Alexandria Ocasoi-Cortez - Needs her own thread.....

[Muda69]

It's already Speaker Ocasio-Cortez: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/its-already-speaker-ocasio-cortez

Quote

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., floated the idea of dramatically changing the way the House works. Having lost two recent votes known as "motions to recommit" — minor votes, but stinging for any House leader — she basically wants to prevent the House minority from its traditional right to force votes to change legislation before it passes.

 

This is a terrible, cynical idea which, had it been in place for the last 25 years, would have silenced House Democrats almost the entire time. But more importantly, it's an idea that Pelosi is only considering because it's easier than actually asserting control of her own party in Congress — which, if you haven't noticed, she has nearly lost to a politically artless but media-savvy House freshman after less than two months.

...

Yet to their horror, the party's most visible and apparently most powerful figure turns out to be not the speaker they elected, but rather, a member of the party's socialist cuckoo-bird wing.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is now setting the Democratic agenda in both houses of Congress. You don't believe us? Witness how, with the aid of a friendly media that seems to enjoy her ignorant tongue-lashings as much as it bristles at President Trump's, Ocasio-Cortez lured six Democratic senators running for president into a trap that could well cost the party their White House. They committed to her insane, embarrassingly half-baked Green New Deal proposal and will soon be forced to vote for a resolution supporting it.

In the House, things are just as bad. On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez was giving orders to House Democrats behind closed doors on how they are to vote, lest they face a primary challenge next year backed by her wealthy chief-of-staff and his super PAC.

This should all convey some idea of why Ocasio-Cortez has become Republicans' favorite Democrat to talk about. She's wreaking havoc on her party's cohesion and destroying its palatability for voters. Cynical Republicans would like to make sure her voice is heard. But in fact, her radical politics is going to harm the country and has already proven ruinous for the people living in her own district.

For potentially vulnerable Democrats, the unfolding radicalization of the congressional Democratic Party is scaring the hell out of voters back home. They feel forced to prove that they're independent and put their constituents' interests ahead of their party's on key issues like gun rights. That's why they feel even more compelled to vote against their party on motions to recommit.

Pelosi could rein in Speaker Ocasio-Cortez, but so far she is unwilling, perhaps scared by her popularity on the Left. And so, Pelosi's only other option is to protect her vulnerable members from even having to take difficult votes, like the ones Republicans can currently force with motions to recommit. After all, you can't lose if you don't let the other side play.

Speaker Pelosi, instead of wounding the House as an institution with this cynical power grab, please get control of your party. Stop coddling and empowering crazies in safe, Democratic districts at the expense of the marginal voters and members whom you know you need to remain a governing party. Make it clear to showboat freshmen that they too can face repercussions if they work to endanger their party colleagues.

Otherwise, beware. You let others usurp your role at your own risk.

 

[DanteEstonia]

7 minutes ago, TrojanDad said:

You sure speak up when anything other than a compliment is shared regarding AOC.

Perhaps you simply can't keep from commenting.....but what else is new?  

They voted for her BEFORE she helped push 25,000 jobs out the door.  I'm guessing you've seen the billboard in the city and read various opinions.  Wouldn't you suppose that 100% of her district isn't happy with the Amazon cluster.  

Regarding her Green Deal,  a former Greenpeace leader just called her a "pompous little twit and a garden variety hypocrite".  He further stated her plan would bring mass death.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/4/patrick-moore-greenpeace-co-founder-shreds-ocasio-/

 

Greenpeace has also done loads of stupid stuff in the past, what’s your point?

[BARRYOSAMA]

14 minutes ago, TrojanDad said:

You sure speak up when anything other than a compliment is shared regarding AOC.

Perhaps you simply can't keep from commenting.....but what else is new?  

They voted for her BEFORE she helped push 25,000 jobs out the door.  I'm guessing you've seen the billboard in the city and read various opinions.  Wouldn't you suppose that 100% of her district isn't happy with the Amazon cluster.  

Regarding her Green Deal,  a former Greenpeace leader just called her a "pompous little twit and a garden variety hypocrite".  He further stated her plan would bring mass death.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/4/patrick-moore-greenpeace-co-founder-shreds-ocasio-/

 

While AOC was no fan of Amazon, it was the state senators and other local pols that demanded Amazon be a good corporate citizen which caused Amazon to take their ball elsewhere and shakedown another community for billions.  NYC will be fine.  The city creates jobs like no other market in the US.

The former Greenpeace leader now is shill for the logging industry.  He makes his bread denying climate change and badmouthing any green energy initiatives, using his long forgotten ties to Greenpeace as a calling card.  His views on who is raping the environment the fastest might be germane but as for AOC....not so much.  His Trumpian name calling should have let everyone know he had nothing of substance.  People of no substance usually revert to name calling.

[BARRYOSAMA]

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

It's already Speaker Ocasio-Cortez: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/its-already-speaker-ocasio-cortez

 

Im sure Speaker Pelosi will look to the Washington Examiner for advice. lol

 

[gonzoron]

35 minutes ago, TrojanDad said:

You sure speak up when anything other than a compliment is shared regarding AOC.

I speak up a lot. It's what I do.

 

36 minutes ago, TrojanDad said:

I'm guessing you've seen the billboard in the city and read various opinions. 

Nope. 

 

36 minutes ago, TrojanDad said:

Wouldn't you suppose that 100% of her district isn't happy with the Amazon cluster. 

Don't know, don't care. It was a money pit.

 

29 minutes ago, DanteEstonia said:

Regarding her Green Deal,  a former Greenpeace leader just called her a "pompous little twit and a garden variety hypocrite". 

 

Exactly my point. She seems to have everyone triggered. It's entertaining to see a rookie Congressperson garner so much interest.

40 minutes ago, TrojanDad said:

He further stated her plan would bring mass death.

Holy Fema Death Camp Batman!

[Muda69]

15 hours ago, BARRYOSAMA said:

The former Greenpeace leader now is shill for the logging industry. 

I thought lumber/logging was a renewable resource, like solar and wind?

 

[Muda69]

The Anti-Semitism of AOC, Omar, and Tlaib: https://spectator.org/the-anti-semitism-of-aoc-omar-and-tlaib/

Quote

That fractious coven of freshman Democrats so beloved of the media — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib — have been patiently indulged by the leadership of their party. The obvious reason for putting up with the antics of these three involves the hope that they will help get out the millennial vote in 2020. But this trio of weird sisters is now stirring up such a bilious brew of dissension in their caucus and bad PR that prominent Democrats are starting to complain, particularly about the anti-Semitism of Omar and Tlaib.

The latest protests have come from Democrats who object to bigoted public remarks made last week at a “progressive” town hall. On Friday the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), called Rep. Omar to task after she made the following comment at the meeting: “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK to push for allegiance to a foreign country.” This is the second time Omar has been rebuked for anti-Semitism in less than a month, as Engel notes in his statement:

This episode is especially disappointing following so closely on another instance of Ms. Omar seeming to invoke an anti-Semitic stereotype. Her comments were outrageous and deeply hurtful, and I ask that she retract them, apologize, and commit to making her case on policy issues without resorting to attacks that have no place in the Foreign Affairs Committee or the House of Representatives.

Omar was joined by Tlaib at the town hall, whose moderator began the event by asking what “we as a community here can do to support you criticizing Israel for some of the war crimes that it has done so that it’s not seen as ‘you’re anti-Semitic’?” Tlaib, unrepentant after being criticized in January for tweeting her own version of the dual loyalty smear, glibly dismissed concerns about anti-Semitism: “This conversation and debate about human rights for everyone… is not centered around hate. It’s actually centered so much around love.”

That strange expression of “love” was again on display Sunday, when Omar doubled down on the “foreign allegiance” canard. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) echoed Engel’s call for Omar to retract her anti-Semitic remarks: “I urge her to retract this statement and engage in further dialogue with the Jewish community on why these comments are so hurtful.” Omar responded by lecturing Lowey — who has been a member of Congress since the Minnesota representative was 8-years-old — about how our form of government operates:

Our democracy is built on debate, Congresswoman! I should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support to a foreign country in order to serve my country in Congress or serve on committee. The people of the 5th elected me to serve their interest. I am sure we agree on that!

Lowey reacted to Omar’s smug ignorance by tweeting, “No member of Congress is asked to swear allegiance to another country. Throughout history, Jews have been accused of dual loyalty, leading to discrimination and violence.” But Omar and the other weird sisters are defiant anti-Semites — and that includes AOC. She revealed her bigotry during a PBS “Firing Line” interview when asked about Israel: “I also think that what people are starting to see, at least, in the occupation of Palestine is just an increasing crisis of humanitarian condition.”

This betrayed her stealth anti-Semitism and revealed a profound ignorance concerning the history of the Middle East. First, there has been no “occupation of Palestine” by the Israelis because there has never been a nation-state by that name. “Palestine” is nothing more than a label assigned to that region by the Romans after they crushed the last Jewish revolt against Imperial domination during the Second Century A.D. The claim that it is “occupied territory” is nothing more than standard anti-Semitic trope reflexively trotted out by the left.

Ocasio-Cortez is not merely a purveyor of such garbage, she defended Omar last month after the latter’s faux apology. She tweeted: “Rep. @IlhanMN demonstrated a capacity to acknowledge pain & apologize, use the opportunity to learn about history of anti-semitism + grow from it.” Omar’s latest remarks make it clear that she has learned nothing and cares even less about the pain her bigotry causes. Meanwhile, a group of Jewish organizations has called for her resignation from the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Washington Free Beacon reports:

A group of leading Jewish organizations petitioned the House of Representative’s top Democrats on Monday, demanding that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) be removed from her position on the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee in light of her numerous anti-Semitic remarks and ties to groups that advocate terrorism against Jewish people.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib now constitute a genuine liability for the Democrats. It’s possible that these creatures will help the party get out the millennial vote in 2020. But, if the Democrats allow this coven to stink up Congress for the next eighteen months with their disgusting brew of unrepentant anti-Semitism, it will drive a lot of voters into the arms of the Republicans or cause them to sit out the next election. If Nancy Pelosi wants to be Speaker of the House after 2020, she’ll banish these weird sisters to outer darkness.

 

[Muda69]

The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backlash begins: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/04/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-democratic-party-ideology/index.html

Quote

There's no politician -- not one -- who has risen further faster than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Two years ago at this time, she was bartending and waitressing in New York. Now the New York congresswoman is the face of the liberal left in the Democratic Party nationally.

When a politician -- or, really, anyone -- becomes a star overnight, there's an inevitable backlash that grows in opposition to the rise. And less than three months into her first term in Congress, the AOC backlash has begun in earnest.

 

The spark came last week when, in a closed-door meeting of House Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez warned colleagues that if they continued to vote with Republicans on procedural motions in the chamber they could wind up "on a list" of incumbents ripe for a liberal primary challenge. (Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has found herself on the other side of AOC a few times during the early months of this Congress, was making the same case to members.)

Members -- especially those holding swing districts that look nothing like AOC's solidly Democratic Bronx/Queens seat -- took umbrage.

"There is, without a doubt, a myth that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez somehow represents the narrative of Democratic primary voters in the country," Alabama-based Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who polled for Barack Obama's 2012 re-election race, told The Washington Post over the weekend. "Almost half of them identify themselves as moderates or conservative."

Is Anzalone right about the makeup of Democrats? He is, according to Gallup polling of Democrats in 2018.  That data showed that 51% of Democrats identified themselves as liberal last year, while 47% call themselves either moderate (34%) or conservative (13%).

 

Here's the problem for the likes of Anzalone and 2020ers like former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is running as a pragmatic problem-solver: The energy, activism and, yes, money is all coming from the mad-as-hell-and-not-going-to-take-it-anymore liberal base at the moment. That reality incentivizes candidates -- particularly in the presidential race -- to run as far left as possible, because it's way over there on the left where they will get what they want in terms of political outcomes.

 

The real question then is not which part of the party is on the rise -- it's the AOC/Bernie Sanders wing for sure -- but rather how those moderates and conservatives are treated by the liberals in the party. Will they be driven out as insufficiently loyal to the cause -- as tea party (and Trump) Republicans have done to their own centrist wing over the last decade? Or will liberals find a way to incorporate the views of their more moderate party members as they try to find a candidate who can oust President Donald Trump in 2020? 

Again, Anzalone hits the nail on the head. "My main gripe about AOC is that while I respect her voice in the party, I don't think she respects mine or anyone else's who differs with her on policy or comes from a different political electoral reality," he tweeted.

 

The Point: This ideological fight within the Democratic Party reflects the broader debate about what a post-Obama Democrat could and should look like. Is it Ocasio-Cortez? Is it Joe Biden? Is it somewhere in between?

Will this ideological fight within the Democratic party hurt its chances in the 2020 Presidential election?

 

[DanteEstonia]

33 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backlash begins: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/04/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-democratic-party-ideology/index.html

Will this ideological fight within the Democratic party hurt its chances in the 2020 Presidential election?

 

No; she’s not running for President.

[Wabash82]

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

The Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backlash begins: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/04/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-democratic-party-ideology/index.html

Will this ideological fight within the Democratic party hurt its chances in the 2020 Presidential election?

 

That depends on how it plays out. I think that the article's suggestion that there is a workable middle ground between these ideological "wings" of the party is correct, and if the Dems hash this through to settle on a good middle ground candidate before the conventions, I think they'll be fine in that regard. 

The biggest trap for the Dems, IMHO, is  thinking they need a "fighter" willing to wrestle in the mud with Trump. Trump's crudities and ridiculous lies are targeted to his rock solid 35% cult-of-personality followers, and responding to his name calling with "You're a bigger one!" stuff is not going to sway any of those folks.

And with the other 10% of traditional Republicans (and Independents and conservative Democrats) who voted for Trump in 2016, whose support for him has ebbed and flowed in the past two years, insulting Trump too steadily and heavily runs the risk of those folks thinking (as we have seen expressed by some folks on here from time to time): What is this Dem candidate implying about me, when he/she describes the person I voted for as some sort of horrible, racist monster? 

If the economy stays strong through 2020, the Dems will have a very tough row to hoe regardless of anything else Trump has said or done -- Americans vote their pocketbook.  But if the economy slows before then, they will have the daylight to focus voter's attention on all of Trump's failed grandiose promises.

[Muda69]

1 hour ago, DanteEstonia said:

No; she’s not running for President.

*sigh* And I never indicated that she was Dante. 

12 minutes ago, Wabash82 said:

That depends on how it plays out. I think that the article's suggestion that there is a workable middle ground between these ideological "wings" of the party is correct, and if the Dems hash this through to settle on a good middle ground candidate before the conventions, I think they'll be fine in that regard. 

So that probably means Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Got it.  After all, she is uniquely qualified to be POTUS.

 

 

[BARRYOSAMA]

3 hours ago, Muda69 said:

I thought lumber/logging was a renewable resource, like solar and wind?

 

It can be as long as it is regulated.  

Moore, as I am sure you know after your extensive research on the fella prior to posting the misleading article about AOC and Greenpeace, is a shill for Asia Pulp and Paper which has been linked to fires, deforestation and degradation of Indonesia's environment.  Slash/Burn....move on is not sustainable.

[Muda69]

1 minute ago, BARRYOSAMA said:

It can be as long as it is regulated.  

Moore, as I am sure you know after your extensive research on the fella prior to posting the misleading article about AOC and Greenpeace, is a shill for Asia Pulp and Paper which has been linked to fires, deforestation and degradation of Indonesia's environment.  Slash/Burn....move on is not sustainable.

No, I did not know that. I do not have extensive investigative skills such as a member of the press like you would have.  Thank you for the information.  I need to reconsider my current cult worship of Mr. Moore.   Perhaps I need to switch to another cult leader,  like AOC or Bernie.

 

[swordfish]

THAT FACE YOU MAKE WHEN......

[foxbat]

4 hours ago, Muda69 said:

I thought lumber/logging was a renewable resource, like solar and wind?

 

Unlike solar/wind, the difference is that logging/lumber can be exhausted without proper control.

 

[Wabash82]

1 hour ago, Muda69 said:

*sigh* And I never indicated that she was Dante. 

So that probably means Hillary Rodham Clinton.  Got it.  After all, she is uniquely qualified to be POTUS.

 

 

You missed the qualifier: "good middle ground candidate...."

[Muda69]

27 minutes ago, Wabash82 said:

You missed the qualifier: "good middle ground candidate...."

No I didn't.  She is uniquely qualified to be POTUS, above and beyond any other Democrat.

 

[Muda69]

Ocasio-Cortez’s mom moved to Florida to escape NYC’s property taxes: https://nypost.com/2019/03/04/ocasio-cortezs-mom-moved-to-florida-to-escape-nycs-property-taxes/

Quote

The mother of soak-the-rich Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she was forced to flee the Big Apple and move to Florida because the property taxes were so high.

“I was paying $10,000 a year in real estate taxes up north. I’m paying $600 a year in Florida. It’s stress-free down here,” Blanca Ocasio-Cortez told the Daily Mail from her home in Eustis, a town of less than 20,000 in central Florida north of Orlando.

The mother of two — who calls herself BOC — said she picked Eustis because a relative already lived there, and right before Christmas 2016, she paid $87,000 for an 860-square-foot home on a quiet street that dead-ends at a cemetery.

....

Heh heh heh.

 

[Wabash82]

9 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

No I didn't.  She is uniquely qualified to be POTUS, above and beyond any other Democrat.

 

If "qualifications" were all that mattered, she'd have been elected in 2016.  A "good" candidate means one whose positive qualifications are not overridden by negative traits or "baggage." 

[Muda69]

15 minutes ago, Wabash82 said:

If "qualifications" were all that mattered, she'd have been elected in 2016.  A "good" candidate means one whose positive qualifications are not overridden by negative traits or "baggage." 

Did you vote for Mr. Clinton in 2016?

Who of the current crop of declared 2020 Democratic candidates can you classify as "good"?

 

[Wabash82]

8 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Did you vote for Mr. Clinton in 2016?

Who of the current crop of declared 2020 Democratic candidates can you classify as "good"?

 

I voted for Mrs. Clinton. But that was simply because she came in (barely) second in a dramatic race to the bottom of the barrel. 

I have not looked at the declared Dem candidates close enough yet to opine intelligently on which of them I'd consider good candidates. 

Edited March 5, 2019 by Wabash82

[Muda69]

2 minutes ago, Wabash82 said:

I voted for Mrs. Clinton. But that was simply because she came in (barely) second in a dramatic race to the bottom of the barrel. 

I have not looked at the declared Dem candidates close enough yet to opine intelligently on which of them I'd consider good candidates. 

Sorry, I get them confused.   So you are a believer in the "lesser of two evils" option when it comes to POTUS voting.  

Would Ms. Ocasio-Cortez be a good candidate if she were to run for POTUS in say 2024?  2030?

 

[Impartial_Observer]

1 hour ago, foxbat said:

Unlike solar/wind, the difference is that logging/lumber can be exhausted without proper control.

 

I know lumber companies get a black eye, but they're slitting their own throats when they don't replant and maintain healthy forests. I have no idea what's driving hell holes like Hati to decimate their forests. If you look at the countries where stuff like this happens, they typically aren't faring real well. But in the US for some time, we've had pretty stringent regulation on importing lumber. I don't deal in lumber much anymore, but I believe imports in the US have to be FSC Certified to be imported. EU and Australia also have similar regulations with regards to importing exotic imports.  

The US is in pretty good shape as for as lumber as a resource. The big players typically replant two for everyone they cut down. Granted this isn't a 90-120 crop, but it is a renewable resource. It should be noted, that typically softwood forests are clear cut, while hardwood forests are selective cut. This is proper forest management. 

The new Aruaco particle board plant in Grayling, MI is about to come online. You can read about some of their sustainability at their website. This plant at full capacity will be able to produce approximately 600 rail cars a day of particle board. 

https://www.arauco.cl/na/este_es_arauco/grayling-project/

[Muda69]

7 minutes ago, Impartial_Observer said:

I know lumber companies get a black eye, but they're slitting their own throats when they don't replant and maintain healthy forests. I have no idea what's driving hell holes like Hati to decimate their forests. If you look at the countries where stuff like this happens, they typically aren't faring real well. But in the US for some time, we've had pretty stringent regulation on importing lumber. I don't deal in lumber much anymore, but I believe imports in the US have to be FSC Certified to be imported. EU and Australia also have similar regulations with regards to importing exotic imports.  

The US is in pretty good shape as for as lumber as a resource. The big players typically replant two for everyone they cut down. Granted this isn't a 90-120 crop, but it is a renewable resource. It should be noted, that typically softwood forests are clear cut, while hardwood forests are selective cut. This is proper forest management. 

The new Aruaco particle board plant in Grayling, MI is about to come online. You can read about some of their sustainability at their website. This plant at full capacity will be able to produce approximately 600 rail cars a day of particle board. 

https://www.arauco.cl/na/este_es_arauco/grayling-project/

I was looking at doing some hiking in Southern Indiana this spring.  Dang loggers have one of the trails I'm considering closed:  https://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/files/fo-HCSF_Active Logging.pdf

 

 

[Wabash82]

16 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Sorry, I get them confused.   So you are a believer in the "lesser of two evils" option when it comes to POTUS voting.  

Would Ms. Ocasio-Cortez be a good candidate if she were to run for POTUS in say 2024?  2030?

 

From what little I have seen of her so far, it doesn't look that way. She strikes me as being very similar in her communication style to the current President, which is a style I don't like. (Maybe I'm just biased against New Yorkers?) But 2024 is a ways off, so perhaps she will grow on me.