The feud between Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nancy Pelosi is not just something for pundits to talk about anymore — it’s very real, and it’s very public.
Ocasio-Cortez recently criticized Pelosi (D-CA) after the House speaker, in her latest snub of the freshman lawmaker, dismissed the influence of AOC and other progressives in “Twitter world” who opposed a $4.6 billion border funding bill signed into law by Trump last week.
“That public ‘whatever’ is called public sentiment,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Saturday. “And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country.”
AOC attacks Pelosi over immigration crisis
Much has been made of a power struggle between moderate Democrats, led by Pelosi, and the progressive faction, led by Ocasio-Cortez. The two have been at odds over Pelosi’s reluctance to impeach President Donald Trump, Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, and other issues ever since Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow progressives rose to power in January.
That feud burst into the open again this weekend after Pelosi, in a New York Times interview Saturday, put down AOC and her fellow progressives, saying they’re “four people” whose influence is limited to social media, referring to Ocasio-Cortez’s “squad,” which includes Omar, Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).
Pelosi criticized the group for voting against the House’s version of a border funding bill, which passed in a party-line vote 230-195 last week, according to the New York Post. “All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world. But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got,” Pelosi said.
AOC opposed the Pelosi-backed bill for not going far enough to block money for immigration enforcement — or, as her gang of four put it, funding the Trump administration’s “human rights abuses.” The House later approved a bipartisan $4.6 billion Senate bill in a 305-102 vote over the objection of more than 90 Democrats, including Ocasio-Cortez, after moderate Democrats led by Pelosi came around to supporting it.
The House’s approval sent the Senate bill to Trump’s desk — much to the chagrin of progressives, Fox News reports.
In a series of tweets Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez blasted Pelosi for not seeking “meaningful change” and downplaying the importance of social media campaigning, “like it’s 2008.”
I find it strange when members act as though social media isn’t important.
They set millions of 💵 on 🔥 to run TV ads so people can see their message.
I haven’t dialed for dollars *once* this year, & have more time to do my actual job. Yet we’d rather campaign like it’s 2008.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 7, 2019
Border dispute opens up party rift
The border dispute last week once again opened up a rift in party ranks between progressives, who insisted on an ideologically pure legislation that would block immigration enforcement funds, and moderates, who accused progressives of holding up money for migrants. Pelosi’s decision to support the Senate border bill split her caucus in two and angered many progressives, including Ocasio-Cortez, who called Pelosi’s move an “abdication.”
“Under no circumstances should the House vote for a McConnell-only bill [with] no negotiation with Democrats. Hell no,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a tweet. “That’s an abdication of power we should refuse to accept. They will keep hurting kids if we do.”
Ocasio-Cortez has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and in recent days she has likened detention centers at the border to “concentration camps,” according to Breitbart. She has been criticized for lamenting the conditions in the centers while simultaneously voting against humanitarian aid for migrants.
The Ocasio-Cortez faction, which has called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has argued that funding Trump immigration officials is akin to perpetuating an oppressive system. The idea seems to be that immigration enforcement itself is bad and should be abolished — thereby making Pelosi’s moderation a compromise with injustice.
Party power struggle
The back-and-forth between Pelosi and AOC was the latest intra-party flare up amid an ongoing power struggle over whether to impeach Trump and embrace the more radical socialist agenda of a new generation of progressives. Pelosi has taken numerous veiled digs at AOC and the far-left, mostly aimed at downplaying their influence.
“That’s like five people,” Pelosi said in April of the party’s progressive wing, according to the Washington Examiner.
In firing back at Pelosi, Ocasio-Cortez received backing from Rep. Ilhan Omar, who suggested that the party’s old guard is just “salty” about an alleged loss of power: “Patetico! You know they’re just salty about WHO is wielding the power to shift ‘public sentiment’ these days, sis. Sorry not sorry.”
But despite claims that a feud is ongoing between the House speaker and her star freshman, AOC has dismissed allegations that she has insulted Pelosi. She tweeted on Monday in response to an op-ed published by The Independent:
“A glass of water could’ve [beat a 20-yr incumbt]”
“The Green Dream or whatever”
“Their public whatever”Those aren’t quotes from me; they‘re from the Speaker. Having respect for ourselves doesn’t mean we lack respect for her.
It means we won’t let everyday people be dismissed. https://t.co/VMRkcd8xlL
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 8, 2019
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