Deepak said:
Your interpretation renders the second (Because if not...) sentence unintelligible.
Cruz: We need a plan to prevent baking cookies
AOC: Does the plan involve not eating the rest of the pie in the fridge? Because if not then I have no sympathy for your position.
You: AOC thinks pies are cookies
That would not be my interpretation. Rather, what I had interpreted is as follows:
Cruz: We need a plan to bar court packing.
AOC: Is the plan to refrain from court packing by withdrawing Barrett's nomination? Because if not, I will not pay attention to your plan.
Granted, given your interpretation, it may well be that mine was mistaken. But it does not render anything meaningless.