US "The Squad" Megathread - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Talib Derangement Syndrome

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I honestly only know about American politics from what I read on the Internet but since we all love shitting on leftists I figured we'd get a kick out of this. Also it's trending on Twitter so you know it's important.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...irect=on&noredirect=on&utm_term=.960552c9ba53

NEW YORK — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old political novice running on a low budget and an unabashedly liberal platform, upset longtime U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley on Tuesday in the Democratic congressional primary in New York.

The surprise victory by the community organizer in a district that includes parts of the Bronx and Queens came after an energetic, grassroots campaign that mustered more than enough support in a low-turnout race that many had expected to be an easy win for Crowley, a member of the Democratic House leadership.

“The community is ready for a movement of economic and social justice. That is what we tried to deliver,” said Ocasio-Cortez, who has never held elected office and whose candidacy attracted only modest media attention.

She told The Associated Press after her victory that she didn’t have enough money to do polling in the race, but felt in her gut that her message had a chance to connect.

“I live in this community. I organized in this community. I felt the absence of the incumbent. I knew he didn’t have a strong presence,” she said.

Crowley has been in Congress since 1999 and hadn’t faced an opponent in a primary election since 2004, when Ocasio-Cortez was just a teenager. He was considered a candidate to become the next House speaker if Democrats win the majority.

“It’s not about me,” Crowley, 56, told his supporters at a campaign party following his loss. “It’s about America. I want nothing but the best for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. I want her to be victorious.”

He later played guitar with a band at the election night gathering, and dedicated the first song, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” to Ocasio-Cortez.

Crowley represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, where he is also the leader of the Queens Democratic party.

Ocasio-Cortez was outspent by an 18-1 margin during her race but won the endorsement of some influential groups on the party’s far left, including MoveOn, as well as the actress Cynthia Nixon, who is running for governor. She defeated Crowley by 15 percentage points.

Born in the Bronx to a mother from Puerto Rico and a father who died in 2008, Ocasio-Cortez said she decided to challenge Crowley to push a more progressive stance on economic and other issues.

She attended Boston University, where she earned degrees in economics and international relations, and also spent time working in the office of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy.

After graduating, she returned to the Bronx where she became a community organizer. In the 2016 presidential campaign she worked for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Among her issues is expanding the Medicare program to people of all ages and abolishing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. She recently went to Tornillo, Texas, to protest against policies that have separated parents from their children at the southern U.S. border.

Ocasio-Cortez gained some internet attention for a campaign video called “The Courage to Change,” a two-minute spot for which she wrote the script and featured footage from her own home.

Crowley is chair of the House Democratic Caucus, the fourth-highest ranking position in Democratic leadership in that chamber of Congress.

His loss drew the attention of President Donald Trump.

“Wow! Big Trump Hater Congressman Joe Crowley, who many expected was going to take Nancy Pelosi’s place, just LOST his primary election. In other words, he’s out! That is a big one that nobody saw happening. Perhaps he should have been nicer, and more respectful, to his President!” he tweeted.

The Republican candidate for the office, Anthony Pappas, is running unopposed and had no primary. Pappas teaches economics at St. John’s University.
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She was a Bernie campaigner, is supported by BLM, and wants to abolish Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Also this was in a solid-blue Congressional District so you know she's a shoo-in for next Congress.

But hey, we did get to see Trump laugh at Crowley on Twitter.
 
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Reading this is the literal equivalent to listening and watching a baby cry for this time.


My guess is she’s never heard of Attack on Titan. No one tell @Secret Asshole about this, for I’m not sure how hard he’ll die from laughter.

:story:
 
chiobu said:
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Benny on Twitter: "Insanity https://t.co/It6oiZvOHh"

archived 23 Nov 2021 04:42:31 UTC
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Woof. That's bad. I'm gonna waste some time this morning and break this down a little.

So the thing about selling political policy to other audiences (eg, other legislators, the American public, audiences for news networks like HBO) is that, ignoring the myriad of distinctions between them and how you want to tailor your presentation, is that you have to go in expecting that (unless you're presenting to a specific audience) they're not going to be immediately on-board with what you're selling. This is where empathy comes into play. Try to understand where your critics are going to be coming from. They're probably going to be human concerns about safety and feasibility, and when it comes to prison reform, everybody's first concern is going to be for safety. "Why do we want to wind down Federal prisons? Do you know what kind of monsters are locked up there? Why are you putting us in danger?"

The peculiarity of this is that Representative Tlaib does try to appeal to empathy... for those incarcerated in Federal prisons. And this isn't necessarily a bad thing - you can easily appeal to Americans who have (or have had) a loved one imprisoned for a seemingly innocuous reason. And the great thing about going on a hostile (or maybe just unfriendly) interview is that you know that they're going to try to make hay on whatever you say!* So you know that your immediate response is going to get some serious airtime. Representative Tlaib messed up here by making empathy a zero-sum game. Her response to "why are you putting us in danger" is... "But did you see how many people are mentally ill that are in prison right now?"

And I think many Americans do! I think many of us consider terrorists, mass murderers, and other violent offenders to be pretty batshit. And that's what gets blasted out - now this is looking even less like a good idea. In fact, this seems pretty dumb at best. Why should I think about people like them when they're in there for hurting people like me? Why are we now setting up a comparison between myself and them, where my concerns are somehow less valid than theirs? And the weird thing is, Representative Tlaib can phrase this better. And has. The clip you posted is a little misleading (but not terribly so), this is how she elaborated on it:
Swan asked to what extent Tlaib has wrestled with potential downsides to the reforms she backs — namely that the federal prison population contains dangerous criminals.
  • Tlaib: "But did you see how many people are mentally ill that are in prison right now?"
  • Swan: "But there are, like, human traffickers."
  • Tlaib: "Oh, I know. ... Look at who's in prison now ... folks that are mentally ill, that have substance-abuse problems ... And obviously there's a process of looking at how can we get away from mass incarceration, and move towards care first."
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I say the clip you posted isn't misleading because the comment about incarcerated mentally ill persons was Representative Tlaib's immediate response. I'm not sure if she wasn't coached or fell apart or what, but her immediate response is terrible because it doesn't have any empathy or understanding of what critics might be concerned about. It's a statement meant to preach to the choir, and either purposefully or accidentally is an example of somebody endorsing only to supporters for an act that they know will fail. The immediate response to critics isn't that they might have valid concerns, but that they're not empathetic enough to those who got to where they are by killing and terrorizing others. That's not a group that you want to be perceived as fighting the American public for. This simply isn't how you endorse your legislation effectively.

Tl;DR: This clip is a great example of what not to do in politics.
 
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Tone deaf to push this just after the Waukesha tragedy.

Dems demand answers from NYC prosecutors on use of ‘excessive’ cash bail​

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Three House Democrats sent a letter to the Big Apple’s five district attorneys Monday demanding answers on how they use cash bail, saying it’s contributing to the ongoing “humanitarian crisis” on Rikers Island.

The letter, sent by Manhattan Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Bronx Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, said the lawmakers have “grave concerns that excessive bail amounts” are forcing detainees to languish in unsafe city lockups simply because they cannot afford to pay.

“High bail amounts lead to a two-tiered system of justice, with those who can afford bail being able to escape the inhumane conditions at pretrial detention facilities such as Rikers Island while those who cannot afford bail are forced to remain,” the letter stated.

“Over the last few months, conditions on Rikers Island have deteriorated drastically, raising concerns about the safety and security of staff and detainees. Overcrowding and staffing shortages on the island have led to violent incidents within Rikers Island facilities, calling into question whether anyone can be safely held there without immediate changes.”

The Post recently revealed the dire conditions inside a since-closed intake facility on Rikers Island where detainees were crammed body to body in squalid conditions for days on end — and forced to relieve themselves in plastic bags.

Since last April, the jail population on Rikers has skyrocketed to about 5,400 and amid a staffing crunch plaguing the jail, detainees have had reduced access to medical care, recreational activities and other programs, the representatives noted in the letter. There’ve also been 14 in-custody deaths so far this year, six of which were suicides.

They blamed the overcrowding in part on city prosecutors “who continue to seek excessive cash bail” and want each office to seek new bail hearings and release detainees who are charged with misdemeanors or non-violent felonies and those who have increased health risks.

“Condemning thousands of individuals to languish in an environment plagued by persistent overcrowding and mounting violence as they await trial is not acceptable and risks violating the federal civil rights of these individuals,” the reps wrote.

“If these conditions are not addressed, federal intervention may be necessary to protect detainees from additional harm,” the letter warned.

Each DA has until Dec. 10 to send a response to a series of questions, including what steps each office has taken to reduce the jail population, how processing delays are being addressed and what criteria are examined when determining which defendants are eligible for supervised release.

In response, the Manhattan DA’s Office said it is reviewing the letter and will respond but noted it has already taken measures to reduce the jail population by asking prosecutors to no longer request bail in certain non-violent cases and by releasing more than two dozen defendants facing felony charges.

A spokesperson for the Queens DA’s Office said prosecutors have been instructed “for months” to review cases and determine if remedial action can be taken so defendants can be released from Rikers without jeopardizing public safety.

“This includes circumstances where a case may be advanced so that defendants can be sentenced or take a plea that results in a transfer to state prison, time already served, or other alternatives,” the spokesperson said.

“Criminal justice reform legislation passed last year in New York State, which the DA supports, makes most non-violent crimes ineligible for bail,” they said. “We continue to consider the least restrictive means that will ensure a defendant’s return to court, including supervised release and other options.”

The Staten Island DA’s Office said it is reviewing the letter. Representatives for the Bronx and Brooklyn DAs didn’t immediately return requests for comment.

The Democrats’ letter follows a similar one sent last month on behalf of elected officials and public defenders in New York.

In January 2020, the New York Legislature overhauled the bail system, eliminating cash bail for the majority of non-violent offenses. The measure was rolled back months later to include more crimes and conditions in which bail could be imposed.

nypost.com

Dems demand answers from NYC prosecutors on use of ‘excessive’ cash bail

Three House Democrats sent a letter to the Big Apple’s five district attorneys Monday demanding answers on how they use cash bail.
nypost.com nypost.com

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Dems demand answers from NYC prosecutors on use of cash bail

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Maybe tone deaf timing but that article is pretty bad - the conditions in that jail were awful, look at those pictures. We can’t stoop to the nog level. Now Tlaib is a complete moron and emptying federal jails in particular would release all the white collar criminals and terrorists - local, county jails have your town drunks who everyone knows are schizo but there’s no mental hospitals anymore so 🤷‍♀️

Which Prez did that, the closing of all the mental hospitals? Honest question.
 
celebrityskin said:
FEf1ZfOWYAwm0tR

LMAO
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Somali men are ugly as shit.
chiobu said:
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Benny on Twitter: "Insanity https://t.co/It6oiZvOHh"

archived 23 Nov 2021 04:42:31 UTC
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Never heard this lady speak until now and I'm amazed she sounds stupider than I expected. What's the idea with sounding like a child and justifying this? Tee hee yeah there are drug lords but mental illness tee hee.

Thankfully moderate Dems aren't ths retarded yet but we are going to collapse if/when 'progressive' Dems take majority power in the party because all of them are unironically stupid as shit like this.
 
In Memoriam said:
Which Prez did that, the closing of all the mental hospitals? Honest question.
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Reagan, process started under Carter, with federal funding switching from direct grants for mental hospitals to block grants for mental health care. I'll give you one guess as to how the states decided to spend that money.
 
Snekposter said:
Reagan, process started under Carter, with federal funding switching from direct grants for mental hospitals to block grants for mental health care. I'll give you one guess as to how the states decided to spend that money.
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We need to remember that the closure of the asylums wasn’t just a cost-cutting measure; multiple high-profile reports detailing abuses in the asylums outraged the population and led to a push to close them in favor of “more compassionate” mental health care. Obviously, this just meant that a lot of wackos without family to care for them were now free to roam and cause trouble, but they are free mostly because people's bleeding hearts pushed them to close down the places that held the mentally inept.
 
Flaming Insignias said:
We need to remember that the closure of the asylums wasn’t just a cost-cutting measure; multiple high-profile reports detailing abuses in the asylums outraged the population and led to a push to close them in favor of “more compassionate” mental health care. Obviously, this just meant that a lot of wackos without family to care for them were now free to roam and cause trouble, but they are free mostly because people's bleeding hearts pushed them to close down the places that held the mentally inept.
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Yeah, but those asylums really were god-awful, terrible places guaranteed to drive anyone crazy who already wasn't. Hell, they still are, but with drugs and gaslighting instead of drugs and physical abuse.
 
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