["I do think that this is a signal that being outwardly
antagonistic, including trying to defeat progressive candidates,
trying to demoralize those bases, is not healthy for the prospect of
democratic gains."]
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‘TAKE SOME OWNERSHIP’: AOC HITS BACK AFTER DEFEATED DCCC CHAIR
LASHES OUT  
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Julia Conley
November 11, 2022
Common Dreams
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_ "I do think that this is a signal that being outwardly
antagonistic, including trying to defeat progressive candidates,
trying to demoralize those bases, is not healthy for the prospect of
democratic gains." _

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks in front of the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, D.C. on July 28, 2022., (Photo: Nathan
Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

 

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ ON Thursday evening rebuked outgoing
[[link removed]] Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who
had earlier claimed in an interview with _The New York Times_ that
the progressive congresswoman contributed little to campaign efforts
and suggested her policy priorities—several
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them popular
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Democratic voters—are harming the party.

Ocasio-Cortez has spoken at length to both the _Times _
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Intercept _
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Tuesday's midterm elections about progressive politics and the
Democratic Party, taking aim at what she called a "calcified political
machine" in her home state and blaming decisions by New York State
Democratic Committee chair Jay Jacobs and the "infrastructure" built
by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the party's losses in New York.

Republicans flipped
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U.S. House seats in the state and now represent 10 of New York's 26
congressional districts.

The congresswoman, who easily won her own race with more than 70% of
the vote, noted that the Republican Party poured millions of dollars
into defeating a state ballot initiative which would have protected a
district map that was favorable to Democrats.

"The New York State Democratic Party didn't drop $1 in making sure
that we got this thing passed," Ocasio-Cortez told
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Intercept_ on Wednesday.

Maloney sparked outrage
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the left this year when he announced he would run in New York's 17th
District instead of the 18th, which he has represented since 2013,
ousting progressive Rep. Mondaire Jones.

Speaking to the _Times_ on Thursday, Maloney brushed off the notion
that redistricting hurt the party and suggested suburban voters in the
state, like those in the district he narrowly lost in the Hudson
Valley, are turning against the party due to Republicans' messaging on
crime rates and are rejecting progressive policy proposals.

"You have these suburban voters who are experiencing those messages
coming out of New York City outlets, which were heavily focused on
crime," Maloney told
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"There are other voices who should be heard, especially when suburban
voters have clearly rejected the ideas that [Ocasio-Cortez]'s most
associated with, from defunding the police on down."

The congressman also accused Ocasio-Cortez of offering little help to
her fellow candidates while claiming that funding she did offer wasn't
wanted by other Democrats:

I didn't see her one minute of these midterms helping our House
majority... She had almost nothing to do with what turned out to be an
historic defense of our majority. Didn't pay a dollar of dues. Didn't
do anything for our frontline candidates except give them money when
they didn't want it from her...

She's an important voice in our politics. But when it comes to passing
our agenda through the Congress, or standing our ground on the
political battlefield, she was nowhere to be found.

Ocasio-Cortez took to social media to respond, noting that she
campaigned for Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) in late October and saying
Maloney had reached out to her regarding fundraising for House
candidates.

She added that many members were happy to receive "early financial
support to position themselves early" in the election cycle, and
called on the corporate-backed wing of the party to "take some
ownership" for rejecting more help from progressives.

At _The Intercept_, Ocasio-Cortez expanded on progressive Democrats'
support for policies that are popular with crucial factions of the
party's voter base, and the "moderate" wing's rejection of those
issues, comparing Rep. Tim Ryan—a vocal opponent 
[[link removed]]of
President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan who lost a U.S. Senate
race in Ohio—with Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a
progressive who won the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Pat
Toomey:

I do hope that there is a reflection on being outwardly antagonistic
towards a very enthused progressive base, especially one in which
young people delivered these wins. If you look at the difference
between Tim Ryan and John Fetterman, as races, some of the preliminary
data is suggesting that they had the same turnout in almost every
demographic except young people. And as we know, young people skew way
progressive within the party. And so when you outwardly antagonize,
and outwardly seek to belittle and distance oneself from progressive
values, you demoralize your base.

"It's not to say that everybody has to be holding the same line on
progressive causes dependent on their community," Ocasio-Cortez added
"But it doesn't—I do think that this is a signal that being
outwardly antagonistic, including trying to defeat progressive
candidates, trying to demoralize those bases, is not healthy for the
prospect of democratic gains."

_Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

_Common Dreams is a reader-supported independent news outlet created
in 1997 as a new media model.  Our nonprofit newsroom covers the most
important news stories of the moment. Common Dreams free online
journalism keeps our millions of readers well-informed, inspired, and
engaged._

_We are optimists. We believe real change is possible. But only if
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