Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has dined on her latest reality sandwich courtesy of the cruel, cruel adult world. But this time, the criticism is coming not from the Right but from her own base, which up till now has encouraged her to slumber blissfully in her socialist cocoon.
The source of her newest attack of agitá is the left-leaning Politico, which on Tuesday published an article that claimed Ocasio-Cortez is recruiting anti-incumbent challengers, like herself, to primary future “establishment” office holders. And who, according to the article, does she consider “establishment”? Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who gained some notoriety in 2017 for telling a group of high school-age children that Jim Crow’s “nieces and nephews” are in the White House.
To add insult to injury, the author of the piece — which Ocasio-Cortez claims is untrue — is Laura Barrón-López, a fellow Latina.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
No sooner had the piece run than Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter to read Politico the riot act:
One disappointment about DC is the gossip that masquerades as “reporting.”
This story has:
– Not a SINGLE named or verifiable source
– Only ONE on-the-record comment, which is a denial.My dad had a name for junk articles like this:
“Birdcage lining.”
https://t.co/kIBMM2eiWb— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 18, 2018
Her dad called junk articles “birdcage lining”? Yeah, him and 99% of the English-speaking world.
But back to the main theme, which is that Ocasio-Cortez just played the fake news card. Where is the Washington Post to admonish the congresswoman that she is putting journalists’ lives at risk? Where is New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger to inform her that her anti-press rhetoric is “not just divisive but dangerous”?
Even worse, Ocasio-Cortez has failed to respond to a statement issued by Politico that reads:
Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez does not specify in her tweet what she believes is incorrect with the piece, nor has she or anyone from her staff reached out to our team for a correction. We stand by our reporting.
This makes her accusations not only dangerous but baseless.
So far, the media and Democrats in power have treated Ocasio-Cortez with kid gloves, attempting to protect her from the slings and arrows of her detractors. But if she is going to spar with the press, is it not time for the gloves to come off?
