in November and that we continue to push Vice President Biden on issues from marijuana to climate change to foreign policy."

...
"I think, overall, we can likely push Vice President Biden in a more progressive direction across policy issues," she told Just the News in an interview Tuesday on Capitol Hill. "I think foreign policy is an enormous area where we can improve; immigration is another one. There are some areas where we just fundamentally disagree, but that's okay. I think it's important to acknowledge that we can have, in some cases, very large disagreements — it doesn't mean that we're trying to undermine the party or undermine each other. It means that we're trying to do what's best for people in the country."

She described the Bidenites as "pretty stubborn" on healthcare reform. Joe Biden prefers a public option to full-scale M4A. "We'll see what progress that we're able to make on issues like immigration and criminal justice reform," she added.

"One perfect example is that I believe in the legalization of marijuana, not just decriminalization, but full legalization, regulation, etc.," she said. "But, you know, we will hash those out. Our main priority is to make sure that the vice president is successful and victorious in November so that we can have those kinds of conversations in the first place from a more effective stance with him in the White House."

...
"One concern I'd say that I have with a public option is that it very easily allows insurance companies to just kind of bump off their more expensive patients onto a public option, thus making an increase in the costs on a public option and kind of them keeping healthier people that require less insurance coverage for themselves," she said.

"The whole purpose of insurance is to even out those costs, which is why I believe single-payer is a better policy, so in terms of that we do disagree," she added. "But either way, I do think that a public option is likely a better scenario than we have right now."

...
"That would not just take me to convince him nor any one individual," she said. "We need a mass movement in this country. We need widespread popular support for single payer in order to get a chance at getting it done."

That's an interesting take on a public option.

 

[lpetrich]

Some right-wingers have chortled over AOC saying "Latinos are Black". But the full context of that remark is interesting:

AOC: ‘Latinos Are Black,’ ‘We Have to Have Conversations Around “Colorism”‘ :: Grabien - The Multimedia Marketplace - ‘We are Afro-Latina’

"Yeah. Well, I — the first thing that’s so important is for us to talk about racism within our community and how we fit — both — how we are both impacted by racism in the United States and across the world, but also how it exists within our own communities. And, you know, a lot of times I’ll hear people say, 'Okay this is about black lives matter. What about Latinos?' And I always say Latinos are black. We are Afro-Latina and we — we run an entire racial spectrum. And so we have to have conversations around colorism and we have to have conversations about the African and indigenous roots from which we come and how that’s reflected in systems of power, wealth inequality and, frankly, our political system."

In other words, Hispanics ought to confront their racial problems.

• Genographic Project DNA Results Reveal Details of Puerto Rican History – National Geographic Society Newsroom
• New details of Boricua genetics | Ciencia Puerto Rico
• Origins and genetic legacies of the Caribbean Taino | PNAS
• History Shaped the Geographic Distribution of Genomic Admixture on the Island of Puerto Rico
• Reconstructing Native American Migrations from Whole-Genome and Whole-Exome Data

From National Geographic, "The average Puerto Rican individual carries 12% Native American, 65% West Eurasian (Mediterranean, Northern European and/or Middle Eastern) and 20% Sub-Saharan African DNA." West Eurasian = Caucasoid, SSA = Negroid.

However, Puerto Rican mitochondria are 60% NA and Puerto Rican Y chromosomes 80% WEA, 20% SSA, and almost no NA. This sort of imbalance is rather common in Latin America, it must be noted. Which suggests a scenario of male European colonists coming in, killing all the Native men, and taking the Native women as their wives.

• Francis Chung on Instagram: “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill today.” - Sep 17
• Francis Chung on Instagram: “Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Capitol Hill during House votes today.” - Sep 16
• Francis Chung on Instagram: “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) greets supporters outside the U.S. Capitol today after voting on a House bill that would provide $25 billion in emergency funding for the U.S. Postal Service while also prohibiting it from making any operational changes that would impede mail-in voting in November's elections.” - Aug 22
• Francis Chung on Instagram: “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) arrives for a House vote at the U.S. Capitol this afternoon. ...” - Jul 31
• Francis Chung on Instagram: “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tries on a hat picked out by Rep. Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) outside the U.S. Capitol earlier this week ...” - Jul 31
• Francis Chung on Instagram: “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) waves at supporters from the steps of the U.S. Capitol this evening. Earlier, she spoke on the House floor denouncing Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) for exemplifying a culture of sexism when, according to the Congresswoman and a reporter who witnessed the incident, he accosted and directed derogatory language toward her on the same Capitol steps Monday. ...” - Jul 23
• Francis Chung on Instagram: “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arrives at the U.S. Capitol to vote on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act June 25, two days after winning a primary election in New York’s 14th congressional district in a landslide. ...” - Jul 3

 

[lpetrich]

NY Taxi Workers on Twitter: "Brooklyn Bridge is SHUT DOWN! Taxi drivers demand debt forgiveness now! https://t.co/rykiPHXYNX" / Twitter

Then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "NYC taxi drivers were targeted in an enormous predatory lending scheme for city-issued medallions, creating horrifying financial desperation that has cost lives.

Last year I questioned witnesses regarding the predatory lending crisis & they agreed - this debt must be cancelled." / Twitter

Ocasio-Cortez Calls for Bailout for Taxi Drivers - The New York Times - "The congresswoman referred to their plight as “indentured servitude,” becoming the most prominent voice to back a rescue plan."

 

[lpetrich]

How AOC Became the Boogeywoman of the 2020 Election | by Andrea González-Ramírez | Sep, 2020 | GEN

If you went by the advertisements we’ve seen this election season, you would think most Republican candidates were facing off against the same foe this November: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Forget about producing ads that focus on Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, or any of the top-ranking Democrats, GOP candidates across the country are betting that Ocasio-Cortez’s name recognition makes her the most effective target in their efforts to bank votes from fearful voters.

Then a lot of how Republicans are making her a great villain.

I must note that Republicans love having villains. Bill and Hillary Clinton. Harry Reid. Nancy Pelosi. Barack and Michelle Obama. So AOC is the latest.

By norm, she means the prototypical older, white, and male politicians who still dominate pretty much every sphere of the political arena in the United States. That’s why attacks on Biden have not stuck in the same way that those leveled against Hillary Clinton did in 2016, and why Republicans now need foes like Ocasio-Cortez. Biden looks like 44 of America’s 45 presidents; AOC looks like none of them.

AOC could pass as white if she wanted to -- she likely is over half-European, though it's mostly Southern European rather than Northern European.

The attacks against Ocasio-Cortez have clearly been racialized, gendered, and ageist. “She’s portrayed as an idealistic, uniformed little girl in a way young men are not portrayed,” Montoya says. At the same time, Montoya says, Ocasio-Cortez is painted “as a seductress, who is luring good white men down the wrong direction” — men like Joe Biden. Ocasio-Cortez’s progressive agenda also makes it easier for Republicans to argue that the Democratic party is moving toward the left in a way that’s unacceptable, even though AOC and her colleagues are freshman congresswomen who don’t hold real institutional power in Congress. Under a presidency that began with portraying Mexican as rapists, it’s not a surprise that women of color would become the default symbols of radicalism and, therefore, useful boogeywomen.

Something like what Republicans might do to Kamala Harris: Trump prepares a new fall offensive: Labeling Kamala Harris - POLITICO

 

[lpetrich]

Michelle Legro on Twitter: "New at @GENmag: @aoc isn't running for president, but there's a good reason you're seeing her in a LOT of ads, explains @andreagonram https://t.co/ysbonsCV9V" / Twitter

Then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Some days I wake up & it seems there’s 500 GOP wannabes pitching themselves as the “anti-AOC.”

First of all, as Republicans y’all don’t have the range.

Secondly, most of you are just afraid to run against your actual Dem opponent. It’s lazy. Work harder." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Corey Torpie Photography on Instagram: “Today out in Parkchester with team @aoc making sure everyone is getting counted.” - showing AOC herself holding up a big sign that says:

Count me in
Cuéntame

The Census is for everyone
El Censo es para todos
ocasiocortez.com/census

Corey Torpie has several pictures of AOC's campaigners distributing food and doing census outreach.

She also has Corey Torpie Photography on Instagram: “Queens kid @cabanforqueens launching her campaign for City Council . . #cabánforqueens” and Corey Torpie Photography on Instagram: “We could not be more excited for the launch of @cabanforqueens City Council campaign over here. Not only is she an inspiring leader, but a wonderful neighbor and friend. ...”

TC ran for Queens district attorney last year, but she lost by a hair to a Joe Crowley crony. New York Party Bosses Rally to Melinda Katz in DA Race

Another Joe Crowley crony, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of NY-08 (Brooklyn), succeeded him as head of the House Democratic Caucus.

But Joe Crowley had a recent proxy loss to AOC: the defeat of Rep. Joe Kennedy III's primary challenge to Sen. Ed Markey.

Another politician is sounding the alarm about the census:

Corey Torpie Photography on Instagram: “From my first day out with team @aoc in 2018 and @kitchen3n’s mom was feeding everyone samosas pre canvassing and video making. Tbh, this is pretty much still the vibe.”

Cori Bush on Twitter: "Hey, Missouri. For every census that isn't filled out, Missouri loses $1,300 in federal funding every year for the next decade. Fill yours out today, it only takes five minutes: https://t.co/pqlASb5vs4" / Twitter - Census 2020