When it comes to political comedy, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is the gift that keeps on giving. Each week, Liberty Nation uncovers the blunders that keep us wondering: How did she ever get elected?
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been uncharacteristically quiet this week. This could be the result of her decision to take a break from social media earlier this month, but, despite her lessened use of Twitter, she has still managed to make the news as only she could.
The representative had some interesting things to say about the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It also appears that she might be in trouble for her first re-election campaign. And, of course, she backed up Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on another one of his wacky ideas.
AOC Praises the VA?
Recently, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez put forth the idea that the government should establish a “VA for All” system for American citizens. Then, she made comments about the department that could only be made by someone so completely divorced from reality that they actually think Amy Klobuchar has a shot at the presidency.
“All I can think of is that classic refrain that my parents always taught me growing up, is that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” she said in a speech given to veterans, nurses, and others at a public school in New York. She later criticized the notion that the VA needs an overhaul, arguing that “this thing that provides the highest-quality care to our veterans somehow needs to be fixed, privatized, tinkered with until we don’t even recognize it anymore.”
Apparently, AOC hasn’t heard of the many complaints against the agency or the many veterans who have suffered due to their lack of care. Earlier this month, a veteran committed suicide in a VA waiting room in Texas. In a VA office in Georgia, two other veterans also took their own lives. Last year, a veteran who killed himself left behind a note in which he argued: “I bet if you look at the 22 suicides a day, you will see VA screwed up 90%”
That’s right, folks. This is the agency that AOC doesn’t think the government should fix.
Ocasio-Cortez in Political Trouble?
As you may have already noticed, AOC isn’t quite as popular as she used to be. Indeed, her pie-in-the-sky ideas and inability to defend them are not quite attracting support from the Democratic Party as a whole. Helping to rob tens of thousands of people of jobs with Amazon probably didn’t help much either, right?
Ruth Papazian, an Egyptian-American journalist, criticized Ocasio-Cortez for her role in scuttling the Amazon deal, which cost the city 25,000 jobs. “[Ocasio-Cortez] chose ideology over paychecks,” she said. “People need jobs. We don’t have economic diversity in the outer boroughs. The Green New Deal is a job-killer.”
Well, it appears that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez might face a challenge in 2020. Multiple GOP candidates are preparing to take her on in the next election, and apparently they have some significant support. Bronx Republican Chairman Mike Rendino told the New York Post that he has communicated with a multimillionaire donor who wishes to see the representative unseated. He would not name the potential donor, but he did claim the individual is “worth over $200 million, plus [has] connections to raise money in Manhattan.”
Of course, a Republican victory is still a longshot; Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s district is heavily blue.
AOC Wants Felons Voting
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently elicited both outrage and mockery when he argued that felons – even violent ones still in prison – should be allowed to vote. During a CNN town hall session, Sanders was asked whether the Boston Marathon bombers should have the right to vote. He answered: “But I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy, yes, even for terrible people, because once you start chipping away and you say, well, that guy committed a terrible crime, not going to let him vote.”
Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) voiced support for Sanders’ position on felons voting. Then, she came to her senses and walked it back because it’s a ludicrous position. But AOC, true to form, expressed her support for Sanders’ views. She tweeted:
“To avoid looking completely + utterly out of touch w/ the reality our prison system:
Instead of asking, ‘Should the Boston Bomber have the right to vote?’
Try, “Should a nonviolent person stopped w/ a dime bag LOSE the right to vote?”
Bc that question reflects WAY more people.”
Wow. Ocasio-Cortez actually made an accurate statement – there are indeed more people in jail for drugs than for carrying out Islamic terrorist attacks. Very good, AOC!
But the lawmaker was obviously trying to make a larger point – and that is where she fails. It is a common misperception that there are more inmates in prison for nonviolent drug charges than there are for violent crimes. The vast majority of the nation’s prison population are housed in state facilities, not federal. Only 3.45% of these individuals are incarcerated for drug possession. In local jails, about 25% of inmates are imprisoned for drug offenses.
But AOC seems unaware that violent offenders comprise a majority of the state prison population and a plurality within local jails.
What does AOC have in store for us next week? Stay tuned for the next installment!
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