Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known by her initials AOC , is an American Democratic socialist politician and activist who is currently a United States Representative from New York's 14th Congressional district. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of AmericaAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a Democratic Socialists of America member. Here’s what that means. by Jennie Neufeld (June 27th, 2018) Vox. and Candidates: Justice Democrats Justice Democrats (archived from July 22, 2018). In addition, her campaign was endorsed by political action committees Brand New Congress and MoveOn, and by the Black Lives Matter movement.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fights the Power by Raina Lipsitz (June 22nd, 2018) The Nation. It should come as no surprise then that she is a right-winger's boogeyman (or boogeylady in this case).
==Background==
Born in the Bronx, New York City, Ocasio-Cortez graduated cum laude from Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in economics and international relations.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez named 2017 NHI Person of the Year (December 31st, 2018) NHI Magazine.Boston University Commencement 2011 (archived from July 1, 2014). Joe Crowley was her chief rival for the Democratic primary before being defeated in June 2018 and endorsing Ocasio-Cortez's run for the House of Representatives.Ocasio-Cortez rips Crowley for not giving up Working Families Party line by Kenneth Lovett (July 12th, 2018) NY Daily News. Following the results of the 2018 midterm elections, which saw a record-breaking number of female candidates, she became the youngest woman ever elected to the House.US mid-terms latest: Five key things we learned by Anthony Zurcher & Roland Hughes (November 7, 2018) BBC News. She was an aide for Ted Kennedy towards the end of his lifeMeet the young progressive Latina trying to oust one of the most powerful Democrats in the House by A.P. Joyce (February 28th, 2018) Mic. and worked for Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in the 2016 election.
Ocasio-Cortez identifies as Catholic.Religious affiliations of the 116th Congress Pew Research Center.
==Political positions==
Ocasio-Cortez is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist,Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the DSA by Jennie Neufeld (Jun 27, 2018, 1:10pm EDT) Vox. but later interviews show that what she means is social democracy,AOC explains what democratic socialism means to her by Nisha Stickles & Barbara Corbellini Duarte (Mar 4, 2019, 1:16 PM) Business Insider. though her rhetoric is further to the left of historical social democrats.Ocasio-Cortez explains democratic socialism by Annalisa Merelli (Published March 9, 2019; Last updated on March 11, 2019) Quartz.
Economics and environmental policy are Ocasio-Cortez's political bread and butter, and are tightly interconnected. She has described climate change as "the single biggest national security threat for the United States"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Platform 'Ocasio 2018 (archived from April 7, 2019). and stated that "The world is going to end in 12 years if we don't address climate change".'The world is going to end in 12 years if we don't address climate change,' Ocasio-Cortez says by William Cummings (January 22, 2019). She proposed an environmental economic stimulus program known as the "Green New Deal" to combat climate change.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leads push for Green New Deal as the way forward on climate change by Alex Daugherty (January 8th, 2019) Boston Herald. The program has been endorsed and praised by numerous members of Congress.Cosponsors - H.Res.109 - Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal. 116th Congress (2019-2020), Library of Congress.
Her economic policies include universal healthcare,‘Medicare for All’ Gains Favor With Democrats Looking Ahead to 2020 by Robert Pear (December 29th, 2018) The New York Times. postal bankingPostal banking refers to allowing depositors without access to banks to save their money using post offices.Personally, I’m looking forward to digging into the student loan crisis, examining for-profit prisons/ICE detention, and exploring the development of public & postal banking. To start. by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (7:35 PM - 15 Jan 2019) Twitter (archived from August 12, 2018). (the United States previously had a Postal Savings System from 1911Creation of the Postal Savings System under the Act of June 25, 1910 Sixty-First Congress, SESS. II. Cm. 385, 386. 1910. to 1966Discontinuance of Postal Savings System. 92 Public Law 89-377-Mar. 28, 1966.), reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act, a Federal jobs guarantee,Why Democrats Should Embrace a Federal Jobs Guarantee by Sean McElwee et al. (March 20th, 2018) The Nation. basic income, tuition-free public college and trade school,Progressive Populism Can Save Us From Trump by Dan Kaufman (July 7th, 2018) The New York Times. and wants to cancel all of student debt.What would happen if we pursued Student Loan Cancellation on a Federal level? What would that look like? How do we do it? Let's talk about it. Join me tomorrow for a Digital Town Hall with rockstar economist @StephanieKelton to discuss our economic future: https://www.facebook.com/events/561865677530133/ by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (10:35 PM · May 3, 2018) Twitter (archived from 18 Jan 2022 21:18:19 UTC).
She favors reducing the military budget, and wants only Congress to have the power to declare war. Additionally, she advocates the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Ocasio-Cortez wants to abolish ICE (June 27, 2018) CNN. She argues that the creation of ICE is an example of unchecked executive powers at the expense of civil rights and points to the family-separation policy of Donald Trump. She wants to provide immigrants with a clear path towards citizenship.
She has clarified that she does not support stopping all deportations.#AbolishICE means not having an agency that incarcerates children and sexually assaults women with impunity. It does not mean abolish deportation. Also, I have no problem saying white supremacy has no place in this country. It’s the GOP that struggles to say that. by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (8:31 AM · Aug 21, 2018) Twitter (archived from July 8, 2020). This was after a bit of controversy over the deportation of a former Nazi living in New York being deported back to Germany.US deports former Nazi guard living in New York to Germany by Michael R. Sisak et al. (21 August 2018) Christian Science Monitor. On LGBT issues, Ocasio-Cortez endorses the Equality Act,A bill that would amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Every Child Deserves a Family Act,A bill that would prohibit Federally assisted adoption or foster care placement entities from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity. and the Student Non-Discrimination Act.A bill aiming to protect LGBT+ students from bullying and discrimination in schools.
Ocasio-Cortez supports the release of nonviolent drug offenders, banning private prisons, the abolition of cash bail, and automatic, independent investigations for killings of individuals by law enforcement. Furthermore, she has "advocated for the decriminalization" of prostitution,Lucy Diavolo, AOC Said “Sex Work Is Work” in Response to New York Post Hit Piece on a Paramedic With an OnlyFans. teenvogue.com, 16 December 2020. stating that "[s]ex work is work".Sex work is work. The federal gov has done almost nothing to help people in months. We must pass stimulus checks, UI, small biz relief, hospital funding, etc. Keep the focus of shame there, not on marginalizing people surviving a pandemic without help. by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (6:24 PM - 15 Dec 2020) Twitter (archived from 22 Oct 2021 15:50:49 UTC). Finally, she also supports the federal legalization of marijuana and an end to the War on Drugs.
===Ocasio-nally misleading claims===
An eager political newcomer, AOC has the unfortunate tendency to speak without actually knowing the facts. In her words, she believes it's more important to be "morally correct" than "factually right",Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s very slippery slope on facts by Chris Cillizza (January 10, 2019) CNN.In her defense, she seems to claim that this was in the context of people being obsessively pedantic over trivial matters rather than believing that morals could ever be independent of reality. She has made some blunders including the misleading claim that The Pentagon was responsible for "massive accounting fraud" worth $21 trillion from 1998 to 2015, and that money could be used to fund Medicare for All. In reality, while the Pentagon did fail an audit test, indicating a serious accounting problem that needs to be addressed, its actual combined budget during those years was $9.2 trillion, less than half the alleged fraud. The number $21 trillion came from the adjustments made to the Pentagon's financial records. Money that cannot be traced is not the same thing as money spent or wasted.
===Amazon deal===
One of her criticisms from New Yorkers was the handling of Amazon "HQ2" deal,Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Headquarters by J. David Goodman (14 February 2019) The New York Times. and is not unfairly blamed for it being cancelled.Amazon deal reveals AOC’s lack of economic smarts by Mark A. Thiessen (February 23, 2019 at 1:25 a.m.) The Washington Post via Boston Herald. She was hardly the only politician to criticize the deal, but she was the one with the most media attention.
In short, Amazon wanted to build a new headquarters, but also wanted the various cities/states to try to outbid each other in terms of tax breaks. If corporate tax avoidance sounds bad, that's because you are not a billionaire asshole. In essence, tax breaks are a variant of the prisoner's dilemma. Whether or not the other cities and states offer tax breaks to convince companies to move in or stay, your city or state almost always benefits from offering them too, even if the overall best situation is when no one offers them at all. The obvious way to solve this problem is for all the states/cities to agree not to give them when they aren't actually needed, i.e., have the Federal government step in to prevent them. Which, as a member of Congress, it would be AOC's job to do… except she didn't. Furthermore, in the absence of a "no tax breaks allowed deal", it's actually the job of the NY representatives such as AOC to try to get those special deals in NY's favor (i.e., pork) and the job of other representatives to squash the deal or bribe New Yorkers with something else in exchange; politics is ugly like that.
The deal was estimated to bring in close to $30,000,000,000 in tax revenue over ten years, and since New York City has many advantages and amenities that other cities simply do not, NYC "only" had to offer about 10% of that in the form of tax breaks to Amazon. That is, NYC would collect $27B instead of $30B in tax revenue from Amazon, and NYC would still get the additional benefits of the extra jobs and consumer spending. AOC saw this and somehow claimed that this meant that NY was actually paying Amazon $3 billion. Furthermore, NYC has pretty much the worst levels of income inequality in the whole country as there are relatively few middle-class jobs; this deal was expected to bring in 25-40 thousand middle and upper-middle class jobs to NYC, which would have reduced the number of New Yorkers needing assistance as well. The location also had the advantage of being Queens instead of Manhattan, which would've spread the wealth around the city a bit more evenly instead of just pumping more money into the richest part of Manhattan. Even mayor Bill de Blasio, one of the more left-wing of New York's mayors, had it in for AOC over this.De Blasio says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn’t understand Amazon deal by Bruce Golding (17 February 2019) The New York Post.
In the end, the deal fell through, and many of her constituents were less than thrilled,AOC’s own constituents slam her over busted Amazon deal by Carl Campanile (10 April 2019) The New York Post. though not enough to nominate someone else in her place.
===Green New Deal and healthcare===
Her nonbinding Green New Deal resolution was undermined by a FAQ sheet posted on her website containing some of the more extreme ideas that were not included in the actual resolution itself, such as halting the construction of new nuclear power plants. (Although to be fair, these were later retracted.) Her chief of staff said that it was released prematurely, and that people should pay attention to the "big picture" instead of "little typos". In any case, this has created confusion for the tens of Democrats who voiced their support for the Green New Deal, including declared presidential candidates for the 2020 election, such as Elizabeth Warren, and her former boss Bernie Sanders.Ocasio-Cortez retracts erroneous information about Green New Deal backed by 2020 Democratic candidates. by Jeff Stein & David Weigel (February 11, 2019) The Washington Post.
In February 2019, Ocasio-Cortez asserted in an MSNBC interview that "70% of Americans believe in improved and expanded Medicare for All". This is regarded as a half-truth by PolitiFact, noting that she got this figure from a Reuters poll.Inside the progressive movement roiling the Democratic Party by Letitia Stein et al.(Aug. 23, 2018, 1 p.m. GMT) Reuters.POcasio-Cortez says there is 70% support for Medicare for All by Jon Greenberg (February 6, 2019) Politifact.
A poll conducted by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation (a foundation started by the healthcare consortium Kaiser Permanente) in January 2019 found that while yes, 71% of Americans do in fact agree that healthcare should be a human right, support for Medicare for All drops to 37% if it means higher taxes, and even further down to 26% if it leads to longer wait times. One sees that political discourse on this proposal remains in its infancy; public opinion is not yet stable. Estimates for the cost of the plan varies from $25 trillion to $35 trillion over a ten year period, according to various independent studies.Poll: Support for 'Medicare-for-all' fluctuates with details by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar (January 23, 2019) Associated Press. A study by a libertarian think tank suggested that Medicare for All could cost $32.6 trillion over ten years.The Misleading Claim That $21 Trillion in Misspent Pentagon Funds Could Pay for ‘Medicare for All’ by Linda Qiu (December 3, 2018) The New York Times.The Costs of a National Single-Payer Healthcare System by Charles Blahous et al. (July 30, 2018) Mercatus Center, George Mason University. By 2019, Medicare for All has become a major political issue for Democrats in Congress, as well as in state and local governments. Many tried to control costs and expand coverage, including for illegal immigrants.Democrat-led cities and states move toward universal health care on their own terms by Sarah Varney (February 13, 2019) PBS NewsHour.
===Economics===
In a 2018 interview on PBS, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that, "Unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs. Unemployment is low because people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week and can barely feed their family."Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (07/13/2018) Firing Line, PBS (at about 5:50m). This statement about US unemployment is misleading on several counts. First, obviously, when the unemployment rate is computed, a person is counted as employed if they have at least one job. They do not get counted multiple times if they have more jobs. So multiple job holding and long hours do not affect the unemployment rate. Second, people who might be working 70 or 80 hours a week amount to a tiny percentage — 310,000 people at most in a pool of employed Americans totaling more than 150 million. Also, on average, Americans are not working more today than they have been in the recent past, they're working around 40 and a half hours a week.A brief history of the 8-hour workday, which changed how Americans work by Marguerite Ward (3 May 2017) CNBC. According to the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Statistics, only 4.9% of people in the workforce had multiple jobs in 2017.Worker Stats for Multiple Jobs in 2017 (July 19, 2018) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure was never been higher than 6.5% over the previous 24 years.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrong on several counts about unemployment by Louis Jacobson (July 18, 2018) Politifact.
Ocasio-Cortez wants a 70% marginal income tax on people whose annual earnings exceed $10 million, arguing that her tax scheme is hardly unprecedented. Such a high top rate has sparked a debate even within her own party, where people tend to be open to the idea of raising taxes on the wealthy. Suggested alternatives include eliminating past tax cuts for the rich and taxing foreign revenues of multinational corporations.Ocasio-Cortez sparks debate with talk of 70 percent marginal rate by Naomi Jagoda & Juliegrace Brufke (January 12, 2019) The Hill. However, experts warned that this is a most inappropriate time for letting the deficit grow, given a recent massive tax cut.Ocasio-Cortez boosts progressive theory that deficits aren’t so scary by Victoria Guida (February 6, 2019) Politico. In 2019, the U.S. national debt topped $22 trillion thanks to a mismatch between government spending and revenue.National debt tops $22 trillion for the first time as experts warn of ripple effects by Michael Collins (February 12, 2019) USA Today. While public support for higher taxes has fallen from 77% in 1992 down to 62% in 2018, according to a Gallup poll, there is rising support for tax hikes on the wealthy among liberal voters, with Democrats being twice as likely to support higher taxes on the wealthy. In contrast, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is favored by only 8% of Democrats but about three-quarters of Republicans and one-third of independents. Meanwhile, an NPR/PBS/Marist poll showed that although only 11% of voters in the 2018 midterm elections considered tax cuts to be an important issue, 60% wanted to reverse the tax cuts in order to fund Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.Why 2020 Democratic candidates are pushing more progressive tax proposals by Gretchen Frazee (February 19, 2019) PBS NewsHour.
While Ocasio-Cortez correctly pointed out that income inequality is a serious problem facing the United States today, she is often careless about the accuracy of her specific statements, which undermines her message. For example, she said that the "vast majority" of Americans do not make a living wage. But according to an expert in economic geography and regional planning consulted by The Washington Post, that actual number is below 40%, which is still large, but does not justify the phrase "vast majority". This is also found in 2016 wage statistics hosted by the Social Security Administration.Wage Statistics for 2016 Social Security Administration. However, 27.3 million Americans work part-time and 19.2 million are between the ages of 16 and 24,Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey Bureau of Labor Statistics. which may help to explain why the number of workers not earning a living wage is so high.
She was, however, correct when she claimed that minimum wage workers may have to work for more than 100 hours a week to support their children.The same expert calculated that a single parent with two children earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has to work a staggering 135 hours a week.Ocasio-Cortez's misfired facts on living wage and minimum wage by Glenn Kessler (January 24, 2019) The Washington Post. A 2023 study found that American laborers work more hours on average than workers from "Australia, the U.K., Sweden, Belgium, France and Germany.""Americans Work Hundreds of Hours More a Year Than Europeans: Report" - from Money.com. Written by Peter Grieve and edited by Brad Tuttle. Published on January 6th, 2023. 
The US Census found that in 2021 low-income renters spent more of their income on rent than in previous years. The Census also found that the income of renters overall was lower than that of homeowners. The Census found, furthermore, that renter households of all income quintiles were more likely to be cost-burdened than in prior years, although the effects were proportionate to income quintile.
In a survey conducted in 2023, it was found that 39% of Americans skipped meals to pay their rent, and 61% of Americans reported finances as a stressor in their lives. This percentage is higher than those who've cited both physical and mental health as the chief stressors in their lives. As of 2022, over half of bankruptcies in the United States are caused by medical debt.
Conversely, the prices of goods have since decreased, and as of 2024 inflation is expected to "fade."
===Energy===
Her plan is to have United States run on 100% renewable energy within ten years of the passage of her nonbinding Green New Deal. In fact, she wants the U.S. to be a world leader in the field of renewable energy, even though fossil fuels amounted to 80% of the U.S. energy market in 2018.Energy secretary: US aims to making fossil fuels cleaner by Brady McCombs (May 30, 2019) Associated Press. Furthermore, she wants massive investments in emissions-free vehicle manufacturing and infrastructure.
While she does not explicitly rule out nuclear powerEspecially Generation IV reactors. and carbon-capturing technology,7 questions about the Green New Deal by Louis Jacobson (February 12, 2019) PolitiFact. she is incredibly inconsistent with the former. In the FAQ about the Green New Deal, it wrote, "A Green New Deal is a massive investment in renewable energy production and would not include creating new nuclear plants."Green New Deal FAQ (February 7, 2019) via NPR. Nuclear power is a zero-carbon-emission energy source. Moreover, it says "the plan is to transition off of all nuclear and all fossil fuels as soon as possible." However, the resolution states that the plan is to meet "100 percent of the power demand in the United States through, clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources".Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal. by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (7 February 2019) United States Congress (archived from February 7, 2019).
A point of confusion was over carbon emissions. Ocasio-Cortez wants the United States to achieve net-zero emissions, not zero emissions, which would be technologically impossible, given the necessary changes to American infrastructure and manufacturing. She makes this clear in the FAQ, saying, "We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero, in 10 years because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast".
===Transportation===
Ocasio-Cortez wants to improve the resiliency of U.S. infrastructure, to maximize the energy, and water efficiency of buildings, and to upgrade to energy-efficient "smart grids". She supports more investments in public transit, and high-speed rail. She seeks to stimulate the growth of green manufacturing in the United States, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector, and to provide "universal access to clean water".
At one point, her FAQ sheet called for the construction of "high-speed rail at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary." This is not in the final draft of the Green New Deal resolution. High-speed rail is only about as time-efficient as air travel for distances of around 400 miles (640 km) or less.8 Benefits of High-speed Trains - Number 4 by Derek Markham (August 29, 2012) How Stuff Works. Therefore, it makes sense to build a high-speed railway connecting New York City and Boston, which are 215 miles (344 km) apart,Such a line already exists and is part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. but not New York City and Los Angeles, separated by a distance of 2790 miles (4464 km). High-speed rail is expensive, but could be feasible depending on the region. For example, the annual ridership of Amtrak's Chicago-St. Louis corridor, within the last decade or so has been well over half a million and its average travel time was five and a half hours in 2017. A study conducted by the University of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Transportation estimated that if a high-speed rail service of 220 mph (352 km/h) was provided, ridership would increase to somewhere between eight and fifteen million while travel time could drop to just about two hours.High-speed can succeed: Study says bullet trains in Illinois costly but feasible by Paul Merrion (October 2, 2013) Crain's Chicago Business.
==Congressional career==
Before she was sworn in the 116th Congress, Ocasio-Cortez participated in an orientation for new members in November 2018 where she exposed the influence of lobbyists on Capitol Hill.Ocasio-Cortez and House freshmen protest orientation by Eliza Relman (Dec 6, 2018, 1:06 PM) Business Insider. She went on Twitter to expose the specific lobbyists leading the orientation: "Lobbyists are here. Goldman Sachs is here. Where's labor? Activists? Frontline community leaders?"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Blasts 'Bipartisan' Congressional Orientation: 'Lobbyists are here…Where's Labor?' by Katherine Hignett (2/7/18 at 7:02 AM EST) Newsweek.
In fact, AOC has the unique trait of having a massive media presence for someone who's not a celebrity and was virtually unknown before winning her primary. In November 2018, two months before she was sworn in, she had 1.4 million Twitter followersAOC twitter followers November by Alexi McCammond (Nov 28, 2018) Axios. and by July 2019 that number grew to almost 4.8 millionAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) Twitter Statistics Social Bakers (archived from July 13, 2019). She has generated as much social media attention as the Democratic presidential candidates for 2020,[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not the ‘second most talked-about politician in America’] by Philip Bump (March 21, 2019) The Washington Post. though some of this media attention is due to alt-right trolls and Donald Trump trying to turn her into the "face" of the Democratic Party, thinking the ideas she represents would harm the Democrats.Stats show how AOC dominating social media attention by David Bauder (July 17, 2019) Associated Press.
Ocasio-Cortez wants to use her newfound fame and power to realize a vision for an America that is diametrically opposed to that of then-President Trump.Ocasio-Cortez To Unveil Ambitious Plan To Combat Climate Change by Steve Inskeep (February 7, 2019) NPR. Shortly after being elected to Congress, she proposed the highly ambitious, but nonbinding resolution, the Green New Deal, whose name came from the New Deal, the package of socioeconomic programs from President Franklin D. Roosevelt aimed at combating the Great Depression.Five things to know about Ocasio-Cortez’s 'Green New Deal' by Timothy Cama (11/24/18 10:07 AM EST) The Hill. Experts such as Ernest Moniz, a nuclear physicist who worked under the Obama administration, and Ken Caldeira, an atmospheric researcher at the Carnegie Institution for Science, have expressed doubts about the feasibility of this proposal, given that she wants the goals met within ten years.
In an act that Democrats in Congress called a stunt,Democrats shun GOP-forced vote on Green New Deal by Joe Battenfeld (Published: March 26, 2019 at 8:22 p.m. | Updated: August 19, 2019 at 2:55 p.m.) Boston Herald. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell leader stated that he wanted the Senate to vote on the Green New Deal should it reach the Senate to put Democrats on record for supporting it. Unlike the many bills that McConnell has stifled, he probably thinks that there is no political loss in allowing a vote on it, since it wasn't going to pass a Republican-controlled Senate, it would have put Democratic Senators on record for supporting it (which could have been useful for Republican election campaigning), and even if it did pass, it would have had no effect because it's nonbinding.McConnell Plans To Bring Green New Deal To Senate Vote by Danielle Kurtzleben (February 12, 20195:43 PM ET) NPR.
Her fame continued well after she was sworn in; in her first speech in the House, Ocasio-Cortez slammed the Trump administration over the partial government shutdown. In spite of the speech being barely four minutes long, the C-SPAN tweet containing her speech garnered a record setting 1.16 million views.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's First House Speech Broke a C-SPAN Record. Here's What She Said by Mahita Gajanan (January 18, 2019) TIME. In February, a political video posted on Twitter garnered 37.5 million viewsAOC's remarks about dark money goes viral by Sam Wolfson (14 Feb 2019 07.00 EST) The Guardian. in which AOC exposes the influence of dark money in the government.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivers devastating analysis about dark money's influence by Tim Wyatt (08 February 2019 11:57) The Independent.
Other actions she has taken include sharply questioning Trump's then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen before the Oversight Commission10 big moments from Michael Cohen's hearing by James Pindell (February 27, 2019, 5:04 p.m.) The Boston Globe. and tearing Mark Zuckerberg apart for allowing fake news to proliferate in Facebook, for which she received praise."So you won't take down fake news?": AOC Blasts Mark Zuckerberg in Testy House Hearing by Alison Durkee (October 23, 2019) Vanity Fair.Shields and Brooks on Cohen testimony, North Korean summit (Mar 1, 2019 6:35 PM EST) PBS News Hour.
In spite of her allegedly staunch environmental stance, she voted alongside the rest of the Democratic House caucus for a bill that allocated $580 million in federal funding over two years to public and private energy development in Europe and Eurasia, including natural gas and fracking. The bill was pushed as a policy to counter Russia's energy dominance.House Democrats voted for a natural gas future and nobody noticed by Walker Bragman (April 4, 2019; 3:05pm) Paste.
===Pelosi insider trading===
AOC, along with Elizabeth Warren, got into a fight with Nancy Pelosi over application of the "Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge" or "STOCK" Act. Pelosi's husband has made a number of suspiciously prescient stock and derivatives trades, increasing their net worth well into the 8 figure range.AOC pushed back on Nancy Pelosi's stance against banning congressional stock-trading: 'We write major policy and have access to sensitive information' by Bryan Metzger (Dec 18, 2021, 9:55 AM) Business Insider. These trades have attracted a bit of attention and accusations of political corruption. Even in the event that Nancy Pelosi isn't sharing inside information with her husband nor is he sharing information about their finances with her and thus potentially influencing her decisions within the House, the mere appearance of such a conflict of interest inevitably erodes public confidence in Congress's ability to act in the public's best interest.
==Wingnut obsession and conspiracy mongering==
Being an educated, left-wing, Hispanic, and attractive young woman makes AOC an obvious target for wingnuts. Conservative men have an extremely unhealthy obsession with her,'AOC TMZ': why Republicans obsess over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by David Smith (31 Mar 2019 01.00 EDT) The Guardian. and she's a big target of hoax claims and false accusations.No, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez probably didn't say that by Ciara O'Rourke (27 March 2019) Politifact.
Some of the notable nuttery includes:
*She's an actress paid to pretend to be a Congresswoman.Dan Evon, Is U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez an Actress Playing a Congresswoman? Snopes, 15 March 2019. This one comes from a misunderstanding of what a political action committee is.
*A manufactroversy over Trump's violent rhetoricOcasio-Cortez Promotes Unsubstantiated Conspiracy Theory About Trump by Ryan Saavedra (22 July 2019) Daily Wire.
*Another manufactorversy over Ocasio-Cortez (correctly) calling the Democratic Party a "center-conservative" party with a progressive wingOcasio-Cortez Calls The Democratic Party ‘Center-Conservative’ by Chrissy Clark (20 January 2020) The Federalist.
*During one of her town hall meetings, a woman stood up and started yelling that to deal with climate change we should start eating babies.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's town hall was interrupted by a stunt planned by a pro-Trump fringe group by Allyson Chiu (4 October 2019) The Washington Post.
*Being accused of fake crying at an immigrant camp,Does an Image Show Ocasio-Cortez Fake-Crying at a Migrant Camp? by Bethania Palma (27 June 2019) Snopes. suspiciously reminiscent of when President Obama was accused of fake crying about gun violenceThe Daily Show rips Fox News for accusing Obama of fake-crying about gun violence by German Lopez (7 January 2016) Vox.Obama: We Are Here to Prevent the Next Mass Shooting by Corky Siemaszko (5 January 2016) NBC News.
*Calling for a ban on 9/11 imagesDid AOC Say the Public Shouldn’t See 9/11 Photos Because They’re ‘Triggering’? by Bethania Palma (13 September 2019) Snopes.
*A fake tweet about the difficulty of refueling gasoline-powered cars during hurricanesDid Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tweet About Electric Cars in Hurricanes? by David Mikkelson (30 August 2019) Snopes.
*Memes containing out-of-context or even fabricated quotesIs This a Transcript from a Radio Interview with U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez? by David Mikkelson (19 July 2019) Snopes.
*Wanting to ban open carryDid Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Submit a Bill that Bans Open Carrying of Guns? (21 October 2019) Snopes.
*Saying that Christianity should be ignored for being a superstitionDid AOC Say Christianity Should Be Ignored as ‘Superstitious Nonsense’? (6 January 2020) Snopes.
*Claiming that US soldiers are overpaidDid U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Say ‘We Pay Soldiers Too Much’? by Dan Macguill (22 July 2019) Snopes.
*Calling the US garbage when she was actually criticizing both parties for abandoning the working classDid AOC Refer to the U.S. and Its People as ‘Garbage’? by Bethania Palma (22 July 2019) Snopes.
*She was fired from a hot dog firm for incompetenceWas Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Once Fired from Hot Dog on a Stick? by Dan Evon (14 February 2019) Snopes.
==See also==
* Democratic Socialists of America
* Bernie Sanders
* Ilhan Omar
* Modern Monetary Theory
* Renewable energy
* Universal healthcare
==External links==
* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's official House website.
* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter
* Donald Trump's infrastructure priorities. Global Construction Review. January 30, 2017.
* Diamond, Peter, and Emmanuel Saez. "The Case for a Progressive Tax: From Basic Research to Policy Recommendations." The Journal of Economic Perspectives. vol. 25, no. 4, 2011, pp. 165–190.
* Why is GERMANY such an industrial leader? VisualPolitik EN. September 11, 2017. Pay particular attention to German vocational training and German trade unions.
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Anti-war activists
Category:Catholics
Category:Christians
Category:Environmentalism
Category:Feminists
Category:Health care
Category:Left-wing activists
Category:Living people
Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives
Category:New York
Category:Social justice
Category:Socialists
Category:United States politicians