Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is defending her decision to refrain from paying her party’s dues or donating to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) over its purported refusal to back more progressive candidates, contending that she will not fund “that kind of exclusion.”
The freshman lawmaker has come under fire for reportedly operating outside of the DCCC, donating to more progressive House candidates instead of going through the official channel due to the committee’s refusal to back far-left candidates.
According to Fox News, the “Squad” member “failed to pay any of her $250,000 in ‘dues’ to the DCCC.”
“That’s always up to individual members so I guess I don’t think about it one way or another. We’re raising record amounts of money from our members,” DCCC chairwoman Cheri Bustos stated.
Ocasio-Cortez defended her decision on Friday and criticized the DCCC for blacklisting progressive candidates.
“I give quite a bit to fellow Dems – we’ve fundraised over $300,000 for others (more than my ‘dues’), w/ over 50% going to swing seats,” she tweeted.
“DCCC made clear that they will blacklist any org that helps progressive candidates like me,” she continued. “I can choose not to fund that kind of exclusion.”
“Expanding a House majority is critical, which is why I regularly (and happily) fundraise sizeable amounts for fellow members,” she explained in a follow-up tweet.
“I also believe that a Dem majority should be transformative, which is why I give strategically,” she added. “Seems fair, no?”:
I’m also not the only one.
Expanding a House majority is critical, which is why I regularly (and happily) fundraise sizeable amounts for fellow members.
I also believe that a Dem majority should be transformative, which is why I give strategically. Seems fair, no?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 10, 2020
Ocasio-Cortez has maintained a controversial relationship with high-level members of her caucus, going head to head with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during the summer.
“So, again, you got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it,” Pelosi reportedly told her Democrat colleagues in a closed-door caucus meeting over the summer.
“But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just ok,” she continued, referencing something more progressive candidates, like Ocasio-Cortez, had done:
“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
However, the two Democrats made up after holding a meeting in July, with Pelosi concluding that the two do “not have that many differences.”
Ocasio-Cortez suggested in an interview with New York magazine that the Democrat party is too broad, noting that she and former Vice President Joe Biden would “not be in the same party” in another country.
“Democrats can be too big of a tent,” she said.
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