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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Y2KKK Baby said:
What's wrong with Queens
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It's Trump's "stomping grounds" and where he grew up during childhood. I mean I've found absolutely no evidence to prove that she's anything but a flailing crazy person, it's just that the craziness is so consistently the exact, kind of craziness that Team B needs to make Team A look insane that every now and again I look at her and just tilt my head and wonder. It just seems too... Easy.
 
Apparently Ted Cruz and AOC are working together on a few things, making birth control pills over the counter and preventing former members of Congress from becoming lobbyists.
 
I have some connections to JD and i can assure you that AOC is 100% real and she along with JD are true believers in demsoc. it's possible that some of the funders are nefarious power grabbers, but at the ground level, the people that selected AOC did so because she truly does believe in their politics.
 
AlexJonesGotMePregnant said:
I have some connections to JD and i can assure you that AOC is 100% real and she along with JD are true believers in demsoc. it's possible that some of the funders are nefarious power grabbers, but at the ground level, the people that selected AOC did so because she truly does believe in their politics.
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Of course she does, she's a millennial that grew up with a well-to-do family and no hardships and was indoctrinated by the public schooling system.
 
It's funny that AOC is whining about MUH CONCENTRATION CAMPS when AOC chief-of-staff Saikat Chakrabarti’s political idol is Subhas Chandra Bose and what the Japs did on Andaman and Nicobar islands under him.
 
AlexJonesGotMePregnant said:
I have some connections to JD and i can assure you that AOC is 100% real and she along with JD are true believers in demsoc. it's possible that some of the funders are nefarious power grabbers, but at the ground level, the people that selected AOC did so because she truly does believe in their politics.
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Yep, she graduated at the top of her class. Which was special Ed.
 
www.dailydot.com

Why everyone wants to debate AOC, and no one wants to debate Ilhan Omar

Every day, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is beset by calls to debate men. Rep. Ilhan Omar has the same policies, and no one wants to speak to her.
www.dailydot.com www.dailydot.com
How come no one wants to debate Ilhan Omar?

In recent months, a downright obscene number of white men have challenged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to a debate.

The list spans the ideological spectrum, from far-right pundits like Ben Shapiro to center-left politicians like presidential also-ran John Delaney. While the debate challenges were, in various ways, sexist, racist, and ageist, the vitriol behind them pales in comparison to what Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has dealt with.

Like AOC, Omar is often scolded, derided, and condescended to by male congressional colleagues and pundits. But, unlike Ocasio-Cortez, they aren’t eager to challenge Omar to debates, or even engage in good faith with her ideas. Why do these men want to debate AOC and not Omar?

First, let’s look at what these candidates have in common. Both women are millennials: Ocasio-Cortez is 29, Omar is 37. Both of them are women of color. Both of them are part of a small group of Congress members endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution, and the Justice Democrats. Omar and Ocasio-Cortez share a very similar agenda, with a focus on progressive, redistributive policies like the Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and tuition-free college.

But, there are key differences between them that are telling about the state of race, religion, and ideological diversity in America.

It starts with race.. and religion
Again, Ocasio-Cortez and Omar are both women of color. However, Omar is a Somali-American Muslim while Ocasio-Cortez is of Puerto Rican heritage and was raised Catholic. It’s an understatement to say that Latinx people and Muslims are two marginalized groups that are of the targets of xenophobic behavior and bigotry.

However, Islamophobia has seen an incredible rise under Trump and anti-Muslim bigotry has been an undeniable aspect of American life post-9/11.

Between the first and second quarter of 2018, incidents of Islamophobia rose 83% nationwide. One study found a consistent rise in hate crimes against Muslims in America dating back to Trump’s campaign announcement. The Intercept reported that the 2018 midterm cycle was the “most Islamophobic U.S. election ever.”

Whether or not would-be debate challengers are dissuaded from sharing a stage and exchanging ideas with Omar because of conscious Islamophobia is debatable. It’s unlikely that these would-be debate partners—especially on the Democratic side—would be able to articulate this.

But, it is one of the few key differences between two legislators with very similar politics, and bigotry doesn’t have be conscious for it to have an impact. Congress members who practice Islam are technically accepted, and can chose to nod to their religious beliefs by being sworn in on the Quran or wearing a hijab. Some don’t even consider Omar to be a legitimate member of Congress, despite winning an election in the same manner they did.

And there is still a long way to go when it comes to some House and Senate members viewing Muslim lawmakers as allies. And this is true on both sides of the aisle.

It’s always about Israel
Many of Omar and Ocasio-Cortez’s positions are similar, if not identical.

According to 538, Ocasio-Cortez votes with Trump 10% of the time while Omar votes with Trump 0% of the time. For context, the most progressive members of Congress like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash,), all vote with Trump less than 13% of the time.

One of the few key differences between Ocasio-Cortez and Omar has been Israel and Palestine. While it isn’t fair to call AOC “pro-Israel,” she has been reticent to vocally support Palestinian liberation and the BDS movement (which calls for boycott, divestment, and sanctions of businesses working with Israeli companies) like Omar.

Ocasio-Cortez’s weak position on Israel has led to conflict with Democratic Socialists of America, a group, which like Omar, is firmly pro-Palestinian liberation. It’s fair to say that Omar feels closer to the issue because she is Muslim, and Palestine is a majority-Muslim country.

It has been Omar’s comments on Israel that have primarily drawn the ire of the right and moderates within the Democratic party. In February, she pointed out that Republicans receive lots of lobbyist money from Israeli interests, tweeting, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby” in response to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) criticizing Omar’s views on Israel. This led to bad faith accusations that Omar is anti-Semitic. Subsequently, when Omar has criticized Israel’s influence over American politics, she has been erroneously accused of anti-Semitism.

This feels like a logical place to invite debate, but because allegiance to Israel is the de facto position of the United States and lawmakers, it seems that many in Congress (and the pundit class) feel there is no disputing that her comments are anti-Semitic. They feel this way despite most of the left at home and abroad (including the Jewish left) siding with Omar.

Ocasio-Cortez’s views on Israel and Palestine are more nuanced; she stops short of Omar and Tlaib (who is also Muslim and vocally pro-Palestine). AOC has made statements that cutting aid to Israel “should be on the table.” However, when pressed to commit to BDS, she has been known to plead ignorance or hedge her support.

In Congress, there is still largely bipartisan support of Israel, and it may be Omar’s radical position on this issue, as well as her unequivocally anti-war and anti-imperialist views, that make her perhaps too left-wing to be an attractive debate partner.

The problem of the Democratic party
The policy and identity differences between AOC and Omar have led them to be received differently by Democratic leadership. Ocasio-Cortez is treated like a young upstart who will grow into a leadership role while Omar is characterized as a renegade radical to be shunned.

Yes, Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other moderate Democrats have been critical of Ocasio-Cortez on occasion, but they haven’t gone as far as trying to pass a resolution to silence her. In March, the Democrat-led House overwhelmingly passed a resolution that essentially framed Israel vs. Palestine as “both sides” issue, condemning both “anti-Semitism and “anti-Muslim bigotry.”

If Omar isn’t receiving support for her own party, it makes sense that Republicans wouldn’t both to give her ideas credence and invite debate. So long as her own party treats her poorly, her opponents have no strategic reason to treat her like a peer and to treat her ideas as legitimate.

This targeting of Omar for political theater by her own party came at a time when the freshman congresswomen was being targeted with hundreds of death threats.

There is a clear difference in the way that Pelosi and other moderates speak of Omar and how they talk about AOC. At AIPAC, both Pelosi and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) implied that Omar was anti-Semitic. Pelosi also implied whether Omar’s stance on Israel was “legitimate.”

While Pelosi and other centrists are often critical of AOC, they come at her with the tone of someone on their team to be kept in line rather than an ideological enemy.

Democratic leadership can be snide and condescending toward Ocasio-Cortez, sure, but it has the tone of collegial chiding from senior members to an upstart. When they talk about Omar, they act like they are talking about an enemy.

This framing by their own party may lead conservatives to view Ocasio-Cortez as someone to be debated, while they are free to mock and ridicule Omar, as her own party often fails to come to her defense.

How white supremacy works
Conservatives and centrists want to debate Ocasio-Cortez because she is perceived as the most progressive outlier on the Democratic team. Though she is being “othered” by them, it is an othering that deems her acceptable to the white majority. There is a sense that the right debate partner could set her straight or keep her in line.

While this is demeaning and is clearly sexist, ageist, and racist, Omar is being othered in another, more insidious way. As a pro-Palestinian Muslim, she is being told that she is outside the bounds of acceptable discourse. She is someone to be defeated and ostracized, not debated and coerced.

While both of these women are being treated poorly, this provides a clear example of how bigotry and xenophobia work in America. While AOC is an “other,” the forces of white supremacy and hegemony are willing to accept her into their club so long as it allows them to further exclude groups and perspectives that they find more radical or distasteful.

Yes, Ben Shapiro and John Delaney’s requests to debate AOC are gross.

But, they aren’t quite as disrespectful as the way these people treat Ilhan Omar, who they believe isn’t worthy of debate at all.
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In recent months, a downright obscene number of white men have challenged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to a debate.
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Already dropped the article. Anyone saying that only "white males" are criticizing AOC, is not worth listening to.
 
The Democrats don't want Omar to open her mouth because of the stupid shit she'll say and the Republicans don't want to debate her because it's unsportsmanlike to shoot fish in a barrel.
 
Why do these men want to debate AOC and not Omar?
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Because Ilhan Omar isn't popular for anything other than fucking her brother.

AOC is popular, and she's popular because of her dumbass beliefs and what she represents: the soul and spirit of moron socialist millennials that make leftists look awful. That's why Ben Shapiro wants to debate her.

See how easy it was for me to rationalize that? If these journalists can't do that, they can't do shit other than peddle propaganda that blames every first world issue on race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. They're so unbelievably stupid.
 
Diabeetus said:
Because Ilhan Omar isn't popular for anything other than fucking her brother.

AOC is popular, and she's popular because of her dumbass beliefs and what she represents: the soul and spirit of moron socialist millennials that make leftists look awful. That's why Ben Shapiro wants to debate her.

See how easy it was for me to rationalize that? If these journalists can't do that, they can't do shit other than peddle propaganda that blames every first world issue on race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. They're so unbelievably stupid.
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I'd say it's more because AOC gets more media attention than the Somali brother fucker. It's AOC that got branded the "Trump of the left", and the face of the DNC.
 
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