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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Rabidcolombian said:
I have a Norwegian penpal who said exactly this. When I was learning about socialism and if it really worked, she said Scandinavia was a different case where the model could work. You need a population of people who value helping each other out, even if it means higher taxes. It actually MUST be one of their highest values, as freedom is to Americans. If you have a group of people who all agree to this and have almost no cultural differences, the model can possibly work (Not to mention as another person said, having a superpower to protect you also helps a ton as you don't really to provide for your own defenses).

But even then socialism isn't sustainable. Venezuela was the rainbow country of South America at one point. It took only two generations to show that socialism truly is bullshit and I do wonder if Scandinavia will still be the utopia of the world 50 years from now
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Demographics ensure that Sweden isn’t going to be able to sustain their welfare state. Finland is probably in trouble too. Denmark and Norway seem to be much smarter in how they handle third world migrants. Iceland will do well even though they want to be like Sweden but migrants don’t want to go there just yet.
 
Rabidcolombian said:
I have a Norwegian penpal who said exactly this. When I was learning about socialism and if it really worked, she said Scandinavia was a different case where the model could work. You need a population of people who value helping each other out, even if it means higher taxes. It actually MUST be one of their highest values, as freedom is to Americans. If you have a group of people who all agree to this and have almost no cultural differences, the model can possibly work (Not to mention as another person said, having a superpower to protect you also helps a ton as you don't really to provide for your own defenses).

But even then socialism isn't sustainable. Venezuela was the rainbow country of South America at one point. It took only two generations to show that socialism truly is bullshit and I do wonder if Scandinavia will still be the utopia of the world 50 years from now
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That depends on the demographics. Again, with 5.6M people, Finland for instance is still fine when it comes to their social policies and state expenditure. And ofc, having little to no expenses for the army helps too, as the government can focus more on domestic affairs and public infrastructure.

So long as the population doesn’t drastically increase and its mindset remains socially oriented, the model should hold.

Not saying it’s better or worse than the U.S. one. Just that it wouldn’t work in the States due to demographics and a different mindset.

My bf is Finnish, I live in France. Suffice to say I’ve had extensive experience with the Welfare state type, and it does have its issues.

As I said, immigration is a problem, mostly because the « social » mentality that most Europeans have extends to any foreigners too. Gotta help everyone, that kind of spirit.

The issue is, that the 20th century mostly European migration has transformed into a mass Muslim one. And while I am not trying to generalise, but these people tend to stay jobless and just leech from the government while popping out as many kids as possible for years on end, without even bothering to learn the French language. That in turn means more pressure for the government to provide for them with the same amount of income, since they cannot really pay taxes without money.
So then, the French government raises taxes even more, and working, productive members of society start rioting because they aren’t getting their money’s worth anymore. This is what’s been going on since November anyways.

Personally, I’d much rather take Mexicans over Muslims, if only for more common values, more apparent willingness to work, and a less, how to put it, extremist religion.

Overall, I’d say Europe welfare states are good if for the average, middle class. If you want to strike it big and have aspirations of greatness and fortune though, the U.S would be a better choice, mostly because your wealth and career earnings wouldn’t be yoinked by the government to help out fake Syrian migrants that don’t want to work. Or well, not to the same extent.

And I still don’t get why AOC would want to implement that model in the U.S. With the country’s population, might as well go full China then.
 
Rabidcolombian said:
I have a Norwegian penpal who said exactly this. When I was learning about socialism and if it really worked, she said Scandinavia was a different case where the model could work. You need a population of people who value helping each other out, even if it means higher taxes. It actually MUST be one of their highest values, as freedom is to Americans. If you have a group of people who all agree to this and have almost no cultural differences, the model can possibly work (Not to mention as another person said, having a superpower to protect you also helps a ton as you don't really to provide for your own defenses).
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The Nordic countries aren't even socialist. The Nordic countries are social democracies. They run off the Nordic Model, it's income tax is 50-60% and it's corporate tax rate is around 20-30%. The Danish Prime Minister, Lars Løkke in particular told Bernie Sanders to "Stop with his socialist slurs", as the Nordic countries have market economies not centrally planned economies. Social Democracy could work, in the case of the Nordic model but the idea of Socialism working is a pipe dream.

Danish PM Link: https://www.thelocal.dk/20151101/danish-pm-in-us-denmark-is-not-​
 
We're all aware that "nordic social democracies" "work" because the US picks up the bulk of their national defense tab, right?

That if they'd had to stand without NATO, or create a NATO without the US, that they'd be basically right where the US is economically, but in micro?
 
Which Sweden is she referring to? The homogenous state that existed until a few decades ago and was working thanks to a small population with a unified culture (which America doesn't have), or the "multicultural feminist" state which is currently experiencing issues due to immigration from countries radically different from ours (why would she want that?)?

Maybe the Nordic model would work in a few individual American states, but I don't see it working in the whole country... Unless she's secretly planning to ethnically cleanse the United States
TFJohn said:
The Nordic countries aren't even socialist. The Nordic countries are social democracies. They run off the Nordic Model, it's income tax is 50-60% and it's corporate tax rate is around 20-30%. The Danish Prime Minister, Lars Løkke in particular told Bernie Sanders to "Stop with his socialist slurs", as the Nordic countries have market economies not centrally planned economies. Social Democracy could work, in the case of the Nordic model but the idea of Socialism working is a pipe dream.
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Yeah, social democracy is not the same thing as socialism. We do have socialist parties (or rather an Ex-communist party in the case of Sweden. I don't know about the other Nordic countries) which attract the type of voters who support countries like Venezuela, but luckily for us, they have never been in power.
 
SkeletonBias420 said:
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https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-gateway-pundit-scoops/

Ranking the Gateway Pundit’s most ridiculous Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ‘scoops’


Late Sunday night, the Gateway Pundit dropped the kind of exclusive story that reporters always dream about, a scoop so shocking it halts the internet as everyone pivots to talk about the previously unknown news.

“EXCLUSIVE,” the headline blared. “Yorktown Elitist and Bronx Hoaxer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Went by ‘Sandy’ Well into College at Boston U (VIDEO).“

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the current darling of the left-wing, was called Sandy back in the day, and used that nickname through college, according to the conservative news outlet.

[Much] like other Democrat hoaxers (Bobby O’Rourke, and fake Indian Liz Warren) Ocasio-Cortez went by “Sandy” well into college at Boston University. In fact, Ocasio-Cortez went by Sandy at least into her junior year at the university … It wasn’t until her final months at university that Ocasio-Cortez started going by “Alexandria” instead of “Sandy” as an attempt to help propel her career.

Wild. And much like any great scoop, this was built on the backs of the site’s previous reporting. It was the Gateway Pundit that first broke the story last week that Ocasio-Cortez went by the name “Sandy” in high school.

“EXCLUSIVE: PHOTOS of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or “Sandy” as She Was Known at Her Elite High School in Yorktown — NOT in the Bronx.”

“Alexandria went by “Sandy” at her affluent high school,” the outlet reported. That gem came from a motivated source, who the Gateway Pundit wrote “does not like ‘Sandy’s’ politics and DOES NOT WANT TO LIVE UNDER COMMUNIST – SOCIALIST rule.”

The hoax the Gateway Pundit revealed—that as she got older, Ocasio-Cortez preferred her full name to a nickname—stems from a tweet the congresswoman posted of her plaque at the Capitol, where she said she’s still “Alex from the Bronx.”

B.S., they claim. People once called her “Sandy.” Because while the left-wing mainstream media has been fawning incessantly over Ocasio-Cortez and her meteoric rise to the forefront of political conversation, conservatives have been pushing back.

The Gateway Pundit—which has a history of pushing false conspiracies and out-and-out lies—has been leading the charge. The outlet has made it its goal to ensure the world is informed about her.

Here are some of the Gateway Pundit’s biggest scoops about the congresswoman since she won her primary in summer 2018.

CRIMINAL ACT: Democrat Ocasio-Cortez Broke 42 US Code § 1983 By Threatening Donald Trump Jr. with Retaliation Over Snarky Meme

In December, the president’s favorite meme teen Donald Trump Jr. posted to Instagram about Ocasio-Cortez and his father, saying that the progressive ideas pushed by Ocasio-Cortez would lead to Americans eating their dogs to survive. The then-congresswoman-elect responded, saying it was “definitely a ‘very, very large brain’ idea to troll a member of a body that will have subpoena power in a month.”

According to Jim Hoft, who runs the Gateway Pundit, that was a “CRIMINAL ACT.”

“It appears Ocasio-Cortez broke federal law by threatening a US citizen with retaliation for snarky tweets,” Hoft wrote. “You can’t use the power of the law to get back at people for their Instagram memes, Alexandria!”

Hoft went on to cite a statute that doesn’t really say Ocasio-Cortez violated federal law. Rather, the law says that people have the right to sue the government if they are deprived of constitutional rights, which it not something Ocasio-Cortez was doing.

BUSTED: Democrat Socialist Ocasio-Cortez Is Caught Fudging Her Bio on Campaign Website

After another news organization noticed changes to Ocasio-Cortez’s official bio, the Gateway Pundit reblogged the news. It’s a legitimate gripe given the circumstances, except that the site then started passing it off as its own while lobbing other made-up accusations.

The original passage on her site mentioned how Ocasio-Cortez “ended up attending public school 40 minutes north in Yorktown, and much of her life was defined by the 40-minute commute between school and her family in the Bronx.”

She amended that after her victory, when someone tracked down her parent’s house to prove that she attended high school in the suburbs. The new passage said: “She ended up attending public school in Yorktown—40 minutes north of her birthplace. As a result, much of her early life was spent in transit between her tight-knit extended family in the Bronx and her daily student life.”

“[After] she got caught,” the Gateway Pundit added, “the Socialist Democrat changed her bio to reflect that she was not commuting 40 minutes a day which was a complete lie.”

Her bio never said anything about a daily commute before or after it was changed.

Socialist Princess Ocasio-Cortez Suffers Twitter Meltdown After She Is Called Out on Her Elite Upbringing

As part of their reporting on Plaque-ghazi, the Gateway Pundit published an article about two of her tweets.

The tweets were described as “lashing out.”

Oops! Ocasio-Cortez Accidentally Announces Soros-Activist Who Confronted Flake in Elevator is ILLEGAL ALIEN (VIDEO)

In the wake of the Senate’s disastrous Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, which saw activists confront former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) over his swing vote on the Judiciary Committee, Ocasio-Cortez praised the behavior of the women who stood up to Flake.

Here’s the Gateway Pundit:

Thanks to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez we now know Ana Maria Archila is an illegal alien. So we now have illegal alien Soros-paid activists influencing the Supreme Court confirmation process.

Ocasio Cortez said that the immigrant, Ana Maria Archila, risked “deportation” in standing up to Flake. However, nothing else has ever been proven about Archila’s immigration status, and she hasn’t been deported since confronting Flake. There’s also no proof she was working on behalf of George Soros.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Goes Full Commie Dictator: Announces ‘New Rule’ Barring Trump Tax Cut Supporters From Healthcare Debate

One of the themes of the breathless reports by the Gateway Pundit is failure to realize when Ocasio-Cortez joking.

When the congresswoman said people who were cool with the GOP tax cut going only to the super-rich shouldn’t be able to wonder “how are we going to pay for Medicare-for-all,” the Gateway Pundit reacted like she was threatening to send people to the gulag.

Ocasio-Cortez showed a studied ignorance of the Constitution, economics and taxation … But in true communist fashion, she believes that the owners of yachts don’t deserve to pay businesses and employees with their money and instead should have their wealth confiscated by the State to fund tried-and-failed socialism.

Her statement was just that the outlet’s opinion about how America couldn’t fund programs to help the poor was being made in bad faith by well-to-do people.

You’d think bad-faith arguments were something the Gateway Pundit would be extremely familiar with at this point, given all its reporting on Ocasio-Cortez. But it appears that’s not the case.
 
Jesus what is it with you guys staring at a reflection of a faucet to see some warped boobs? You know there are some websites where they actually take photos of boobs head on, no funhouse mirror effect or anything!
 
Corbin Dallas Multipass said:
Jesus what is it with you guys staring at a reflection of a faucet to see some warped boobs? You know there are some websites where they actually take photos of boobs head on, no funhouse mirror effect or anything!
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Because these are some political tetas that aren't attached to a sagging cottage cheese homunculus for once.
 
Ocasio-Cortez attacks fact-checkers for 'false equivalency,' 'bias'

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/oc...heckers-for-false-equivalency-bias-toward-her

Published January 08, 2019
By Brooke Singman

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lashed out at fact-checkers just days after taking office, accusing them of “false equivalency” and “bias” toward her in their columns examining her statements.

Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has been called out by fact-checkers at a steady clip since her upset primary win last year over then-Rep. Joe Crowley. She's apparently had enough. On Monday, she took aim at PolitiFact and The Washington Post fact-check unit for supposedly singling her out.

“Facts are facts, America. We should care about getting things right. Yet standards of who gets fact-checked, how often + why are unclear,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Monday. “This is where false equivalency + bias creeps in, allowing climate deniers to be put on par w/ scientists, for example.”

Her argument was not so much that the columns were wrong but that they should be scrutinizing the Trump White House more. Ocasio-Cortez complained that PolitiFact fact-checked her the “same” amount of times as White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

“For example, it looks like @PolitiFact has fact-checked Sarah Huckabee Sanders and myself the *same* amount of times: 6,” she said. “She’s been serving for 2 years. I’ve served 4 days. Why is she fact-checked so little? Is she adhering to some standard we don’t know about?”

She added: “Another question for @politifact: some officials’ statements (ex. Andrew Cuomo) get rated ‘true’ frequently. I say true things all the time – I’d hope most do. When does Politifact choose to rate true statements? Is there a guide? I’d be happy to repost if there is.”

A reporter for the Washington Post, which regularly publishes a fact-check column assigning “Pinocchios” based on the level of falsehood in statements made, hit back, noting there is a way to “avoid” being fact-checked -- and stressing they scrutinize the Trump administration plenty.

“No one likes to be fact-checked. There’s a simple way to avoid it. And there’s a big difference between the colossal amount of time we spend fact-checking Trump (7,645 false/misleading claims and counting) and TWO fact-checks of @AOC,” Post reporter Sal Rizzo tweeted.

Ocasio-Cortez then seemed to back down.

“Fact-checking is critically important. It’s not always fun. But that’s okay! It pushes me to be better. It is important that if fact-checkers are referees, everyone know the rules –and those rules be as clear + fair as possible for all to play,” she said. “Thank you for the work you do.”

Ocasio-Cortez, in an interview Sunday on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” was asked about the criticism over factual errors and argued it's more important to be "morally right."

“I think that there’s a lot of people more concerned about being precisely, factually, and semantically correct than about being morally right,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

But she said it's still important to be factually correct and she owns up when she says something "clumsy."

"But it’s not the same thing as the president lying about immigrants. It’s not the same thing at all," she said.
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thx1138 said:
We're all aware that "nordic social democracies" "work" because the US picks up the bulk of their national defense tab, right?

That if they'd had to stand without NATO, or create a NATO without the US, that they'd be basically right where the US is economically, but in micro?
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Sweden and Finland aren't part of NATO and were legally neutral during the cold war, why do you think the Finnish military uses AKs?
 
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