Civil War: Outgoing Democratic Senator Bashes Ocasio-Cortez
Peter D'Abrosca
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An outgoing U.S. Senator from Missouri had some unkind words for Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in a Monday interview with CNN.
“I’m a little confused why she’s the thing,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). “But it’s a good example of what I’m talking about, a bright shiny new object, came out of nowhere and surprised people when she beat a very experienced congressman.”
McCaskill was beaten by Republican Senator-elect Josh Hawley in November. She was critical of Ocasio-Cortez’s far leftism, which does not play well with ordinary people in middle America.
“And so she’s now talked about a lot. I’m not sure what she’s done yet to generate that kind of enthusiasm, but I wish her well. I hope she hangs the moon,” McCaskill continued.
McCaskill’s comments suggest that there is a split in the Democratic party between those who support far-leftist collectivism, and those who believe that moderating is the way connect with most American voters. The outgoing Senator explicitly said that she does not believe that some voting blocs will ever get on board with Ocasio-Cortez’s radicalism.
“But I hope she also realizes that the parts of the country that are rejecting the Democratic Party, like a whole lot of white working class voters, need to hear about how their work is going to be respected, and the dignity of their jobs, and how we can really stick to issues that we can actually accomplish something on,” McCaskill said.
McCaskill finished with a grave warning for the incoming Congresswoman.
“The rhetoric is cheap. Getting results is a lot harder.”
I reported shortly after Ocasio-Cortez got elected:
Soon-to-be the youngest member of Congress, New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is already learning the art of the flip-flop, only a week after being elected.
Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez joined nearly 200 protestors outside of the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to pressure Pelosi to act on climate change.
“The activists called on Pelosi to lead Democrats in developing an ambitious, comprehensive plan to address climate change — a Green New Deal. Halfway through the protest, rising Democratic star and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited to show her support, which drew a torrent of media coverage,” according to Vox.
But Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez changed her tune.
“One of the things that I admire so much about Leader Pelosi is that she comes from a space of activism and organizing and so I think she really appreciates civic engagement,” she said in an interview. “And really what I’m here to do is just to support the folks that are here.”
It appears that the freshman congresswoman will have to fall in line and back the ranking Democrats after all, much to the chagrin of her supporters who actually believed her when she promised to bring change to Congress.
Here is Ocasio-Cortez protesting in the office of Nancy Pelosi.
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