Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn’t exactly known for her top-tier math skills. But one would hope that even the New York socialist could realize that a bill passing the Senate 96-0 can’t be blamed on just Republicans.
Apparently not.
Ocasio-Cortez went into a full meltdown on Friday, blasting the $2 trillion coronavirus relief legislation that has passed both chambers of Congress. This itself isn’t the problem, as there are lots for both sides to take issue with in the behemoth package. But Ocasio-Cortez decided to blame what she sees as the bill’s failings on the GOP — even though every single Democratic senator voted for it.
“What did the [Republicans] fight for?” the congresswoman asked indignantly. “One of the largest corporate bailouts with as few strings as possible in American history. Shameful!”
“The greed of that fight is wrong for crumbs for our families, and the option that we have is to either let them suffer with nothing or to allow this greed … to contribute to the largest income inequality gap in our future,” she said. “There should be shame!”
Of course, the debate over the various forms of industry support the package grants to different businesses, and whether it constitutes “corporate welfare,” is certainly one worth having. But what’s not debatable is that the blame or praise, depending on your perspective, for this relief legislation lies squarely at the feet of both Republicans and Democrats. Legislators from both parties all supported it nearly unanimously, and the leadership of both parties had enough votes to have enormous sway in what made it into the final bill.
What’s more, Ocasio-Cortez could have forced a vote on the bill and voted against it. She instead let it sail through after bashing Republicans for show. This is not exactly a principled stand.
Sure, Ocasio-Cortez has every right to play her game of pretend, and she can rail against the coronavirus relief legislation while letting it pass. She’s not completely wrong. But in her attempts to blame Republicans exclusively, the congresswoman is engaging in dishonest, partisan mudslinging at its worst.
*story by The Washington Examiner