Ocasio-Cortez rips Trump in first House floor speech: 'It is not normal to shut down the government

[TomCADem]

Source: The Hill

Democratic rising star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) gave her first House floor speech on Wednesday, delivering a rebuke of President Trump over the ongoing partial government shutdown.

In the roughly three-minute speech, Ocasio-Cortez claimed the partial shutdown, now into its fourth week, is not about Trump's demands for a border wall, but "the erosion of American democracy."

"It is actually not about a wall, it is not about the border, and it is certainly not about the well-being of everyday Americans," the congresswoman said. "The truth is, this shutdown is about the erosion of American democracy and the subversion of our most basic governmental norms."

"It is not normal to hold 800,000 workers' paychecks hostage. It is not normal to shut down the government when we don't get what we want," she continued. "And it is certainly not normal to starve the people we serve for a proposal that is wildly unpopular among the American people."

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ocasio-cortez-rips-trump-in-first-house-floor-speech-it-is-not-normal-to-shut-down-the-government-when-we-don%E2%80%99t-get-what-we-want/ar-BBSlP3E?li=BBnb7Kz

---

I know that there is an effort to drive the narrative that she is the second coming of Dennis Kucinich who got attention by repeatedly attack Democrats from the "left." However, the fact of the matter is that AOC is clearly a Democrat who knows that the problem is sitting in the White House and on the other side of the aisle.

[dalton99a]

1. She is 100% correct.

[rusty quoin]

2. I am truly impressed by her. I guess I should be reserved, but I'm excited.

[ananda]

3. I also like her!

All Dems should speak out that way!

[rusty quoin]

4. Oh yeah

[Magoo48]

13. Agreed!

[LittleGirl]

5. Sounds to me like she knows what she's talking about

We should respect that and support her.

I am, I will and I don't apologize for it.

[Sucha NastyWoman]

6. AOC is AOK

Just the kind of new blood our party has needed for decades

[duforsure]

7. She's doing great!

And needs to remind everyone he said "we need a good shutdown" , and that trump and the republicans couldn't pass wall funding when trump and the republicans had full control for 2 years and they didn't support wall funding knowing the majority of the American people are against it. This shutdown for the wall is just another scam by trump and mitch, and not about the wall at all. That's why they're getting crushed , and they just thought the Mid Term results were a disaster. 2020 will now be a compete failure for trump , and the gop. Every day they let this continue , the more republicans will be voted out of office.

[mahina]

8. She's doing beautifully. Fantastic. Kick his ass A OC

That is all.

[DeminPennswoods]

9. She's awesome

Her video of her and a few of her young colleagues on a "Mitch hunt" was a riot. She's unafraid, well-spoken, armed with the facts and is expert at using social media - a tough combination to beat. I'll bet she has Pelosi's blessing, too.

[onetexan]

10. I dont see Ammy kobuchar or kirsten g. Stating it as powerfully

And convincingly as this young lady is. Im glad she's audacious and speaks truth to power. Im very glad she's on our side.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. Do you watch CSPAN 2?

https://www.c-span.org/video/?456715-1/senate-blocks-middle-east-policy-bill-56-44&start=17051

Klobuchar gave the above remarks almost 10 days ago.

[bdamomma]

23. Hats off to

Senator Klobuchar.

All I see is how tRump and that filthy McConnell and his posse are breaking this country for their new leader Mr. Putin.

[onetexan]

26. No i didn't, but did anybody remember what she said and did she get any real air time other than

CSPAN2? You get my point.

[BumRushDaShow]

27. How is that the fault of her?

You basically argued that Klobuchar was essentially passionless and a non-entity yet she and a whole other group of Senators did similar "morning business", very impassioned speeches like AOC - but they did them last week. The same Klobuchar who cut Kavanaugh clear through to the bone during his confirmation hearings that I expect you didn't see either and no one else could have seen Because. Not AOC.

Democrats/liberals/progressives own little if no media outlets and the media loves the "if it bleeds it leads" and "the shiny new thing" type of nonsense reporting-for-ratings that glosses over quite a bit of substantive stuff.

Bravo to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez for her very first speech and she will have plenty of time, like the rest of Congress has had, to make plenty more.

[onetexan]

28. My comments weren't meant to throw Ms. Klobuchar under the bus, rather to point out that AOC clearly

has the press eating out of her hands, at least right now that she's the media darling. Whatever she does makes headline news or at least an article because her youth, audacious style and tenacity fascinates and inspires people, not just millenials.
Like it or not, she's got the press right where she wants them, and the fact she's brash and speaks her mind doesn't hurt given what she says rings true with many of us. Her words definitely have impact. I don't see as much strength on some of the other more senior ladies.

[BumRushDaShow]

29. Let's hope that she will have better luck than a previous "media darling"

as a freshman -



Some of our biggest "firebrands" are often the first to be targeted and blown off the stage, even if for a bit (see Maxine who has finally made a comeback and has gotten her 2nd wind). We will always need these types of folk to rally the troops but not everyone goes for flash and bang. There is room for all types of personalities!

[Dave Starsky]

15. And you won't, either.

AOC is kicking ass, and I love it.

[dumpTrump Dumptruck]

12. Here's the Vid

[bdamomma]

22. I have tears in my eyes

she is right, this must end this regime must end. And above all this situation we are all facing is not NORMAL.

To gain someone like her should be embraced the last time someone really impressed me was President Obama.

[watoos]

14. Who is saying that AOC

is the second coming of Dennis Kucinich? This is the second time I have seen this posted on DU. The sites that I frequent don't say that. Why all of the articles from The Hill?

You know what she and a few others did yesterday by going on that search for Mitch McConnell? She changed the narrative back where it belongs, blaming Mitch for the shutdown by claiming that Mitch doesn't need Trump to reopen the government, Mitch can do it by bringing bills to the floor for a vote. She put a spotlight on McConnell where it belongs.

She is feared because she has the ability to change the right wing M$M narrative. She is also attacked by the left because she is passionate about the environment, income inequality, and health care, last I checked those used to be progressive positions.

[Habibi]

16. Her searching for Mitche reminds me of Paul Wellstone

and his "Where's Rudy" ad:

[UpInArms]

17. I still miss Paul

Gone too soon ...

[Habibi]

19. I miss him, too. I had the privilege of voting for him when I still lived in MN. nt

[UpInArms]

20. He responded personally to an email I sent

and i’m From Missouri....

I was in the streets in San Francisco protesting before the Iraqi fiasco when I heard his plane went down ... when joe Scarborough was calling for the deaths of liberals...

It was a day I will neve forget

My sign read

“Who would Jesus Bomb?”

[Habibi]

25. That was, indeed, an awful, awful day. nt

[watoos]

18. Greedy right wing bastards

will go to any length to stay in power.

[bdamomma]

21. She is doing a great job

and the truth will kill the repigs.

I like her, and I'm sure we have her back.

[EleanorR]

24. "...the subversion of our most basic governmental norms."

Exactly right. They want the US to operate like Russia, with mob rule. They want people to lose faith in the norms of Democracy and the rule of law.