Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the self-described Democratic Socialist who sponsored the “Green New Deal” legislation in the House, reportedly spent more than $29,000 on gas-guzzling rideshare services.
Although the freshman Democrat lawmaker hawked the legislation with a goal of “full transition off fossil fuels and zero greenhouse gases” over ten years, her campaign spent $29,365.70 on ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft between May 2017 and December 2018, according to federal filings obtained by the New York Post.
Her campaign spent the money on ridesharing services even though her campaign headquarters in Elmhurst, Queens, is within close walking distance to the 7 train.
Frequent use of these gas-guzzling vehicles behind the ridesharing services cause an increase in carbon dioxide emissions, a type of greenhouse gas which, according to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), warms the planet by keeping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. These carbon dioxide emissions often come from car tailpipes.
According to federal filings, the Ocasio-Cortez campaign made 1,049 transactions with ridesharing services. Of the listed transactions, 505 of them were just for Uber.
Even though Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign headquarters is one minute away from a subway station, the campaign’s public transportation expenses paled in comparison to the ridesharing expenses.
The campaign listed 52 MetroCard transactions totaling $8,335.41, the Post reported.
But Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal” fact sheet contradicts her campaign’s practice of using rideshare services, with the fact-sheet claiming that fossil fuels and greenhouse gases can only be stopped by overhauling “transportation by massively expanding electric vehicle manufacturing, build charging stations everywhere, build out high-speed rail … create affordable public transit available to all, with goal to replace every combustion-engine vehicle.”
Ocasio-Cortez boasted that she beat incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) in the 2018 Democratic primary by walking more than her opponent, but her use of air travel during the general election proved otherwise.
Some folks are saying I won for “demographic” reasons.
1st of all, that’s false. We won w/voters of all kinds.
2nd, here’s my 1st pair of campaign shoes. I knocked doors until rainwater came through my soles.
Respect the hustle. We won bc we out-worked the competition. Period. pic.twitter.com/RbpQMYTiWY
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 29, 2018
Her campaign spent $25,174.54 in the heat of campaign season on 66 airline transactions, according to federal filings.
After the Post released its report on her campaign expenditures, the self-described Democratic Socialist brushed off the ridesharing expenses and airfare as simply “living in the world.”
I also fly ✈️ & use A/C
Living in the world as it is isn’t an argument against working towards a better future.
The Green New Deal is about putting a LOT of people to work in developing new technologies, building new infrastructure, and getting us to 100% renewable energy. https://t.co/DZGE1WwLbn
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2019
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