Saikat Chakrabarti abruptly resigned his position as chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to take a job with a radical environmental group dedicated to advancing the Green New Deal.
“We are extraordinarily grateful for his service to advance a bold agenda and improve the lives of the people in NY-14. From his co-founding of Justice Democrats to his work on the Ocasio-Cortez campaign and in the official office, Saikat’s goal has always been to do whatever he can to help the larger progressive movement, and we look forward to continuing working with him to do just that,” Ocasio-Cortez’s communications director Corbin Trent said in a statement to The Intercept.
Leaving amid drama
Chakrabarti, who helped manage Ocasio-Cortez’s successful campaign for Congress, publicly criticized moderate House Democrats in recent weeks, stirring up division between Ocasio-Cortez and other party members, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
In June, Chakrabarti criticized Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) in a tweet for voting for a Republican border bill not backed by progressive Democrats. Chakrabarti called Davids by her first name in the tweet and alleged that “her votes are showing her to enable a racist system.”
“Who is this guy and why is he explicitly singling out a Native American woman of color?” the House Democratic Caucus’ official account tweeted in response. “Her name is Congresswoman Davids, not Sharice. She is a phenomenal new member who flipped a red seat blue.”
In July, Chakrabarti attacked moderate Democrats again, writing in a now-deleted tweet, “Instead of ‘fiscally conservative but socially liberal,’ let’s call the New Democrats and Blue Dog Caucus the ‘New Southern Democrats. They certainly seem hell bent to do to black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did in the 40s.”
His public criticism reportedly led Pelosi to issue a rebuke behind closed doors. “You got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it. But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just OK.”
More upheaval
Trent has also announced that he will leave Ocasio-Cortez’s staff to work on her re-election campaign, the Washington Examiner reported. The timeline for Trent’s departure is not yet set, while Chakrabarti’s last day was Friday.
The moves may signal that Ocasio-Cortez is ready to work with more moderate Democrats like Pelosi — something that hard-line leftists like Chakrabarti aren’t willing to do.
Democrat Shift
But the damage may already have been done to the party even as Chakrabarti departs. Democrats are now increasingly associated with far-left radical policy ideas, between Ocasio-Cortez’s ideas and the policies being championed by the nearly 30 Democrat presidential candidates.
Democrats have now become synonymous with policies like universal single-payer health care, free college, and open borders with free stuff for as many illegal immigrants as want to come here. Others include raising taxes, ostensibly on the rich but in reality on the middle class, which would kill the economy and erase all the gains Trump has made, and discriminating against the religious beliefs of Christians.
These policies would be a disaster for our country economically and in many other ways. No matter who runs Ocasio-Cortez’s operation, everything she stands for will hurt America. And more and more people are beginning to see it.
No comments: