Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[lpetrich]

Another Congresswoman, Jahana Hayes of CT-05:
Jahana Hayes on Twitter: "@AOC @AyannaPressley @CoriBush you are overthinking it! When ppl used to tell me what I needed for a Congressional wardrobe. My response was “I’m a Congresswoman- if I wear it, it’s Congressional” My go to is thrift shopping, otherwise I feel like I’m in a uniform " / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "You can also thrift and buy second hand online, which helped me get higher quality, longer-lasting things that would normally be out of budget. Good luck!!" / Twitter

Register-Swing-State-Voters Tran on Twitter: "@AOC @AOC also “Buy Nothing” groups are your friend if @CoriBush hasn’t used them, people give things they have in abundance and we’ve picked up some great clothes and furniture. Also, you’re the best." / Twitter

AOC also talked about thrift-shop clothes early last year IIRC. You can often get them very cheap, like a $200 designer dress for $30. That's the dress that she wears in her Twitter profile picture.

 

[lpetrich]

AOC is now the Republicans' favorite villain.

McCarthy says best way for GOP to fundraise is 'just let Nancy Pelosi and AOC talk' | TheHill

Kevin McCarthy: AOC "runs the floor" for House Democrats - Axios


Sunny Hostin sides with AOC's blacklist: Trump officials 'need to be held accountable' | Fox News
notes
VILE Sunny Hostin Agrees With AOC: Trump 'Sycophants' Must Go On Enemies List | Newsbusters

HOSTIN: You know, I think that Trump, um, tear-gassed peaceful protesters for a photo op. I think the Trump ripped children from their parents. I think that Trump called NFL players sons of bitches I think that---for exercising their First Amendment rights. I think those people in his administration that not only drafted some of those policies but were complicit in some of those policies shouldn’t be forgotten. People like Kirstjen Nielsen, people like Stephen Miller, people like Kellyanne Conway, people like Vice president Mike Pence who was woefully inadequate of his role as the head of the coronavirus task force and people like Ben Carson and Betsy Devos, I don't think those people should be able to profit from their experience within the Trump administration. I don't think they should be forgotten. I don’t think we should look the other way. I think we need to remember because if you don't remember things then past becomes prologue. I do think people need to be held accountable for their actions and um I don't think it's reminiscent of McCarthyism at all.

The tweets (2020 Nov 6):
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Is anyone archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future? I foresee decent probability of many deleted Tweets, writings, photos in the future" / Twitter
then
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Lol at the “party of personal responsibility” being upset at the idea of being responsible for their behavior over last four years" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Heather Caygle on Twitter: "“Do we want to govern or do we want to be internet celebrities?” Rep. Jeffries asked other top Dems on a private leadership call.

Behind the scenes in the House Democratic Caucus and its turbulent post-election day adjustment:

W @sarahnferris https://t.co/xvte6Zq8hE" / Twitter

AOC sees no contradiction between governing and being an Internet celebrity. If anything, being such a celebrity is a good way to reach out to the general public. That's what FDR did with his Fireside Chats, and that's what numerous politicians have done with radio and TV over the last century.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Pretty astounding that some Dems don’t believe it’s possible to govern, be politically popular, and command formidable bully pulpits at the same time, but it actually explains a lot about how we got here." / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "We don’t have to choose between these things! We can do better and win!" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

NY-14 Virtual Town Hall with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
I watched the whole thing. It was AOC answering questions from her home. She often delivered mini-speeches in her answers, and some of them were interesting.

She said that she and her family planned to celebrate Thanksgiving over Zoom, with everybody preparing the same recipe. She suggested "Be creative".

She seemed to think that the Democrats had lost their House majority, when they are projected to still have it. But the Democrats lost several members, including Max Rose of NY-11, someone she said was a good friend, despite her differences with him. She tweeted a farewell message for him, congratulating him on willing to take part in protests of police brutality.

But she felt encouraged about how President-elect Biden's term was going, being willing to listen to him. Also about who might succeed Cheri Bustos as head of the DCCC.

She did address "Defund the police", though she didn't address the widespread interpretation of it, that that means that that will make us much more vulnerable to dangerous criminals. She noted that "defund education" seems much more tolerable than "defund police".

About reaching out to Jewish leaders, she was reaching out mainly to those in her district. She "deprioritized" national ones, it seems.

 

[lpetrich]

In an Instagram story, AOC stated that during Election Day to direct her attention toward other things, she took up drawing. Though she conceded that it was mainly tracing. She showed off one of them: a tracing of  Girl with a Pearl Earring


From last month: Congressional Progressives Are Revamping Their Caucus - about the Congressional Progressive Caucus - "With nearly 100 members, the CPC’s large size and loose requirements have been an obstacle to its ability to be a cohesive force."

Jayapal said that the caucus may indeed shrink if the reforms are implemented. “It may. We’re ready for that to happen,” she said. “I just would rather have people who are really committed to the progressive caucus in the caucus and participating rather than sort of just having it as a label.”

The task force is also pushing to move from the co-chair leadership structure that has been in place since 2005 to a single chair, arguing that the CPC is at a tactical disadvantage because its two chairs must coordinate before making a move, and quickness is often essential on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal of WA

Then on efforts to make it vote as a bloc, like mandating that every member has to vote for something that 2/3 of its members agree to, though they only have to vote like that 2/3 of the time.

Something like the Tea Party Freedom Caucus.

“It’s easy to tank something. It’s much harder to create something,” said Pocan. “One of the reasons that we’ve always not liked the comparison to the Freedom Caucus is they like to say ‘No.’ Quite honestly we like to say ‘yes’ to ideas, and have some ideas that we’re putting out there, and they’re just great at saying ‘No.’”

That's Rep. Mark Pocan of WI

The task force set up to write the new rules included Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Jamie Raskin, Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna, Judy Chu, Lloyd Doggett, Chuy Garcia, David Cicilline, Jayapal, and Pocan. The new rules, if approved, won’t go into effect until the next Congress.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Can we please get people stimulus checks and mortgage relief and rent forgiveness and small business support and free testing and hazard pay and healthcare for the uninsured (& underinsured) in the middle of a pandemic or is that too socialist too?" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

In that Vanity Fair article, AOC did a bit about how her day goes. She described what she likes to read: the likes of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and In These Times.

AOC seems very well-read.

Cori Bush on Twitter: "Most members of Congress aren’t working class. So when a regular person like me runs, it’s hard to handle everything from how much it costs to run, down to the clothes I’ll need to wear at work.
But we make it work.
Here's a sneak peak of a few of my thrift fits:
Jacket 1 https://t.co/etdLfuNx5w" / Twitter

Cori Bush on Twitter: "If elected to Congress, the first paycheck you get comes at the end of January. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck when you run, you have to find a way to make it months without income.
We’ve got to make Congress more accessible to regular people.
Jacket 2 https://t.co/bI8BxqkUgI" / Twitter

Cori Bush on Twitter: "This is also about the pink tax. The clothes I wear in the Capitol could make headlines, but a man does not have to worry about that. We’ve got to spend more on our wardrobes, and then caring for them costs more on top of that.
Jacket 3 https://t.co/b5HNQRG0po" / Twitter

With video of CB showing off all those outfits.

Cori Bush on Twitter: "I can’t reveal my whole outfits—gotta save some surprises for January. So grateful for my siSTARS @AOC, @IlhanMN, @AyannaPressley, and @RashidaTlaib for their support. Love y’all!" / Twitter

 

[Derec]

AOC seems very well-read.

Maybe she is just very, well, red. I just hope she doesn't get blacklisted at Hop Sing's because somebody named name.

In other news, AOC apparently thought Dems lost the House majority.


She is just a dim bulb, isn't she?

Cori Bush, whose only qualification was that she "protested" against police in Ferguson, is pretty dim too. She apparently thinks men in Congress do not have to spend a lot of money on suits, ties, and other parts of professional attire.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

AOC got herself, a nobody, elected to the House. She can’t possibly be a dim bulb.

 

[Arctish]

Cori Bush, whose only qualification was that she "protested" against police in Ferguson, is pretty dim too. She apparently thinks men in Congress do not have to spend a lot of money on suits, ties, and other parts of professional attire.

She didn't say men in Congress do not have to spend a lot of money on suits, ties, and other parts of professional attire. She said women have to pay more for clothes of equal business-appropriate style and quality. And she's right.

 

[lpetrich]

In other news, AOC apparently thought Dems lost the House majority.

That was from a recent virtual town hall. I agree that it was a mistake, but the Dems lost a lot of seats in the House.

She is just a dim bulb, isn't she?

Cori Bush, whose only qualification was that she "protested" against police in Ferguson, is pretty dim too. She apparently thinks men in Congress do not have to spend a lot of money on suits, ties, and other parts of professional attire.

Male TV presenter wears same suit for a year – does anyone notice? | Life and style | The Guardian - "Australian TV anchor Karl Stefanovic has been wearing the same blue suit to make a point about the ways in which his female colleagues are judged. What we learned hardly came as a surprise – but it can’t be said enough"

AOC got herself, a nobody, elected to the House. She can’t possibly be a dim bulb.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "When #BlackLivesMatter first emerged as an activist call, many pundits called it a divisive movement that required “too much explanation.”

It was widely considered “too controversial” to say for YEARS.

It’s wild how quickly people willingly forget that. It just happened." / Twitter

Some of her commenters brought in "Defund the Police", IMO an awful-sounding slogan, even if I agree on developing alternatives to policing. AOC doesn't seem very sensitive to that, I must say.

"Black Lives Matter" doesn't have any such troublesome connotations, however.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

AOC seems very well-read.

Maybe she is just very, well, red. I just hope she doesn't get blacklisted at Hop Sing's because somebody named name.

She's not stupid, the problem is she allows her ideology to override rational thought.

 

[southernhybrid]

AOC seems very well-read.

Maybe she is just very, well, red. I just hope she doesn't get blacklisted at Hop Sing's because somebody named name.

She's not stupid, the problem is she allows her ideology to override rational thought.

Or to put it a slightly different way, she's too idealistic. I prefer someone like Stacey Abrams. She has very progressive views, but she understands that you must work with people who have very different views from your own, in order to accomplish anything. In other words, I'll take pragmatism over idealism any day. If you can't get it all, you take what you can get and keep on trying.

 

[lpetrich]

Or she could be trying to be a political edgelord (edgelady?), trying to push the boundaries of what is considered plausible. I recall someone once urging her to advocate something like Britain's National Health Service for that reason. The NHS seems like a nation-scale version of a HMO or the US Veterans Administration.


Alexandra Rojas Interview — Who Is Alexandra Rojas, the Executive Director at Justice Democrats? - 2019 Mar 1

Literally just three, four years ago I was a full-time community college student, full-time in the workforce, and not picturing that I would be a part of a political revolution. But that's why there's so much hope in this moment, why I think it's so exciting. Regardless of if you agree with the policies, I think respecting the hustle of some of the young people like Alexandria and our team here at Justice Democrats, folks of the Sunrise Movement, leaders like Varshini [Prakash].

Just like being a bartender.

The Justice Democrats split off from Brand New Congress in early 2017, and BNC was formed by some Bernie Sanders campaigners in early 2016 as BS's campaign wound down.


People are talking about the new members of The Squad - Marie Newman, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush, all three of whom had primaried long-time Democratic incumbents. Let's see.

• 2016:
  • Ro Khanna CA-17: Mike Honda, 8 terms, 2nd try
  • Pramila Jayapal WA-07: open seat, 1st try
• 2018:
  • AOC NY-14: Joe Crowley, 10 terms, 1st try
  • Ayanna Pressley MA-07: Mike Capuano, 10 terms, 1st try
  • Rashida Tlaib MI-13: open seat, 1st try
  • Ilhan Omar MN-05: open seat, 1st try
  • Katie Porter CA-45: Mimi Walters (R), 2 terms, 1st try
• 2020:
  • Marie Newman IL-03: Dan Lipinski, 8 terms, 2nd try
  • Jamaal Bowman NY-16: Eliot Engel, 16 terms, 1st try
  • Mondaire Jones NY-17: open seat, 1st try
  • Cori Bush MO-01: Lacy Clay, 10 terms, 2nd try (also earlier try for MO US-Senate seat)

Some honorable mentions: Barbara Lee, Jamie Raskin, Mark Pocan

 

[Loren Pechtel]

She's not stupid, the problem is she allows her ideology to override rational thought.

Or to put it a slightly different way, she's too idealistic. I prefer someone like Stacey Abrams. She has very progressive views, but she understands that you must work with people who have very different views from your own, in order to accomplish anything. In other words, I'll take pragmatism over idealism any day. If you can't get it all, you take what you can get and keep on trying.

She's not being pragmatic in arguing for her green new deal. The technology isn't there, it can't be done on her timeframe and in practice would make things worse as nuke plants get replaced with fossil fuels.

 

[Harry Bosch]

She's not stupid, the problem is she allows her ideology to override rational thought.

Or to put it a slightly different way, she's too idealistic. I prefer someone like Stacey Abrams. She has very progressive views, but she understands that you must work with people who have very different views from your own, in order to accomplish anything. In other words, I'll take pragmatism over idealism any day. If you can't get it all, you take what you can get and keep on trying.

Totally 100% agree. I like AOC. I'm glad that she's in our party. However, I don't think that she understands that the views held by democrats in New York are the not same views as democrats held in Georgia. And if dems want to win elections, we need to come together and find the platform that fits what the majority of dems want. I'm sorry to say but we can't count on this invisible swarm of far left voters who will eventually come out to vote for us anymore!

 

[lpetrich]

She's not being pragmatic in arguing for her green new deal. The technology isn't there, it can't be done on her timeframe and in practice would make things worse as nuke plants get replaced with fossil fuels.

Pure assertion. Wind energy and solar energy are now in the exponential phase typical of new technologies, and there is a lot of work on ancillary technologies, like storage and synfuels. I can't say that either is as mature as wind turbines or photovoltaic cells, however.

AOC, progressive Dems attack corporate greed during health care discussion | TheHill

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) spoke at the event hosted by the left-leaning Center for Health and Democracy, where they and former Cigna executive Wendell Potter, now a "Medicare for All" advocate, discussed the state of the U.S. health care system.

KP discussed the case of a cancer drug whose price grew grotesquely despite no changes in formula or availability that might seem to justify it. If anything, one might expect its price to decline if it got more widely used -- that's from economies of scale.

"Health care companies cheat patients without any sort of consequences. That's the stone-cold fact of where our healthcare system is today," Porter said. "These massive corporations are lining their pockets at the expense of Americans' health."

"Year after year, more and more Americans, even Republicans, are increasing in their support for a Medicare for All system and guaranteeing health care as a human right in the United States," Ocasio-Cortez added.

 

[lpetrich]

House progressives tout their growing numbers in the chamber at climate rally | TheHill
Outside the Democratic National Committee HQ

“Who would’ve thought prior to this year that in 2020 Westchester County would be represented by not one but two Black progressive members of the United States Congress? And the fact is, this progressive movement has been defying expectations every single day,” said Rep.-elect Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), referring to himself and Rep.-elect Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) at the event.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) as well as Rep.-elect Cori Bush (D-Mo.) joined Bowman and Jones in front of the DNC on Thursday.

AOC:

“We have champions like Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush that are now being ushered into this wave. It shows that these issues are not a fluke, it shows that they are not a flash in the pan, it shows that they are not a hot new thing what it shows is a deep yearning for climate justice,” she said.

Then RT:

Tlaib cautioned that she may not be Biden's favorite lawmaker, adding that she has a different timeline to implement anti-climate change measures.

“I may not be your favorite member of Congress because my timeline is different ... our folks don’t have another day, another hour,” she said.

“They have asked you for clean air. They have asked you for clean water. To protect them,” she added. “We’re going to make sure the Biden administration sticks to our timeline.”

Then AOC said that it is important to hold Joe Biden to his promise of a $2 trillion climate and infrastructure plan.

I can't help but notice that she was wearing a light green pantsuit. Seems like the only members of the "extended squad" who weren't named are Pramila Jayapal, Katie Porter, and Marie Newman. But at least Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman have come out swinging.

 

[lpetrich]

NowThis on Twitter: "Rep. @AOC: ‘We’re going to organize and demand that [the Biden] administration, which I believe is decent and kind and honorable, keep their promise.’ https://t.co/n6ACS5TISi" / Twitter

To do a $2 trillion climate-action stimulus plan, one that respect indigenous people's treaty rights, one with environmental justice, etc. She said that she and her friends will counter big money with mass activism.

NowThis on Twitter: ".@AOC: ‘This isn’t 2015 anymore, this isn’t 2010 anymore, it’s not 2005 anymore. Climate is now a top 3 issue for voters across the country and it’s about time Congress and our administration starts acting like it’ https://t.co/aE7bPuqyqn" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Praises Voters at Climate Rally | POPSUGAR News

In her speech, Ocasio-Cortez took the opportunity to thank the countless voters, activists, and volunteers whose hard work put her and fellow progressives in the position to enact positive change. "We have worked and the movement has pushed. The movement is why I was elected to Congress," she said. "The movement is why Jamaal [Bowman] and Cori [Bush] and Mondaire [Jones] are here today. You all, the movement, is why Ilhan [Omar] is here. The movement is why Rashida [Tlaib] is here. The movement is why Ed Markey was protected this year. It was the movement."

NowThis on Twitter: "Rep. @AOC: ‘They’ve got money but we’ve got people. And at the end of the day, dollar bills don’t vote—although they try to—we vote. People vote. Young people vote.’ https://t.co/oC6ton0b8B" / Twitter
Also claimed that activists did 1 million phone calls in support of Jamaal Bowman's candidacy, mainly the Sunrise Movement's efforts.

Alexi McCammond on Twitter: "Asked @AOC what she’d need to see from Biden/Harris admin to know they’re serious on climate: “It’s not just about one figure or one person, but we need to see it in the broader level, in the overall tenor of transition appointments...” https://t.co/3aDC1hs5bj" / Twitter


Sunrise Movement on Twitter: "“Climate change is real and for the first time in our lifetimes we have the chance to avoid the climate catastrophe and ensure a livable future” - @MondaireJones https://t.co/wtH9Gj8q8l" / Twitter

Tom Elliott on Twitter: ".@AOC at protest outside of the DNC calling for her #GreenNewDeal: “Climate is intersectional with each and every one of our demands … climate action is tied to reproductive justice” https://t.co/kC4DhEgeLY" / Twitter