Ocasio-Cortez Staffer Lights Fire to D.C. Swamp: People Here are ‘Careerists’ Trying to ‘Get to K Street’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‘s (D-NY) team is wasting no time trying to drain the swamp.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Dan Riffle — a legislative assistant for the high-profile freshman congresswoman — took a shot at fellow Democratic Capitol Hill staffers, calling them Ivy League “careerists” looking to score lobbying jobs on K Street.
Here’s Riffle’s comment, from the Post‘s report:
“I remember getting to the Hill thinking, ‘The staffers here are going to mostly be activists and idealists.’ Then I got here, and I found out that’s not true at all. These are careerists. These are people who grew up on the Upper West Side and went to Ivy League schools.”
“I don’t mean to paint too broad a brush. But these are people who don’t think big and aren’t here to change the world. They’re here because it’s a good, safe, stable job, and this is a good platform to get to K Street. Which is what the vast majority of Democratic Hill staffers do.”
Riffle’s take drew some outrage on Twitter:
This is an utterly garbage take that in no way describes the vast majority of Hill staffers. https://t.co/xGc3NxB9TE pic.twitter.com/9260E6fjJ3
— Jordan Haverly (@jhaverly) February 14, 2019
Thank God for the Hill staffers whose idealism is expressed not in juvenile “burn it down” tantrums but in reverence for the institutions in which they know they’re lucky to serve https://t.co/KVyqek9aLS
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) February 14, 2019
May not be the best way to build collegiality and support for legislation. https://t.co/7ukgcBAOGw
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) February 14, 2019
I honestly can’t think of a single staffer I know in my delegation who went to the Ivies. They probably exist, but I don’t ever remember encountering them. https://t.co/56TDAIpttY
— Abby Livingston (@TexasTribAbby) February 14, 2019
How to win friends and influence people https://t.co/uN3o7vMrak
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) February 14, 2019
The AOC staffer trashing other Hill staffers as just looking for a “platform to get to K street” was a “pot lobbyist” for a nonprofit, then “as a lawyer for the industry in California, before he moved back into advocacy.” https://t.co/PnjVccwPh6 https://t.co/Oc4B4V4XK2
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) February 14, 2019
Yep – I can’t think of a single staffer who went to an Ivy. But journalists, on the other hand, tbh https://t.co/mTnnlVzpSL
— Patricia Zengerle (@ReutersZengerle) February 14, 2019
What an insult to so many good people who go to work on Capitol Hill to fight for something they believe in. https://t.co/Bvp6jt5RnV
— Lissandra Villa (@LissandraVilla) February 14, 2019
I know a lot of Hill staffers and no Upper West Side natives come to mind. a few Ivy Leaguers, but not a ton.
I do know a ton of people who have spent 20-30 years up here. Many never “cash out” and go to K Street. https://t.co/WPDAh8oy2q
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 14, 2019
Dem staffer on other Dem staffers: “These are people who don’t think big and aren’t here to change the world. They’re here because…this is a good platform to get to K Street.”
I worked for a senator who became president. I think I helped changed the world. https://t.co/IafId6sjuH
— Chris Lu (@ChrisLu44) February 14, 2019
