Some Dems float idea of primary challenge for Ocasio-Cortez

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has infuriated colleagues by aligning with a progressive outside group that’s threatening to primary entrenched Democrats. Now some of those lawmakers are turning the tables on her and are discussing recruiting a primary challenger to run against the social media sensation.

At least one House Democrat has been privately urging members of the New York delegation to recruit a local politician from the Bronx or Queens to challenge Ocasio-Cortez.

“What I have recommended to the New York delegation is that you find her a primary opponent and make her a one-term congressperson,” the Democratic lawmaker, who requested anonymity, told The Hill. “You’ve got numerous council people and state legislators who’ve been waiting 20 years for that seat. I’m sure they can find numerous people who want that seat in that district.”

The New York delegation has eyed Ocasio-Cortez with skepticism ever since last summer when the 29-year-old self-described democratic socialist shocked the political world and defeated then-Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in what many thought would be a sleepy primary race. Crowley, a Queens powerbroker and affable House Democratic Caucus chairman, had been considered a possible future Speaker.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/427364-some-dems-float-idea-of-primary-challenge-for-ocasio-cortez

---

Not with my campaign dollars. We still have other Republican House members to pick off.

[Fuzzpope]

1. Sigh..

If an elected public servant is doing the job they were elected to do by voters, no primary challenges from any direction will threaten them.

[brooklynite]

3. That however may be the question...

Is IOC representing her constituents or getting lost in national political issues?

[Fuzzpope]

4. I guess my comment has a universal application.

I think she’s great, but that old adage springs to mind a lot when observing her kinetic momentum:

The star that burns twice as bright burns twice as fast.

There is a lot about the dem establishment that could bear tearing down, entropy is inevitable, but at this specific nexus in time/space, all vectors should orient against the republicans.

That should be the common glue binding every single democrat right now. Agree to live to fight another day, vanquish the common, greater threat today.

I don’t understand why it seems to be so difficult to adhere to such a simple path forward.

[murielm99]

10. She has affiliated herself with those

who advocate primarying a number of Democrats who are not "progressive" enough for them. She should expect scrutiny and similar treatment for this behavior.

Like all the rest of us, she should concentrate on electing Democrats and working to primary and question Republicans and their selfish behavior.

[NurseJackie]

11. I don't trust anyone associated with Cenk Uygur's "Justice Democrats"...

... their "destroy-the-party-to-rebuild-it" philosophy is too much like something I'd expect from Susan Fucking Sarandon. They weaken and divide the Democratic party and that only serves to benefit the GOP, and Trump, and Russia.

[Apollyonus]

18. Cenk Uygur

is divisive poison. I wonder if his money comes from some oligarch somewhere.

[NurseJackie]

55. Cenk is a GOP-funded political arsonist. Like a cult leader who wants to burn down...

Cenk is a GOP-funded political arsonist. Like a cult leader who wants to burn down the Democratic party based on a bushel of lies and some vanity-based prideful notion of purity. He's a pompous asshole, just ask the American Airlines desk agent and pilot or the TV execs who fired him. I just can't trust him, or anyone who associates with him.

[Demsrule86]

64. I agree completely. I think she may face a primary.

[tonedevil]

71. It is completely within the realm of possibility. /nt

[Celerity]

84. So you advocate primarying and/or do not support

Raúl Grijalva
Ro Khanna
Rashida Tlaib
Ilhan Omar
Pramila Jayapal
Ayanna Pressley

?

Along with AOC, they were all endorsed by Justice Democrats and all won.


BTW, Cenk isn't even affiliated with JD anymore, and wasn't for almost a year before the election. He resigned December 22, 2017, over 13 months ago.

[NurseJackie]

107. Doesn't matter.

Cenk isn't even affiliated with JD anymore

Doesn't matter. Its mission did not change with his sudden departure. And "BTW" he was FORCED OUT because of his sexist writings and INCEL-style grumblings. He didn't just casually up and resign one day to spend more time with the family.

Also the group's "destroy to rebuild" philosophy didn't change with his departure. And does anyone truly believe that even though his name isn't on the letterhead any longer, that he has absolutely NO input in that organization? It's his "baby" after all... he's off the "board" (as they call it) just for looks. I have not doubts that Uygur is still calling the shots and/or participating in a significant way.

[ehrnst]

114. And AOC's campaign paid Justice Democrats $33,630.66, so she's very much affiliated with them. (nt)

[NurseJackie]

115. That's a lot.

Cenk Uygur's dealings have been generously funded by a GOP oligarch. Not just a few thousand... not just a few hundred-thousand... not even a quarter-million. We're talking MILLIONS of dollars flowing into his pockets from the RW GOP benefactor.

[George II]

116. They took their board members off their site, but a few months ago Justice Democrats...

...listed two board members:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Saikat Chakrabarti

It's uncertain if they still are members of the board, the page that showed them has been removed and hasn't been replaced.

Chakrabarti is one of the original co-founders of Justice Democrats and is now her chief of staff in Washington. Also Corbin Trent, another of the co-founders, is her communications director in Washington.

[NurseJackie]

118. What's the purpose of the board? How are they selected?

How is the "board" selected? What's the purpose of the "board"?

It's uncertain if they still are members of the board, the page that showed them has been removed and hasn't been replaced.

Why such a hasty scrubbing of the web page/s? It could be nothing. Maybe their website designer made a mistake, or just hasn't had the time to update that page with current info. Still, because of the questions it raises, one might think that the Justice Democrats group would be a little more careful and thorough in matters like that.

Chakrabarti is one of the original co-founders of Justice Democrats and is now her chief of staff in Washington. Also Corbin Trent, another of the co-founders, is her communications director in Washington.

I do not believe that's a wise choice for her to have made, and that's all I'll say about that for obvious reasons.

[Celerity]

121. you never answered the main question, you only deflected

So you advocate primarying and/or do not support

Raúl Grijalva
Ro Khanna
Rashida Tlaib
Ilhan Omar
Pramila Jayapal
Ayanna Pressley

?

Along with AOC, they were all endorsed by Justice Democrats and all won.

What is your answer?

[NurseJackie]

122. Rest assured, I'm smarter than I'm being given credit for here.

You'll just have to figure it out for yourself, because I've been very clear throughout.

[melman]

123. Ah

There it is. The familiar go-to when the question can't be answered.

[NurseJackie]

125. Ah...

Ah There it is. The familiar go-to when the question can't be answered.

Ah... There it is. The familiar final-attempt taunt when the bait isn't taken.

[Apollyonus]

202. hahahahahahahahahaha n/t

[Celerity]

132. +1

[Celerity]

131. you have not been clear at all, you never answered the question, not even close

You just went on and on about Cenk and JD.


Justice Democrats-supported US Reps.

Raúl Grijalva
Ro Khanna
Rashida Tlaib
Ilhan Omar
Pramila Jayapal
Ayanna Pressley
AOC


All are wonderful, all will be re-elected.

[NurseJackie]

151. Not my problem.

you have not been clear at all, you never answered the question, not even close

Not my problem.

[ehrnst]

157. You never answered my question about the relevance of people on that list...

Last edited Wed Jan 30, 2019, 04:55 PM - Edit history (1)

to anyone else?


https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142255250#post113

What is your answer?

I'm going to guess that if a candidate is endorsed by Justice Democrats then they cannot be considered independent of AOC?

[ehrnst]

113. So if you have an opinion about AOC, it goes you must also have it about that particluar list?

Why?

[Celerity]

166. it was very clear in my original post to the other poster

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142255250#post84





That was in reply to

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142255250#post11




Not remotely confusing about that, nothing.

[ehrnst]

168. You seem to think that all candidates that were endorsed by Justice Democrats must be

viewed in the same way?

As though they were all given marching orders by Justice Dems and AOC, in order to get that endorsement? And their very policy decisions are more influenced by Justice Dems than their constituents, so as goes opinion on AOC, it MUST go with them?

I think there are times that organizations and politicians who want the spotlight will, at the final hour, endorse a candidate who is way ahead already in order to improve their tally of winning endorsees.

I know that AOC's campaign did give Justice Dems over $30,000, and I haven't looked to see if the others on the list did similarly.

Do you have a list of those other candidates who did?

[Celerity]

170. all the Reps I listed absolutely stand for the same policy positions and legislative agenda overall

They never would have been endorsed by JD if they didn't. JD endorsed very few House candidates in the general election.

It's all on you and others who try to make it about trivial personality issues and try and divide them (and the progressive caucus in general) into some sort of hierarchy (with AOC cast as the evil brain, lol) to deflect from their actual political stances on the issues.


To quote https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142255250#post151

Not my problem.

[ehrnst]

172. Perhaps you weren't aware AOC was half their board at one time?

That is an actual distinction between her and those others on that list.

Well, that and the % of voters in their district that felt enthused enough to turn out.

Also, she hired the rest Justice Democrats board members and founders for her staff.

Have the others pledged allegiance to the Justice Democrats or some such thing?

I don't seen them getting into day long twitter back and forths about being fact checked on statements on economics - perhaps I missed that?

[Celerity]

173. thanks for your concern

duly noted

Good luck with the AOC primary, if that is what you want to happen.

[ehrnst]

177. You seem to have this idea that I want that.

Talk about playing silly games...

I'm not even a constituent, so that's a moot point.

You aren't either. So good luck to you, too on her being relected until she decides it isn't really what she wants to do anymore.

[George II]

200. Here's a summary of the success of their endorsed House candidates:

68 candidates were endorsed
45 lost in their primary
17 lost in their general election
7 won in their general election - three were incumbents who were already overwhelming favorites and one ran unopposed.

It is true that they didn't endorse many House candidates in the general election - that's because 2/3 of their candidates lost their primaries and never made it to the general election! Even so, of the 24 that did make it to the general election, 70% lost.

BTW, they also endorsed 5 candidates for Governor, 1 for Lieutenant Governor and 4 for US Senator - of those 10, 8 lost their primaries and the 2 who advanced to the general election lost.

Thankfully their divisive primary campaigns against incumbent Democrats failed overall and just about all of those Democratic candidates wound up winning despite the attacks by Justice Democrats.

I don't know if any incumbent Democrats who may be "targeted" by Justice Democrats are quaking in their boots.

[NurseJackie]

199. Ha!

Not my problem.

[Apollyonus]

203. wow ... you put a LOT of work into this

I have to remind myself to not get so worked up over a message board.

[George II]

129. They endorsed 78 candidates last year, only those seven won in November. And of those seven...

....three were incumbents with overwhelming popularity in deep blue districts and one ran unopposed in a deep blue district.

They endorsed and supported several primary opponents to incumbent Democrats and lost badly.

7/78 = 8.9%

[ehrnst]

158. Not much of a threat for Justice Democrats to say they will primary a Dem...

Perhaps if the turnout is very, very low, and the incumbent is phoning it in.

[NurseJackie]

161. I hope he runs again.

Perhaps if the turnout is very, very low, and the incumbent is phoning it in.

I hope he runs again. I also hope that they do something about their confusing June primary.

[Apollyonus]

204. Well

Raul Grijalva, Pramila Jaypal and Ro Khanna are not so close to the edge that they'd fall off the stage.

And they believe in team work, working on consensus and following the leadership's directives. Good team players.

They are not known for their tweets and are not trying to become celebrities either.

[Gothmog]

117. I also do not trust Cenk or the Just Us Democrats

[Apollyonus]

205. ...

I have to every time I see people treating Cenk like he is Plato or Aristotle.

[MrsCoffee]

27. And they have targeted very progressive Democrats like Kathleen Rice.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/16/justice-democrats-primary-challenges-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-1106911

But if Justice Democrats follows through on going after Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) — one of their prospective targets — it would be for entirely different reasons. Rice is a progressive. She has voted with Trump just 28 percent of the time and cosponsored legislation to slash fossil fuel dependence. She is popular in her district. But Justice Democrats still has her in its sights.

“You can tacitly support Medicare for All and a Green New Deal and we still might primary you because there’s energy in the district to find someone more charismatic and compelling who is actually going to be a movement builder,” said Waleed Shahid, communications director for Justice Democrats.

[Celerity]

91. You mean the 'progressive' Rice who helped lead the anti-Pelosi charge of the light brigade along

Seth Moulton and Tim Ryan?


Long Island Democrat Leading The Revolt Against Speaker Pelosi

https://www.wnyc.org/story/long-island-democrat-leading-revolt-against-speaker-pelosi/

The biggest project of Kathleen Rice’s two terms in Congress has been trying to convince House Democrats to choose a new leader.

Democrats vote Wednesday on their choice to lead the House when they take control in January, and California Rep. Nancy Pelosi is expected to win another shot at Speaker.

But Rice, a former Nassau County prosecutor, says Pelosi keeps a heavy hand on caucus decisions and has blocked other Democrats from advancing.

She says a vote for Pelosi is even more of a liability now, with a new majority built on moderate women from the suburbs.

“And I just don’t understand why you would want to jeopardize this hard-fought majority that we finally got,” Rice said to reporters at the Capitol this month.

snip

She signed the Anti-Pelosi letter

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sixteen-democrats-sign-letter-opposing-pelosi-speaker-n938066


She voted against Pelosi for Speaker

https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/15-democrats-didnt-vote-pelosi-speaker



That Trump Score argument is extremely misleading too.

Only 29 House Democrats have a higher Trump score than Rice, 206 have a lower one.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/house/


Pelosi gets revenge against one of the Dem rebels
Rep. Kathleen Rice loses out on a Judiciary seat after opposing Pelosi’s return to the speakership.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/15/pelosi-rice-judiciary-committee-1102772


She is a
one of the Leaders of the centrist, No Labels Problem Solvers Caucus-style blue dog New Democrat Coalition (partial heart of the anti-Pelosi movement as well)

The New Democrat Coalition Leadership Team for the 116th Congress:

https://newdemocratcoalition-himes.house.gov/members

Leadership Member – Rep. Kathleen Rice (NY-04)

Overlap from the New Democrats with Problem Solvers

https://ballotpedia.org/Problem_Solvers_Caucus



To call Rice a 'progressive' is disingenuous at best, and/or dumbs down the word to meaninglessness.

[George II]

63. Yes, their first "target" is Henry Cuellar, who just won re-election with 84.4% of the vote....

....because he hasn't voted with the Democrats enough. The interesting thing is that of the 59 roll call votes so far this session, Henry Cuellar has voted with the Democratic Majority in each. She has now voted against the Democratic Majority 7 times (two more times today) - 12% of all the votes.

[Celerity]

88. Henry Cuellar has the highest Trump Score of any House Democrat. Higher than a couple

Republicans.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/house/



He is Pro-Life (votes that way), voted to ban abortion from all federal healthcare, voted to restrict minors going to an out of state abortion clinic, etc.
http://www.ontheissues.org/TX/Henry_Cuellar_Abortion.htm

http://time.com/4782994/democrats-anti-abortion-men-congress/


Rate A- by the NRA

https://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/how-the-nra-grades-the-34-members-of-texass-congressional-delegation/

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D, Laredo.
NRA rating: A-
NRA campaign contribution: $2,000


Raised money for a Republican

In the U.S. House, Democrat Henry Cuellar raises eyebrows by fundraising for Republican John Carter

https://www.texastribune.org/2018/09/11/democrat-henry-cuellar-fundraising-republican-john-carter/



Private Prison Campaign Cash Still Welcomed by Some Democrats in the Trump Era

https://rewire.news/article/2018/09/14/private-prison-campaign-cash-still-welcomed-by-some-democrats-in-the-trump-era/

No congressional Democrat has received more financial backing from private prisons than Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who has taken $88,990 from GEO Group and CoreCivic America since 2012, according to Open Secrets. Cuellar, who has voted in line with the president 68.9 percent of the time, has received more campaign cash from GEO Group in 2018 than any congressional lawmaker but Rep. John Culberson (R-TX). Almost all of Cuellar’s private prison campaign cash over the past six years has come from GEO Group, which has a history of in-custody deaths and other abuses. Cuellar’s office didn’t answer questions submitted by Rewire.News about the Democrat’s acceptance of private prison campaign money.


He was the only Democrat to vote for a House bill that would have made it easier to deport unaccompanied minors from Central America.

https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Cuellar-From-migrant-family-to-growing-clout-in-5801927.php

“We have to send a signal,” he said.


Rated as low as 25% on LGBTQ Issues by the Human Rights Campaign in some years

https://www.hrc.org/resources/congressional-scorecard

Was strongly against same-sex marriage
http://www.qsanantonio.com/cuellar-gallego.html


Has an anti-LGBTQ voting record

https://www.washingtonblade.com/2014/04/02/meet-8-house-dems-dont-co-sponsor-enda/





He is the 2nd most conservative Democrat in the House, now that Sinema was elected to the Senate from Arizona.

GovTrack

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/report-cards/2017/party-house-democrat/ideology

2017 Report Cards
House Democrats / Ideology Score

These special year-end statistics dissect the legislative records of Members of Congress during the 2017 legislative year (Jan 3, 2017-Dec 31, 2017), looking at Members who served at the end of that period. This page was last updated on Jan 6, 2018.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS
most conservative

#1 0.71 Rep. Collin Peterson [D-MN7]
#2 0.64 Sen. Kyrsten Sinema [D-AZ] now US Senator
#3 0.57 Rep. Henry Cuellar [D-TX28]
#4 0.54 Rep. Ron Kind [D-WI3]
#5 0.53 Rep. Josh Gottheimer [D-NJ5]
#6 0.53 Rep. Jim Costa [D-CA16]
#7 0.50 Rep. Kurt Schrader [D-OR5]
#8 0.47 Rep. Tom O’Halleran [D-AZ1]
#9 0.47 Rep. Vicente Gonzalez [D-TX15]
#10 0.45 Rep. John Delaney [D-MD6, 2013-2018]
#11 0.45 Rep. Gene Green [D-TX29, 1993-2018]
#12 0.45 Rep. Filemon Vela [D-TX34]
#13 0.44 Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1, 2007-2018]
#14 0.44 Rep. Cheri Bustos [D-IL17] <<< have seen her mentioned as a possible future Speaker of the House
#15 0.44 Rep. A. Dutch Ruppersberger [D-MD2]
#16 0.44 Rep. Bradley Schneider [D-IL10]
#17 0.44 Rep. Daniel Lipinski [D-IL3]
#18 0.44 Rep. Stephanie Murphy [D-FL7]
#19 0.44 Rep. David Loebsack [D-IA2]
#20 0.44 Rep. Sanford Bishop [D-GA2]



Its a safe Democratic district

HELL YES I HOPE HE IS PRIMARIED

[George II]

89. Do you realize that he was recently elected...

with 84.4% of the vote in his district?

And, in this current session do you know which Democrat has voted against the Democratic majority more than any other Democrat?

[Celerity]

90. 84.4% means it is a safe Democratic seat, I support a primary challenge to him.

His voting record is horrid on many crucial issues (especially the NRA supporting him, the pro-life voting record, and the anti LGBTQ stances). If he can win against a real primary challenge, then more power to him, but that doesn't change my mind one bit.

[George II]

192. Go to that first link and choose 116th Congress. The results are shocking.

[MrsCoffee]

196. Indeed! + 1

[George II]

207. Reminder: go to that first link and choose 116th Congress. The results are shocking.

[Cha]

190. Trump was betting that Henry Cuellar (D-TX) would be a "bipartisan" champion for his wall. OOOOOPS!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211750215

[LiberalLovinLug]

21. If every Democrat declined all national attention to only stay in their own districts

We would never have candidates that anyone knows come election years.
Surely its possible to raise concerns on national interest as well as serving your local constituents? And why not take advantage of opportunity? If the media is fascinated with AOC, mostly positively, and she helps raise supporters especially in the fickle voting youth sector towards the Democratic Party, she is a net gain, no matter how many crusty old guards are frightened by her energy and potential.

[Apollyonus]

52. She was not even sworn in yet

and was off to the races to become a celebrity.

Who does that before getting any experience in issues, policy and the body-politic?

[LiberalLovinLug]

59. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

[jrthin]

85. I love your emoji. Where did you get it!

[LiberalLovinLug]

154. Just image googled "running hair on fire emoji"

Set the tools settings to "icon"
Once I found the right one, right click "view image"
Copy url .Viola!

[jrthin]

180. Thank you.

[juxtaposed]

66. how dare she

[sarcasmo]

182. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[George II]

24. It's a documented fact (from FEC filings) that only 1% of her donations came from the 14th District.

[Fuzzpope]

49. Yikes.

[Celerity]

92. would love to see a link on that claim, the FEC documents I see tell a different story via

Open Secrets analysis of FEC filings. (In the links below)

Not only that, but AOC had the highest percentage (62%) of small contributions of ANY member running for the entire Congress.

Only 3% of Crowley's came from small contributions. Just his first 8 corporate donors gave more than AOC raised en toto the whole primary. https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/contributors?cid=N00001127&cycle=2018&recs=100&type=C

He also outspent her $3 million to $300,000. The vast majority of her money (85%) came in AFTER she beat Crowley and the vast majority was small contributions.

Furthermore, because almost 2/3rds of her contributions came from small contributions (which are not required to list geographical location) it is almost impossible to determine what came from her district. Only 200 USD or more donations are listed as to location of the donor. Inside her district contributions under 200 USD (ie. small amount), were not itemised as to geographical location.

The very fact she got massive nationwide media attention after the upset was another large factor in driving a higher percentage of out of state small contributions from regular people (not giant corporations or dark money pools) who wanted to support her.


Ocasio-Cortez enters the House with highest portion of small contributions

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/12/ocasio-cortez-enters-the-house-as-most-popular-member-with-small-donors/

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a household name now, but just a few months ago she was a complete political outsider, relying almost entirely on small donors in the Bronx and Queens.

The newly-elected representative for New York’s 14th District got nearly 62 percent of her $2 million haul from small individual contributions — less than $200 — giving her the highest rate of funding from small donors of any member of the 116th House of Representatives.

Ocasio-Cortez is one of several newly-elected Democrats who did not accept any money from business-related PACs. She successfully primaried Rep. Joe Crowley — who had risen to the rank of Chair of the House Democratic Caucus — despite raising just $300,709 to his $3 million.




Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez boosted by out-of-state donors after primary win (earlier article, before the General, the first article has the final figures)

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/07/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-boosted-by-out-of-state-donors-after-primary-win/

snip

Of Ocasio-Cortez’s itemized donations that OpenSecrets could analyze by geographic location, about 55 percent have come from contributors outside New York state this election cycle. Donors in California contributed almost $52,000 to her campaign in June, making the Golden State the largest source of out-of-state funds last month.

snip

Committees are not required to report geographic or identifying information about donors who contribute $200 or less.

But about 37 percent of Ocasio-Cortez’s $861,699 in total reported fundraising has come from individual donors who have given more than $200 to her campaign, allowing observers to get a glimpse of who is bankrolling her congressional bid and where that money is coming from.

The 28-year-old has relied primarily on small individual donors. Roughly 62 percent of individual contributions to Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign were $200 or less. By contrast, Crowley, who has represented the 14th Congressional District since 2013, took in more than 97 percent of his roughly $1.1 million in total individual contributions this election cycle from donations larger than $200.

About 6 percent of Ocasio-Cortez’s itemized contributions have come from the 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of Queens and the Bronx in New York City. The city was Ocasio-Cortez’s largest source of funds by metro area. She brought in at least $138,000 from New Yorkers, with Manhattan’s Upper West Side and Chelsea neighborhoods being her most lucrative zip codes.

Ocasio-Cortez shunned corporate PACs, but her campaign accepted $10,000 from two progressive PACs: MoveOn.org and Justice Democrats. Both PACs contributed $5,000 each to Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign.

[melman]

95. Bazinga!

[George II]

111. You can go through the FEC reports and details of the contributions here:

https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H8NY15148/?cycle=2018

Opensecrets is good, but they don't get into the specific details and what you posted above is only through June 30, not the final FEC filings.

[NurseJackie]

112. Bazinga!

[melman]

124. lol

lol

[NurseJackie]

126. I know, right?

[Celerity]

130. Your 1% claim is pure fiction

You furthermore simply posted up a link that doesn't directly show what you claim, it is simply the main page to her filings.

Prove what you said isn't made up. Snapshot the data, post the snapshot, and post the EXACT link to the specific FEC page.

You cannot, because you made it up.

Also, the first article is from December 17, 2018

Ocasio-Cortez enters the House with highest portion of small contributions
By Karl Evers-Hillstrom
December 17, 2018

Both articles have links to the Open Secrets pages themselves that are now updated. The data is not from June as you try to say, and I will show in real cash totals, that the 1% claim is bogus..

AOC raised around 2 million USD en toto. You claim only 1% came from within her district. 1% is 20,000 USD.

That means if there is 30,000, 40,000 USD or more from her district that you made up the 1% claim, which you did.

here is some data from your own link that shows that I am 100% correct




Total individual contributions $1,973,552.83
Itemized individual contributions $732,294.48
Unitemized individual contributions $1,241,258.35 <<<<<< this vast majority doesnt even list geographical location


Even from Itemised contributions, which are only 37% of her total contributions, there is an updated total of $33,409 (and again that's is only from ITEMISED, over 200 USD-sized contributions.

The data at the link below , again, had been updated, IT IS NOT from June, and to be fair, even it if was, I have already shown that the 1% (ie 20,000 usd) is well surpassed. You cannot snapshot and link anything that disproves this.

https://www.opensecrets.org/races/geography?cycle=2018&id=NY14




Right there, the figures are well above what you claimed, and again, that is but a small amount of her total contributions. Furthermore, even amongst those listed itemised contributions, $176,801 (24%) has NO DISTRICT DATA.

And just to really sink this in, $1,241,258.35 out of $1,973,552.83 were small contributions, non itemised, with no way of telling where they came from. And again, I have already shown well over 20,000 in 'in-district' contributions, from just a small part of her total intake.

[George II]

133. It's not pure fiction. The actual financial filing has the zip codes of all the contributors...

....as reported to the FEC - that's why I gave you the link get to the details of the receipts and disbursements. Those reports are chock full of details.

Of the more than $1.3M reported to the FEC, only $13,646.78 have been documented to be from zip codes within the 14th District. But you caught me, that calculates to 1.02%, a few dollars more than 1%.

Only 23% came from within New York State. Here are the state by state receipts:

MA $622,436.59 46%
NY $306,610.03 23%
CA $195,232.43 15%
DC $36,749.86 3%

All others are 1% or lower.

[Celerity]

135. It IS fiction

I just showed over 33,000 USD (and that is from a very small subset of the 2 million USD total intake) came from her district. Your $13, 646 number is bogus.




again, that is not even counting

Unitemized individual contributions $1,241,258.35

nor is it counting the itemised over $200 contributions that have

No District Data $176,801 (20.2%)

also you claim only 1.3m USD was raised




from your own link it shows 2 million

https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H8NY15148/?cycle=2018

[George II]

140. Please look at the actual reports themselves, not a summary or write-up. Thanks.

[NurseJackie]

12. What percentage of voters actually came out to vote for her?

[George II]

23. About 6% in the 2018 primary.

[NurseJackie]

42. Not a very strong showing. Not many were motivated to come out...

... so that tells me that a stronger candidate might be a challenge to her.

[George II]

47. Maybe Democrat Joe Crowley will enter the primary next year?

Interesting that in 2016 he got 82.9% of the votes in the general election, the Democrat last year got only 78.2%, almost 5% more. And the republican last year didn't even campaign and spent no money on his campaign.

[Celerity]

99. You are not showing the whole story

2018 looked like this



https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/elections/2018/general/2018Congress.pdf

Crowley alone, by remaining on the Working Families Party ticket, artificially pinched off 6.6% of the vote (that would have pushed AOC to 84.8%, the highest vote % ever in the 14th since it was redistricted.)

In 2016, there was no other candidates, just Democratic candidate versus Republican candidate.

Not only that but AOC's 78.2% (even with the artificial draw-off) still topped Crowley's and Maloney's before him EVERY OTHER YEAR since the district was switched up.

The 2016 Republican barely spent any money either, only 95,000 USD https://www.opensecrets.org/races/candidates?cycle=2016&id=NY14&spec=N versus Crowley's 3.1 million USD and did better than the Rethug in 2018




In 2014 there was no Republican candidate (off year election as well, look how few voters turned out, super low, only 20,000 more Democrats turned up in the GENERAL, than in the 2018 primary)




2012 (POTUS election vote total higher)

[George II]

109. Ignoring the blank votes, it was:

2016 - 82.9%
2014 - 88.2%
2012 - 83.2%

[ehrnst]

139. Indeed. (nt)

[Celerity]

142. Lol, you can't ignore the blank votes, just like you cannot ignore

the votes for other candidates. Both types did not vote for Crowley. Those percentages you put up are false, based off of a mathematical parlour trick.

[George II]

143. I misspoke, I should have said ignore the blank ballots. Blank ballots are not votes.

[Celerity]

144. no, they were ballot that left Crowley's (and the other candidates for NY-14) name blank

Many voted for other offices. But nice try.

[George II]

146. Yes, they're what are known "undervotes", are you familiar with the term?

An explanation and possible reasons:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undervote

"An undervote occurs when the number of choices selected by a voter in a contest is less than the minimum number allowed for that contest or when no selection is made for a single choice contest.

An undervote can be intentional for purposes including protest votes, tactical voting, or abstention. Alternately undervotes can be unintentional and caused by many factors including poor ballot design."

[Celerity]

149. of course I know the term, and my point stands

cheers

[ehrnst]

141. Even after all that stumping around the country, the voters in her district

weren't really inspired to come out in significant numbers.

And there are those here on DU who were advocating that all Dem incumbents should be primaried, to keep them from taking voters for granted. At least last year.

Any word on when she might open an office in her district?

[Celerity]

148. non sequitur

I dont see anyone (or if they are, they are in a extreme minority) call for all Democratic incumbents to be primaried. There have been some bogus stories about certain ones being primaried, but, for instance, in AOC's case with Hakeem Jeffries, that was debunked.

You are fully welcome to advocated AOC (and others you do not like) to be primaried.

Good luck with that.


Also, the voter totals were very similar to previous elections, as I showed above.

Over 140,000 voted in 2018, in an off year (non Potus election)

look at 2014 (another off year)

only 67,000 voted in the general




As for her office being opened and all the faux drama over it, last I saw they said March is when it would be open, and that all her constituent inquires were being handled by her staff who were working out of other offices.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

the whole thing was beaten to death here

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211713189


But your concern is duly noted.

[ehrnst]

153. Good to see that she's tweeting about her district!

Thanks for the update.

And I think your concern for her well being is quite overwrought, considering how strong you consider her to be.

I'm not the one suggesting that incumbent Dems be primaried - it was here on DU that it was going around.

Perhaps you missed it?

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211448645

Apparently AOC was promoting it, as well, with "Justice Democrats" determining who is and is not to be primaried - just last November!


https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211446185

You're welcome.

[Celerity]

164. That was a old tweet from January 22, from the OP that kicked off

all the faux drama over her district office. I even linked to the OP.

I have zero concerns about AOC losing a primary. I never remotely hinted at that. People can primary anyone they chose. It is called democracy.

[ehrnst]

165. You mean like AOC supporting Justice Dems targeting Dem incumbents?

And are you going to answer the question concerning that list of other candidates that you somehow think are all connected to AOC and anyone who thinks of them differently is inconsistent?

What about that list makes them the same in that regard?


And you also seem very defensive and protective of AOC - which is where the impression of concern comes from.

[Celerity]

167. I just answered that, try to keep up

Raúl Grijalva
Ro Khanna
Rashida Tlaib
Ilhan Omar
Pramila Jayapal
Ayanna Pressley


Along with AOC, they were all endorsed by Justice Democrats and all won.

The poster said they dont trust anyone who is associated with JD, so I asked if that extended to them.

Btw, AOC called bullshit on the Hakeem Jeffries rot, same as that 'AOC is attacking Pelosi' fake shit stir.

As I stated, anyone can feel free to primary anyone.

[ehrnst]

169. Are you saying "endorsed by" is the same as "associated with?"

How many on that list were on the board of Justice Democrats? How many of their campaigns gave Justice Democrats $33,630.66?

Get back to me with that list, and we can talk about "being associated with" Justice Democrats, and not just added to their website and emails.

Oh, and read this post by the person you are referencing to see what "associated with" means.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2256085

Then you'll be all caught up on the discussion.

[Celerity]

171. silly semantic games, they were all very involved with JD, not just 'claimed' by JD

Sorry if you don't like that. Too bad, so sad.

done playing here

[ehrnst]

175. Backpedaling, I see.

Don't blame you?

Not going to get back to me with those who were on the board, then hired the rest of the board to be on their staff?

Or if any made $30,000+ donations to Justice Democrats?

Can't blame you for not following through with that, either. Embarassing.

I'm young, though, and I have time to wait. And evasions don't tire me out.

[Celerity]

178. Not backpedalling, getting off the bike, I am bored

with your slippery slope rhetoric and constantly moving goalposts. Go do your own research on those other candidates and their ideological policy-based ties to JD's policy stances (which is not a bad thing at all in my book) and you will probably start attacking them like you do AOC on most every thread her name comes up on.

[George II]

197. Why do you keep referring to it as "faux drama"? Do you live in or around the 14th district?

It's a real concern and inconvenience to some people in that district. They're being directed all over the place - a state legislator's office in the Bronx or a Senator's office in Manhattan, but nowhere in Queens, where 75% of the people in the district actually live.

[tonedevil]

31. More than her rivals in both the primary and general. /nt

[George II]

45. Many voters in NY didn't realize there were two separate primaries in NY - one (in June) for...

....federal candidates (House) and the other in September for all state offices.

Turnout in the September primary was roughly twice the turnout in June.

[Apollyonus]

54. That explains the low turnout.

I'm sure the voters in the 14th district are doing since the election.

Without the confusion, Crowley would have won handily.

[George II]

58. I grew up in Queens in what is now the neighboring district (not sure what it was 30-40 years ago)..

...and know people in the 14th. Some are not happy, and are less happy now that they learned their Representative voted last week to keep the government shut down. The airport most affected by the TSA situation was LaGuardia, which is located in the 14th District, and is one of the biggest employers in the District

Those no votes last week did not go over well with those constituents.

[brush]

69. Wait, what? She voted to keep the shutdown going?

If so that's outrageous, and what is her agenda?

[George II]

72. See post #61 for details.

[LisaM]

15. You're saying Crowley wasn't doing his job?

In what way?

[George II]

22. Wasn't Joe Crowley doing his job?

[tonedevil]

28. Apparently...

his constituency didn't think so. I am speaking only of the primary election result not that from 3000 miles away I know what people are saying. It appears that the now former Congressman did the things that many are counseling Rep. Ocasio-Cortez to do. Worked hard to develop a reputation with his fellow representatives and had achieved a bit of power. His name had even been mentioned as a possible successor to Speaker Pelosi. When it came time for reelection he was able to raise three million dollars with very little effort. Maybe the voters didn't feel he was around enough to understand their issues. Maybe if he could have bothered to show up for the two debates he took a pass on he could have explained what he was doing and retained his seat.
TLDR: Joe Crowley forgot to do the part of the job where you convince the voters to vote for you. That is a significant and in this case a catastrophic error.

[George II]

32. Only 11-1/2% of the registered Democrats showed up for the confusing June primary....

...most voters thought it would be in September along with the Governor/Lt. Gov/Atty Genl/etc. primary. Twice as many showed up at that primary than the June primary.

What I find amazing is that it was okay for someone to primary Joe Crowley in June last year, but wrong for his successor to be primaried in 2020.

Last spring/summer she actively campaigned against incumbent Democrats in the Midwest primaries.

And her organization has already targeted at least one incumbent Democratic Representative next year and claims they're looking for other Democratic incumbents to put up primary opponents.

Why is there such an uproar when there is talk about doing something that she and others did just a few months ago?

[tonedevil]

34. Who says it is wrong to primary...

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in 2020? At this point it is way too early to tell, but I suspect it won't be wrong just futile.

[George II]

36. Many of those responding to this OP are either saying it or implying it.

[tonedevil]

37. You are inferring it nothing more. /nt

[George II]

38. Read through the comments.

[tonedevil]

39. I have...

no one is saying that it is wrong to primary her.

[Hortensis]

104. :) Makes sense if true. She signed up to primary Crowley, after all,

even if her success in unseating a top Democratic leader (because only 5% of the 14th's total registered voters turned out) shocked everyone, including her.

More to the real point, though, all around the nation big donors are selecting Republican candidates to primary Democrats currently in office, by the hundreds if they can.

[melman]

56. Nobody

However, there are people in this thread that are for it now but were very against it then.

[Mariana]

179. No one has said that. nt.

[George II]

40. Apparently Henry Cuellar is doing the job he was elected to do by the voters, and demonstrated....

....by his re-election two months ago with 84.4% of the vote. But her organization, Justice Democrats, has already announced that they're targeting him next year:

https://www.texastribune.org/2019/01/11/justice-democrats-makes-texas-congressman-henry-cuellar-2020-target/

[3Hotdogs]

48. Yeah, I don't think she has a problem.

[treestar]

68. Usually when we resist having a primary

(I saw it suggested even for President Obama) someone tells us that the choice is good and Democratic and we should have that choice.

[Fullduplexxx]

2. Gop shenanigans in the dem party

[TheBlackAdder]

67. To which, AOC replied (conveniently missing from the Hill report)

.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
?Verified account @AOC

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Retweeted Scott Wong

"You've got councilpeople who've been waiting 20 yrs for that seat.”

That broken mentality, that public office is something you wait in line for, instead of earning through hard organizing, is exactly what voters want to change.

Shows you how disconnected some folks here are.

Link to tweet

.

[Celerity]

102. Love it!

[11cents]

5. "The Hill" clickbait bullshit.

And "some Democrats" = one anonymous source described as a House Democrat.

We can't expect better than this from The Hill; it's a comprehensively terrible publication. But we need to start demanding that other journalists not take the bait.

[watoos]

7. Well said,

I see "The Hill" and I count to 10. Amazing how popular it is here.

[groundloop]

8. I hope that's all it is.... we desperately need to concentrate on repubs right now

[emulatorloo]

20. Thank you.

[ZZenith]

33. Arrow, meet bullseye.

“Comprehensively terrible” sums up The Hill perfectly.

[The Truth Is Here]

6. Any primary challenges to AOC will be turned back.

Including Crowley.

I think for her district, she is doing an admirable job. She doesn't take bullshit.

[George II]

25. She is the only Democrat in the House who voted against funding the government last week.

LaGuardia Airport was the airport affected most by the shutdown.

Know where LGA is located? New York's 14th Congressional District. So she essentially voted against all those government employees in her own district.

[ucrdem]

97. Ouch.

That's all I'm gonna say about that.

[elleng]

9. ' the Democratic lawmaker, who requested anonymity, '

I'll bet!

[Blue_Tires]

13. Oh, so someone didn't have the stones to even put their name to this?

Good, now I can completely disregard it.

[Tom Rinaldo]

14. Primaries are problematic, but politics without them is worse

I try to at least be consistent. Though I on the whole greatly appreciate the energy AOC brings to Congress, if someone from her district wants to primary her, so be it. I suspect they would get trounced, Ocasio-Cortez is extremely bright, motivated by sincere ideals, and possesses natural charisma in tune with her district, which teems with immigrants from a host of nations. But I can be wrong and I accept that primaries are an essential part of our democratic process. This is especially true in districts that are non competitive in General Elections.

But though I support the right to primary, that doesn't mean I have to support everyone who chooses to exercise that right. I think this non-identified Democrat in Congress is dishing out some poor advice. He or she (and us I believe*) would be better served by countering her positions on issues in an open and through debate, if that is what they are unhappy with her about.,

* just to be clear, I think our society is always best served by robust debate. However I generally strongly support AOC on the issues..

[scipan]

163. You are always a voice of reason

and apparently AOC herself doesn't have a problem with someone running against her in the primary.

[Vinca]

16. Jeez . . . let the newbies find their way. Ruffling feathers is a good thing.

[Apollyonus]

17. This is doable

The turnout was only about 12% in the last primary.

[George II]

26. 11.5%

[emulatorloo]

19. IT IS THE HILL (aka DEMS IN DISARAY!!!). IT IS AN "ANONYMOUS" SOURCE

The Hill likes to stir the pot.

Again, you are smarter than to fall for this.

[msongs]

29. not LBN its just gossip with anonymous sources nt

[Jarqui]

30. No, she's not perfect but I've found her to be a badly needed breath of fresh air nt

[Power 2 the People]

35. Good luck "anonymous source." AOC is beloved in her district and won with 75% of the vote.

[Apollyonus]

51. lulz

11.5% turnout

[brush]

70. Why did she vote against ending the shutdown?

See post 25.

[Power 2 the People]

73. It was a tough call but she voted the will of her community.

“Most of our votes are pretty straightforward, but today was a tough/nuanced call,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “We didn’t vote with the party because one of the spending bills included ICE funding and our community felt strongly about not funding that.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s New York City district includes many Latinos, some of whom are fearful or resentful of ICE. On the campaign trail, she called for the abolition of ICE.

[lapucelle]

80. The spending package (HR 648) did not include funding for DHS or ICE

Cortez has since deleted the instagram explanation that you're referencing.

The House on Wednesday also passed, 234-180, a spending package comprised of six bills that members of both parties in the House and Senate negotiated last year. The package provides full fiscal 2019 funding for all non-funded departments other than Homeland Security. Since it includes no funding for ICE, it’s unclear why Ocasio-Cortez voted against it.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/648/all-actions?overview=closed&q=%7B%22roll-call-vote%22%3A%22all%22%7D

https://www.rollcall.com/news/congress/aoc-joins-republicans-voting-house-democratic-bills-reopen-government

Link to tweet

[R B Garr]

206. That is interesting that she deleted her Instagram explanation

as to why she voted to keep La Guardia closed.

Maybe she should explain who the “we” are that she references in her statements about deciding on this vote. There were links where she stated she would collaborate with her pals at Justice Democrats on votes. I wonder if her constituents know this. That’s quite a message — voting against workers in her district.

[brush]

83. I hear IDE funding wasn't iin the bill. Can afford mistakes when La Guardia...

Airport is in her district and she voted to keep it closed and alnd all those people to stay out of work.

WTF? Seriously?

Sounds like someone needs to pay better attention to what's actually in the bills.

Not a good move.

[Bradical79]

41. I'm always ok with primary challengers

Though in some cases, like this, I'd question the wisdom of anyone spending their resources to primary her.

[demmiblue]

46. +1

[mcar]

43. Goose, gander

I believe Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is actively seeking candidates to primary other House Democrats. Many on this board think that is a fine idea.

[Me.]

53. Jinx, You Owe Me A Coke

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1016&pid=225297

[JCanete]

87. and she adtively primaried somebody herself and won. That's what primaries are for. I say bring

It. I doubt anybody has a shot in hell right now.

[ehrnst]

119. Someone who can get out the vote might be a serious challenger.

But only about 13 percent of registered Democrats turned out to vote in the 14th Congressional District that takes in parts of Queens and the Bronx, according to a preliminary city Board of Elections tally.

Someone who can motivate and excite voters in her district to go to the polls might have an advantage, considering the last election:

https://nypost.com/2018/06/28/most-voters-stayed-home-for-stunning-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-win/

[JCanete]

120. that's true. That's when she wasn't a household name. nt

[ehrnst]

128. It might behoove her to set up an office in her district. And she certainly was

making her name well known traveling the country campaigning for other candidates before November, so even that didn't get out the vote.

[TexasAggieDemocrat12]

44. I've come around on AOC...

and appreciate the voice she brings...even though I don't agree with everything she says. That being said, if she is doing what she needs to do to please her constituents then she won't need to worry about any primary challenger.

[Apollyonus]

50. She is doing everything

to please Cenk Uygur, Purity -- I mean Justice -- Democrats and to become as much a celebrity as the Kardashians.

She voted against the resolutions to reopen the government and doesn't even have a district office for her constituents.

How many of her constituents wanted to keep the government shut down? Any guesses?

[NurseJackie]

57. Voting with the Republicans... or, voting to CONTINUE with the shutdown... was bizarre.

Personally, during this all-hands-on-deck moment... at this crucial crossroads in our country's history... when we need to present a UNITED front (and persuade as many Republicans as possible to join us) I do not understand why anyone would be ABSENT from crucial votes, or why anyone would vote with the Republicans.

[George II]

61. You can find details of all the votes here:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2019/index.asp

The four votes to reopen the government in various forms were these, with the votes of the Democrats, only 1 voted Nay in each case:

#46 HJ Res 28 Yea 223 Nay 1
#47 H Res 61 Yea 223 Nay 1
#49 HR 648 Yea 224 Nay 1
#51 HJ Res 31 Yea 226 Nay 1

The last one (51) was for the bill that ultimately was passed by voice vote on Friday night with very few Representatives in attendance.

[Honeycombe8]

75. Yes, I saw that. There was an article about her voting against both resolutions..and guess WHY...

she said she voted against them because "we" don't want to fund ICE, which was in those bills.

Okay...but she was wrong.

The first resolution merely extended the 2018 budget for a few weeks. It had ICE funding in it, from 2018. No new funding.

The 2nd resolution had NO funding for ICE.

I won't state my opinion. I'll just let that truth lie there. It speaks for itself.

I want to see all Democrats together on what needs to be done. This is one of the most critical times in history. We only have the House of Representatives to do anything. That's it. We may not have a second chance.

[NurseJackie]

76. I believe that all Representatives should be fully informed...

... on these matters, and I'll just leave it at that for obvious reasons.

[Magoo48]

60. "Some Dems, some Dems", is this FOX News; do we now converse in MAGA Speak?

Come on. If some dem says it, report it. Otherwise it’s horseshit and gun smoke.

[ouija]

62. I would

Vote against anybody who voted with Trump 28% of the time. When you have Fox News flipping out over her, she is doing something right.

[honest.abe]

65. She's a loose cannon but I like her energy and enthusiasm.

Give her time.

[ripcord]

81. Now everyone can have their own purity tests

That should bring us all closer together.

[Puppyjive]

74. She is a star!

Why do so many want to destroy the young? This is not good for the party. I have always thought that the Democratic Party embraced diversity, which includes age. This woman knows what has been done to her generation. It's like buying an old house and breathing life into it. We need young people to help lead. This is their country too. My parents owned a bar and it was old and boring. Someone bought it and fixed it up, made some changes, and it thrived. Don't fear the change we need, embrace it.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

93. Good question.

[ehrnst]

136. Who is "destroying the young?"

I hear calls here on DU to primary EVERYBODY, because we need everybody to really earn their seat.

[watoos]

77. I can't believe this thread is still going on,

it is a joke.

I watched Cenk when he was on MSNBC, I guaran-fucken-tee he is no GOP plant.

AOC AOC you go girl, don't let anyone Franken you.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

94. THIS!!!

[shanny]

108. +a zillion

And what is with the vitriol aimed at Justice Democrats? Afaik their only requirement is no corporate money (horrors!).

[George II]

110. Cenk took millions of dollars from a right wing corporation...

...(Roemer, Robinson, Melville & Co, LLC) and RT (formerly Russia Today).

Roehmer is using them now to generate new business. Their website has 11 "News" articles, four of which are about TYT.

http://www.rrmandco.com/the-news-home-page/

Nope, I can't see how any progressive would have anything to do with them or Uygur.

[bitterross]

78. Why are we giving time to TheHill?

Why not just post Daily Caller or Fox?

[GulfCoast66]

79. Crows coming home to roost.

How can anyone who supports her complain?

If it is A-OK for her and her Justice ‘supposed’ Democrats’ to try and Primary midwestern or Texas Democrats, then they should welcome this. You know, making the party stronger and all.

[melman]

82. No one is complaining

What we are seeing is people that were outraged when she ran suddenly cheering this on.

[shanny]

86. lol

bless their hearts

[ucrdem]

96. Her supporters will welcome a Democratic challenger I have no doubt.

I was told right here that AOC primarying Crowley was perfectly fine because that's what AOC wanted to do.

[KayF]

98. of course she has enemies

she ousted a party leader. The rest of the leadership is afraid that's going to happen to them.

The leadership has a lot of power, they may very well defeat her. But she might have power too, who knows?

I agree a lot of it will be how well she serves her constituents.

[allgood33]

100. If we do, we will begin to build a viable third party that will really hurt us in the end. STOP

Stop all the divisive talk and do not fall for more RW-Russian-bot bait. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE: OUR NATION!

Our tent is big, and we should not be trying run anyone away because the RW or left-wing purists don't like them. We actually STRONGER TOGETHER!

[lapucelle]

101. Cortez is using the story to solicit money for her re-election fund.

I received an email yesterday.

Honestly, we always knew the political establishment would stand in our way eventually. We just didn’t expect them to come after us so hard and so fast.
Make a $3 donation right now to help us fight back against any primary challenge the establishment throws our way. Every donation now demonstrates how strong our campaign is heading into our second election.

While some might see this as a clever tactic to keep the cash flowing in, others might wonder how the actual constituents of NY 14 feel about the out of district and out of state $$$$ that will finance the campaign of the politician who sits in their seat in Congress against any challenger who seeks to represent the voters of the district.

[watoos]

103. I like the argument,

that implies that the only reason AOC won was because only 12% of the electorate showed up to vote. What does that say about Crowley? That means that only 3% of the people in his district voted for him. sad.

People say, and an anonymous Democratic official, that this entire thread could violate DU policy. I'm not saying, but I heard.

[ehrnst]

138. What DU policy? There have been threads here on DU where people say that all

Dem incumbents should be primaried to keep them on their toes.

[onetexan]

105. i'd like to know who are the Reps who are rankled by this dynamic young lady

and how she's managed to piss them off

[Sparky 1]

106. She is a breath of fresh air and just what the party needs to counterbalance

. . . the old, staid, oil-money sucking Dems. Democrats have been slowly pulled to the right and toward authoritarianism for decades. It's great to see some energetic young people who will pull it back at least a little toward the left. Political Compass had Hillary to the right of Donald, for crying out loud. I had a large group of friends at work take their test and every single one of us landed in the lower left quadrant, yet our presidents always end up past center in the upper right quadrant both on economics and on authoritarianism. We could use some congresscritters who rank around where the Dalai Lama ranks (almost dead center lower left quadrant) to help pull us back in the general direction of where we should be. And for goodness sake, we need some idealistic energetic young folks, lest the Dems go the way of Repubs and die off of old age. AOC speaks to the young people, and we need their vote. We also need people who will help combat the inequality that has been getting worse and worse. And yes, I personally remember what the world was like when CEOs made 30 times a worker's salary -- not 500 times.

[George II]

134. Why are you so bound and determined to bash Democrats and the Democratic Party?

[JHan]

137. it's so ridiculous

Hillary was never to the right of Trump.

[George II]

145. I wonder who the "old, staid, oil-money sucking Dems" are.

[ehrnst]

147. Political Compass? That rabid, anti-Democratic site? That's your go to?

You must really harbor some deep issues with Democrats - other than those who are "Just Us Democrats" are just "oil sucking" to "the right of Donald" authoritarians, But you can't name one, other than that convenient, favorite punching bag of the far left - Hillary.

Nor do you give a single instance to back up your mischaracterizations. Just post using that bastion of seething hatred for Democrats "Political Compass" as a citation, then go silent when your post is picked apart for what it is.

[Apollyonus]

156. This is just bashing Democrats

because they are not "pure" according to your point of view.

Democratic party is a big tent and there are millions who completely disagree with you.

Are you by any chance Cenk Uygur? (Rhetorical question)

[Hortensis]

160. Wow! What the party needs is for people to VOTE for

progressive liberal government.

You sound like you may understand the 23-24% of Sanders' supposed Progressives who refused to vote for the most progressive slate of goals since the New Deal. How many do you think will regret what's happened since and vote Democrat in 2020?

Think about it. In spite of that Democratic "authoritarianism" you see, we should have now
Liberal dominated courts.
Be leading the planet in the fight to reverse climate change.
Have healthcare approaching universal.
Be planning for a universal basic income.
100 others.

But on to 2020. If just a few more percent stand up for their claimed values -- and against the hurt and damage Republicans PROMISE to inflict -- they may be able to help save progressivism from destruction for possibly the rest of their lives. Not the 12% of Sanders voters who voted for Republicans instead, of course. But that leaves the other half; maybe they really had other goals also in 2016, but they seem to believe they want and need progressive programs. Will they vote Democrat this time?

Because of course it's way past time to realize what went wrong. Not Hillary. She was the spearhead of a party committed to progressive economic and social advances. And certainly NOT Democratic VOTERS.

What went wrong was those who failed to vote Democrat and against Republicans, the ones I'm wondering you may be able to explain and predict. AND also others, nonvoters, who just expected the America they grew up with to always be there even as the right promised to destroy it. More voted in the midterms, bless their hearts, but most still didn't. You might have some insight there also -- how many of them do you think will be hurting enough to vote Democrat?

The choice in 2020, if it doesn't turn out to already be too late, will of course be the same two as 2016: Prosperous, progressive liberal democracy under Democrats OR what is threatening to become a transformation to an authoritarian/fascist state under what the Republican Party has become. No other?

So which do you think it will be? Continued failure and betrayal? Or standing up for democracy?

[Hortensis]

184. No answer? PLEASE tell me the Republicans' extreme cruelty

as policy for motivating people to behave is regarded as a greater evil than such Democratic Party evils as affordable college (instead of free)?

If not, that is a very grim prognostication for sure.

Surely, at least SOME nonvoters have felt the Republican stick and have a whole new willingness to accept the evils of a doubled federal minimum wage and Democratic solar cells as sustainable energy on their roofs?

????

[Cha]

176. You have no idea what you're talking abut. You need

to wake up and notice what's going on.

We won the Midterms with a Blue Wave across our Country that ushered in all kinds of Dems. We wouldn't have the House Now without All Our Dems.

We wouldn't be able to stop the Puppet in the WH at all.

Have you even noticed what Nancy Pelosi has been doing? She's the damn Breath of Fresh Air.

[ehrnst]

193. A breath of fresh air indeed... toiling successfully behind the scenes, out of the spotlight

and delivers the goods.

[Ace Rothstein]

127. If someone wants to throw their time and money away on doing so then that's their prerogative.

[ehrnst]

155. AOC was promoting Justice Dems idea that her fellow Dems be primaried, just last November.

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday threw her weight behind a new national campaign to mount primaries against incumbent Democrats deemed to be ideologically and demographically out of step with their districts.

Of course it will be Justice Democrats doing the "deeming,"

As for which Democrats they will target, the grass-roots organization welcomed its members to submit nominations of candidates and potential districts to target in 2020. Justice Democrats said it will prioritize women and diversity in its recruitment. All four incoming House members who were backed by Justice Democrats are women of color: Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/17/ocasio-cortez-throws-support-behind-campaign-to-primary-democrats-1000529

[George II]

162. "Justice Democrats said it will prioritize women and diversity in its recruitment."

An epiphany? Last spring/summer they supported a white straight male against a gay WOC in Kansas and a male against a female in Michigan, a male against a female in Missouri, etc.

[Cha]

186. That didn't work out so well for those "justice dems"

did it?

[ehrnst]

187. Not really. (nt)

[Cha]

185. Yeah, and just because AOC wants to

primary Dems.. that doesn't mean that she should be primaried!!! lol LOL

[ehrnst]

191. What's that quote from Animal Farm?

Oh, right.

[melman]

195. Nobody is saying anything remotely like that

Nobody at all.

[denbot]

174. Primary THEM!

No more quislings!

[ehrnst]

188. Um... AOC has already said that they should be - last November...

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/17/ocasio-cortez-throws-support-behind-campaign-to-primary-democrats-1000529

[Sparky 1]

183. We should be careful not to turn on our own

Yet over and over I've seen it done here, as it was just done to me. FYI, I voted for Hillary and she won by 3 million votes. I canvas for the Dems, knocking on doors. So is it me who deserves scorn?

If we want to win in 2020 and get rid of that horrible Trump and his cabinet, we need to embrace Bernie supporters and AOC supporters. AOC sounds very much like a young FDR. AOC brought in a lot of new young Democratic voters, and if we lose her we may lose them too.

Can none of you remember being very idealistic when you were younger? Time knocks the rough edges off just about all of us, but hopefully we can hold on to the better part of our energy and idealism. AOC and the other new younger Dems in congress should inspire that in all of us.

What went wrong in 2016 is idiots in the Electoral College, which desperately needs to be abolished. Abolishing the EC and other changes which should be made is going to require some idealism and energy and young votes, as well as Bernie votes for Democrats. THAT is how we win.

[ehrnst]

189. You mean like this?

Ocasio-Cortez backs campaign to primary fellow Democrats

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/17/ocasio-cortez-throws-support-behind-campaign-to-primary-democrats-1000529

BTW - FDR was middle aged, very privileged, wealthy, had the most exclusive education, part of a multigenerational political family and had a good deal of government experience behind him before running.

Who would be trashing him as a status quo. 1% "dynasty" establishment shill, who couldn't appeal to young voters, and demanding he be primaried by a Justice Democratic approved candidate if he was running for office now? Who would be "turning their own" as you put it?

Nancy Pelosi? Hillary Clinton? Tom Perez?

No.

[Sparky 1]

194. Yes, she's not exempt.

[pwb]

201. Yawn, The Hill crap again.

Take note? Same old same old.