Today in The AOC, the young Bronx congresswoman continues to take Washington, DC, the nation and the media by storm. Earlier today, the Washington Post reported that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) proposes a “2% wealth tax” (really a surcharge) on those with incomes above $50 million (3% on incomes $1 billion or more) in an attempt to curb soaring income inequality. Some might call this move by Warren, “the AOC effect.” Sen. Warren recently announced that she has formed a presidential exploratory committee.
And speaking of taking Washington by storm, the news aggregator Empire Report titled one of its listed stories as “Ocasio-Cortez Storms Sundance.” The Hollwood Reporter tagged its article about a documentary featuring AOC, “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Movie: D.C.’s Bomb-Throwing New Star Seizes the Sundance Spotlight. The documentary ‘Knock Down the House’ follows Ocasio-Cortez and other insurgent candidates who were mounting challenges to Democratic incumbents last year. The film debuts on January 26 at the Sundance Film Festival — and AOC will be there on the Red Carpet in Park City, Utah. [On Saturday, she tweeted: “Due to complications from the gov shutdown” that she would miss the @jubileefilms premiere.]
In an op-ed piece titled, “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Leading and Following at the Same Time,” NY Times columnist Thomas B. Edsall writes that the most active wing of the Democratic Party has moved decisively to the left and that AOC is among the beneficiaries of that shift.
Thursday, the NY Post reported that Ocasio-Cortez was the only Dem to vote ‘no’ on bill to reopen the government.
During an appearance on ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ on Monday, she told Colbert,”We can’t properly set up our district offices. We can’t get laptops delivered. We can’t start doing the work that we were elected here to do.”
Yet according to the NY Times, “Of the four [freshmen NY reps.] who took office on Jan. 3, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is the only one who has yet to open a district office. (A fifth freshman, Representative Joseph Morelle, has also opened a local office, but he took office in November after a special election and therefore had more time.)”
In a story about Amazon, Axios notes that the internet retail behemoth has become “a recurring symbol of economic inequality for newly emboldened progressive Democrats, with left-wing stars like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hammering the company over issues like worker treatment and tax incentives.”
According to @LindseyGrahamSC, the President failing to condemn neo-nazis, forcing thousands of federal workers to go to food pantries,& risking all their credit scores is whatever, but not letting the President march down the House Floor until we pay people first is “a new low.” https://t.co/mx9CthfxWD
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 24, 2019
Late last week, AOC was nipping at the heels of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, bringing staid C-Span its highest viewership numbers in its history of covering Congress and voicing support for rappers CardiB and Bodak Yellow in their rants against the government shutdown.
Excited to have made my first remarks on the House floor today! ⬇️ https://t.co/9viKCsWiOM
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 17, 2019
The Post reported that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez applauded Cardi B for her expletive-filled rant against the partial government shutdown, joking that “Bronx girls are gonna reopen the government.”
In a surprise turn, City & State noted that Ocasio-Cortez isn’t the only New Yorker embarking on a promising congressional career. Here’s a rundown of all five new lawmakers– including Reps. Anthony Brindisi, Antonio Delgado, Joseph Morelle and Max Rose – elected to the House.
In CNN’s State of the Cartoonion, Jake Tapper imagines how Democratic 2020 hopefuls may follow Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s lead when it comes to using social media and trends to attract millennials.
NOTE: This article was updated to note that the congresswoman wouldn’t be attending the premiere of “Knock Down the House” at Sundance on Saturday.
Follow Us