1st time female candidate makes small slip on a budgetary figure during extemporaneous interview...

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @Ocasio2018 Aug 11

1st time female candidate makes small slip on a budgetary figure during extemporaneous interview: “This girl is SO uninformed! She needs to stay quiet until she knows everything!”

Incumbent male Congressman brings a snowball to Congress to “disprove” climate change: 🤷🏼?♂️

Link to tweet

[Madam Mossfern]

1. Rap?

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2. it's something young folks are doing these days

...just a fad, I think.

[Madam Mossfern]

3. I don't think that Rap

belongs in the venue of serious politics. Yes, I know that the message is often quite clear and serious, but I think we're lowering the bar of communication. Understand that I'm an old fuddy-duddy who's still outraged that they stopped teaching cursive in schools. She's a candidate now, not just a supporter, and she needs to be taken seriously by all her constituents, not just the younger ones.

After all, she needs to win votes of everyone. She's going to be a legislator, not an entertainer.

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4. okay

...I'm sorta old. I think all of the time about how important it is that I strive to not only represent my perspective (which is unarguably dated, however relevant), but viewpoints of those who will follow me in this life.

I don't profess to be familiar with most rap, but I do understand poetry, and this is a fine example of prose, an excellent form of messaging.

The first verse is a self-affirmation, something which is not only healthy to internalize, but to project to others, inspiring confidence in each other.

The last is something I happen to be pondering today as I read the new series of negative threads on AOC. What is the purpose?

The primary race is over for her. These scorching and often petty criticisms of AOC can only advantage her republican opponents, at this stage.

The rap she quoted: "I can't believe they wanna see me lose that bad."

Man, that really cuts to the heart. I feel that, and I don't need to understand rap to understand what she's saying here. It's more than appropriate to marvel at the level of animosity to her candidacy from some.

Suggesting that quoting this rap is behaving like an 'entertainer' MAKES A MOCKERY OF EVERY POLITICIAN WHO HAS EVER QUOTED A SONG.

Or, is this criticism just reserved for AOC or "rap?"

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. No art in politics? People have to leave their personalities at the door when they're a candidate?

Or is it only certain kinds of art? Like rap? Are you saying rap isn't serious? What does "serious" mean here? What does "lowering the bar" mean?

[HopeAgain]

6. Really?

And they say there's no such thing as an establishment Democrat!

[Madam Mossfern]

18. Is that a dirty word?

I don't know whether I'm an "establishment Democrat" or not.

Do you know me?
Or are you basing your evaluation on my posts in this thread?

[RandiFan1290]

7. Nice try

[Madam Mossfern]

19. Notice "President"

She is still a candidate and I think that it's best for candidates to consider what effect their actions will have on the election.
Of course she'll win and maybe I'm wrong about the Rap, and she'll manage to encourage more young Democrats to come out to vote in November.

I think I can still have a personal opinion.

Obama had already gained his creds as a legislator.
Maybe someone understands what I'm trying to say...

[Claritie Pixie]

8. Huge turnoff that she's playing victim. And - she's not a girl.

I want to support this candidate but her political game is turning me off. We need leaders, not charlatans. Leaders don’t tweet crap like this.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. Yeah, candidates never use rhetoric that points out how their opponents underestimate them that they

then turn around to rally people behind them. This approach is really something.

[Claritie Pixie]

10. Who says God told them they're made for this?

Republicans do. I don’t care if she’s trying to be cute and get a lot of attention by quoting Cardi B. but no, just no.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. Getting attention is certainly not something a candidate should be doing. And quoting artists is

right out -- someone might take song lyrics or poems literally.

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12. it happens to be the truth

...she's not playing the gaffe game, which is exclusively aimed at this young woman.

I guess it irks some folks to see her defend herself, because that's what she's doing here. Calling her a 'charlatan' for pointing out the glaring, blatant hypocrisy in the media and others raking her over the coals for a small error, while allowing men like Speaker Ryan, for example, to continue to pose as some economic wiz kid without a word of criticism is providing excuse and cover for sexists.

It does, of course, take some belief in the existence of sexism to understand and appreciate her comments - something the media and most of America can't seem to wake up to acknowledge and address.

[Claritie Pixie]

15. Whoa.

She’s running for office and if she makes a gaffe, she’s responsible for clearing it up as a leader would (which is what she aspires to be).

You know she’s not always accurate when she talks policy. She needs to fix that, not defend it.

It’s not helpful when people like you give her a pass on gaffes and say its ok because sexism.

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17. who's asking?

...and for what purpose in this election?

She's accounted for every mistake she's made, but I don't think that's what some folks are really concerned with.

Too many here can't seem to grasp that she's our Democratic nominee for the district. We make that seat happen by questioning her opponent, not spending all of the time nitpicking our own candidate in that race.

Since you're all fired up about her gaffes, let's hear some/read some like criticisms of a male nominee, a man who's been nominated to face a republican in the fall.

There are none. Not one article, not one fact-check expose, not one thread... nothing. Just AOC. Just this Democratic woman running for office.

It's not a coincidence, or happenstance, it's sexism. It's as old as elections. Calling this Democratic candidate a 'charlatan' for pointing that out is an amazing reflection of what she's up against.

We should actively challenge anyone who singles out our Democratic candidates, to the exclusion of others, for criticism or attack, to account for that exclusivity, even if that discrimination comes from our own party members.

[empedocles]

13. There is an issue here, as evidenced by the voluminous DU threads

Hopefully somewhere there is some education, progress and reconciliation somewhere - instead of volumes/mountains of people stubbornly putting out the same arguments.

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14. nothing in politics changes voluntarily

...or without resistance.

AOC and her supporters represent, to a large extent, the trend of younger voters identifying as decidedly more liberal than the Democratic electorate, at large (and our elected officials). They are the product of the last campaign which was one of the most progressive Democratic campaigns in history, with all three major candidates pressing for progressive changes.

Where we might have seen strong independent candidacies, in the past, to carry an unabashedly progressive message, we have like candidates stepping up to be recognized in our Democratic primary. It's a remarkable opportunity to expand our voter base, and advantage our Democratic candidates of a wave of new and newly energized voters.

That should mean that progressive issues will get more visibility and more recognition from Democratic candidates in this election, that is, if they want to advantage their own campaigns of these energetic and enthusiastic voters.

What we're experiencing are growing pains. It's not an actual ailment.

.

[MuseRider]

16. Very well said!

I am an old voter, almost 65 now, how did that happen? I love the young candidates coming out and openly advocating to move our party forward and to grow not stagnate.

Growing pains. Yes they are. You lose a lot to get to the point where it is safe to be this way and the youth are just stepping right over it all and getting it done, they do not have time to wait until it is perfectly safe to try to move things in a different direction. Win or lose the words are out there and can be built on at any point in time. People shift opinions slowly sometimes but with these candidates moving forward the electorate will have plenty to reflect on.

My wish is that they all win and I get to see a party like I thought I was joining. It has been close at times but we have been falling backwards for quite a while. We need to be bigger and more accepting of all attitudes on the left, even those who we may think are a bit stodgy from people who have been in for a long time. That is the base to build on not to try to keep. We are too old there, we need these younger candidates to win and start to move things.

You said it so very well all the way through this thread. I don't know what is beyond this as I was moved to comment to you before I went on.