AOC Hits Back At Dem Campaign Chief Who Accused Her of Not Helping Party: ‘Take Some Ownership’
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) hit back at ousted Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) after he criticized her for not doing enough to help Democrats keep the House.
Ocasio-Cortez said Maloney and other party leaders should hold themselves accountable after the party appears primed to be in the minority in the lower chamber — despite a much better-than-expected showing.
Which party will control the House remains to be seen, although it is widely expected Republicans will hold a slim majority when all the votes are finally tallied.
One race that did not take long to call was Maloney’s. The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee narrowly lost his reelection bid to Republican Mike Lawler.
In an interview with the New York Times, Maloney said of Ocasio-Cortez, “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.” Maloney also said:
The last time I ran into A.O.C., we were beating her endorsed candidate two to one in a primary, and I didn’t see her one minute of these midterms helping our House majority. So, I’m not sure what kind of advice she has, but I’m sure she’ll be generous with it.
But let’s be clear, 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.
Ocasio-Cortez posted a lengthy Twitter thread in response to Maloney’s comments.
“Let’s make something crystal clear: – SPM courted me for donations to swing races & it was the 1st thing I did this term,” she wrote on Twitter. “Over a quarter million for Dems this cycle, DCCC facilitated some & now he denies it. – If he isn’t aware of my visit to CA & efforts we put in, that’s on him.” She continued:
Because of Dem party abandonment in key areas, statewide victories depended HEAVILY on driving up numbers in progressive areas like mine & [the New York Working Families Party]. To our knowledge, I was the only NYC House Dem in a safe seat to run a full-throated heavy field operation for [get out the vote].
What I love about his claim that we gave frontline members “donations they didn’t want”: a) the VAST majority were good w/ early financial support to position themselves early b) for the few who didn’t want our help + got it, where do you think we got the $ info to give? DCCC!
Ocasio-Cortez said Maloney did not see her campaigning because he and other Democratic House leaders did not “value” her and other progressive members of the party.
“So for them to blame us for respecting their approach in their districts is laughable,” she concluded. “Take some ownership.”
