Elections Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Establishment Democrats' Wakeup Call

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Establishment Democrats get a wake-up call in New York
By Eric Bradner, CNN | June 27, 2018

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The out-of-nowhere upset of Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in Tuesday's New York primary has stunned the Democratic establishment and shook up the party's likely line of succession to become the next House speaker.

Crowley was ousted from his Queens district by Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Latina running her first political campaign. She is now likely to be the youngest woman ever elected to the House.

It was the most shocking result of 2018's political season so far, and -- though Democrats have avoided intra-party feuds so far this year -- could signal a restive base as the 2020 presidential primary approaches.

"I'm floored," a senior Democratic House aide told CNN.

Crowley, the No. 4-ranking House Democrat, was widely seen as the likely successor to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. And because Pelosi is likely to have a hard time getting 218 votes to become speaker if Democrats win a narrow majority in November, that could have positioned Crowley to take the speakership against Rep. Steny Hoyer, now the House minority whip.

Two Democrats said the next speaker's job is more unpredictable than ever -- and Hoyer's path to become speaker is far from clear. One Democrat said the jockeying will begin immediately.

"It's clearly a signal that people want to get rid of the old and put in the new," one Democratic House member told CNN.

Until now, there had been few signs of a mounting progressive insurgency. Kara Eastman had defeated former Rep. Brad Ashford in a Nebraska Democratic congressional primary and Democratic socialists had won down-ballot races in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. But progressives declined to challenge the party's sitting senators, and in the most important election of 2017 -- the Virginia governor's race -- Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam defeated his more liberal primary opponent, former Rep. Tom Perriello. Now, Ocasio-Cortez's victory could embolden liberal challengers in both 2018 and 2020.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/26/...p-new-york-south-carolina-maryland/index.html
 
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A 28-year-old Democratic Socialist just ousted a powerful, 10-term congressman in New York
By Gregory Krieg, CNN | June 27, 2018​

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Latina running her first campaign, ousted 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's 14th congressional district on Tuesday, CNN projects, in the most shocking upset of a rollicking political season.

An activist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ocasio-Cortez won over voters in the minority-majority district with a ruthlessly efficient grassroots bid, even as Crowley -- the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House -- outraised her by a 10-to-1 margin.

This was the first time in 14 years a member of his own party has attempted to unseat Crowley, who chairs the Queens County Democrats. His defeat marks a potential sea change in the broader sphere of liberal politics -- a result with implications for Democrats nationwide that would recall, as optimistic progressives routinely noted during the campaign, former GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor's loss to the insurgent, tea party-backed Dave Brat in June 2014.

"This is not an end, this is the beginning. This is the beginning because the message that we sent the world tonight is that it's not OK to put donors before your community," Ocasio-Cortez told roaring supporters on Tuesday night.

She cast her victory as the green shoots of triumph over the "deep midnight and darkness" of the political moment -- and a message to fellow progressive organizers that their brand of activism could succeed on a grander scale.

"You have given this country hope, you have given this country proof that when you knock on your neighbor's door, when you come to them with love, when you let them know that no matter your stance, you are there for them — that we can make change," she said.

Even as Ocasio-Cortez ran defiantly to his left -- with universal health care, a federal jobs guarantee and the abolition of ICE headlining her demands -- Crowley touted a formidable liberal record of his own. He was the first member of the House Democratic leadership to sign on in support of "Medicare for all" and has been a vocal advocate for immigrants' rights. But he also stumbled, repeatedly, on the campaign trail, the likely residue of passing so many years without a primary test.

Citing scheduling conflicts, he missed a debate in the Bronx with Ocasio-Cortez, sending former city councilwoman Annabel Palma as a surrogate. The New York Times editorial board took note of his no-show, and warned the ambitious congressman against taking his constituents for granted.

"What are we," the board asked on behalf of voters, "chopped liver?"

In an interview hours before the polls opened Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez called his absence that night "disrespectful, not just to me but to the entire community." On Twitter after the debate, she noted that Palma, also Latina, bore a "slight resemblance to me."

"I understand he hasn't been challenged for 14 years," Ocasio-Cortez said, "but that doesn't mean that an election isn't happening. In fact, what's happening right now is historic and it's an opportunity to show up for the community."

She has also spent time at the front lines of the pitched battle over US border policy under the Trump administration. Last weekend, just days before the primary, Ocasio-Cortez left New York to join protests at an ICE detention center in Texas.

"The reason I was able to do that is because we have built a legitimately strong grassroots movement of organizers here to hold it down for 24 to 48 hours," she said, "and I think that's reflective of the strength of what we have built here. It was an advantage, actually, because our community here really wanted to do something and they didn't want to feel like they were choosing organizing the campaign over choosing to comment and organize around this moment."

She also managed to tie that activism, along with her vocal, unapologetic demand for the full abolition of ICE to the interests of her district's diverse population.



"We have families and communities here (in the 14th District) from Ecuador and Colombia, Bangladesh, Korea, Pakistan, and I see them every day, many of them are very scared about what's going on," she said. "With my campaign, in terms of immigration, we're trying to say, 'Hey, we've got your back.'"

Crowley also took some shots at ICE, calling it "fascistic," but stopping short of demanding its elimination. During a televised debate with Ocasio-Cortez less than two weeks before the primary, Crowley argued that "simply abolishing the agency doesn't take it out of the hands of (Attorney General) Jeff Sessions or this president."

He then pivoted to what had been a driving theme of his campaign -- the argument that, with Trump in office, Democrats should lean on experienced lawmakers, and away from more ideological firebrands, to navigate the opposition on Capitol Hill.

"It's about making change in Washington," said Crowley, who in his leadership role has raised money for Democrats around the country. "It's about Democrats taking back control of the House of Representatives -- and that's what I'm about doing."

But with Tuesday's results, he will be doing it from the sideline.

"I want to congratulate Ms. Ocasio-Cortez on her victory tonight," Crowley said in a statement. "I look forward to supporting her and all Democrats this November. The Trump administration is a threat to everything we stand for here in Queens and the Bronx, and if we don't win back the House this November, we will lose the nation we love."
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https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/26/...ez-joe-crowley-new-york-14-primary/index.html
 
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I woulda voted for her.
 
Hey, I am seeing double! 4 threads titled A 28-year-old Democratic Socialist just ousted a powerful, 10-term congressman in New York
 
What Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Victory Means
By The Editorial Board | June 27, 2018

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Democratic voters in New York’s 14th Congressional District delivered a shock to the political system Tuesday night, rejecting the fourth-ranking member of the party’s House leadership, Representative Joseph Crowley, in favor of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old former Bernie Sanders campaign organizer who has called for abolishing the nation’s immigration and customs enforcement agency.

In doing so, voters delivered a message to Democrats and Republicans across the country, and perhaps in Albany: The liberal base is fired up, showing up at the polls, and may be ignored only at great political risk.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s victory is a vivid sign of the changing of the guard. In addition to more liberal immigration laws, she ran on a platform calling for Medicare for all and a federal jobs guarantee. She also talked about the housing crisis in New York City, an issue that resonates deeply with many voters here. Her district, which runs through Queens and the Bronx, is majority-minority, but its leadership has yet to reflect those changes. That’s something Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was able to capitalize on fluently, casting herself as part of a new generation of young, unabashedly liberal Democrats unwilling to wait their turn any longer.

Many told Ms. Ocasio-Cortez she was crazy for challenging Mr. Crowley, a 10-term incumbent who had ambitions to succeed the House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. As chairman of the Queens County Democratic Party, Mr. Crowley, 56, was a kingmaker in New York City politics. At his annual holiday party, city officials were expected to perform karaoke, singing and dancing on the stage to a song of Mr. Crowley’s choosing.

That power perhaps created a sense of hubris and complacency, the kind that no doubt contributed to Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump. In Mrs. Clinton’s case, it may have stopped her from campaigning harder in states like Wisconsin and Michigan, places where Mr. Trump eked out narrow victories. In Mr. Crowley’s case, it may have led him to become smug: The congressman had also skipped a debate with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s victory is also a reminder of the importance of boosting healthy competition in Democratic primaries, where voters are too often taken for granted, especially in solidly blue states like New York, leading to lethargic turnout and weaker candidates. And many newly motivated women and other activists around the country are challenging Republican incumbents whom others thought were unbeatable.

What remains to be seen, though, is whether Democratic leaders can embrace these newcomers or will see them as a threat. That may determine whether they are able to take back the House of Representatives in November.

Many voters are ready for something different. Politicians across the country should take note.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/opinion/-alexandra-ocasio-cortez-democrat-crowley.html
 
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she'd get my vote..... and the D
 
HereticBD said:
And the splintering begins...
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splintering? how so? this is good news for democrats... fresh new blood in the congress is good. you think we only hate old rich white men in the GOP? lol.
 
SaiWa said:
splintering? how so? this is good news for democrats... fresh new blood in the congress is good. you think we only hate old rich white men in the GOP? lol.
Click to expand...

No, I don't think it's good news for the Democratic party as a whole. The base is splintering, and you're going to see more of it. There's going to be a fight between the hard left, and the moderate left, and the winner is going to be the GOP.
 
That's apparently what a democratic socialist needs to look like, fresh-faced and charming.

Not some slobbering muppet.

Hopefully she can do good for her constituents.

Would.
 
To me it just looks like liberals are no longer lying about their true beliefs thanks to modern day technology exposing their hypocrisy on a daily basis.

Yea, in certain crazy sections of the country people will go for it....such as New York. But I have to believe most rational people are going to be turned off.
 
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