Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls out ‘broken mentality’ of politics

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday blasted the “broken mentality” of politics after a fellow Democrat suggested she moved into her House seat too fast and the party should mount a primary election challenge against her.

“That broken mentality, that public office is something you wait in line for, instead of earning through hard organizing, is exactly what voters want to change,” Ocasio-Cortez, 29, said on her Twitter account. “Shows you how disconnected some folks here are.”

She also immediately reached out to her supporters to begin fundraising in case she does have an opponent.

“Let’s be clear about one thing: we’re not afraid of this challenge. Primaries aren’t bad, they’re a democratic opportunity for the people to make their voices heard,” her campaign manager Rebecca Rodriguez said in an email. “So let’s use this moment to send a message to the nation – Alexandria has been fighting hard for our progressive platform, and the people of New York’s 14th district.”

The Twitter posting and campaign email came in response to a report in The Hill that quoted an unnamed Democratic lawmaker saying he reached out to the New York delegation to recruit a local politician from the Bronx or Queens to run against her.

“What I have recommended to the New York delegation is that you find her a primary opponent and make her a one-term congressperson,” the lawmaker told the outlet.

“You’ve got numerous council people and state legislators who’ve been waiting 20 years for that seat.”

The Hill said Democrats already leery of Ocasio-Cortez because of her upset win in last June’s Democratic primary over longtime Rep. Joe Crowley have become unnerved after a report in Politico claimed she threatened to back primary candidates against moderates in her party.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the head of House Democratic caucus, said nobody has approached him about finding a challenger to run against Ocasio-Cortez.

“I don’t think that is something the New York delegation would contemplate,” Jeffries of Brooklyn told The Hill. “The New York delegation sticks together.”

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