In June of this year, a young woman named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress in the New York primary. Her primary win over Joseph Crowley sent shock waves through the Democratic caucus for many reasons – she’s a woman, she’s not yet 30 years old, she’s a liberal/progressive socialist, etc. On Election Day, she won the NY 14th congressional seat with approximately 78% of the vote. She will be one of a wave of new Democratic Party blood joining the House of Representatives in January. The problem? Representative-Elect Ocasio-Cortez is like a lot of Millennials – a bit cash-poor, with not a lot of savings.
After becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress on Tuesday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a very real concern: how she was going to pay rent in Washington, D.C. Before beginning her campaign as a democratic socialist running for the House of Representatives, the New York City native — who turned 29 last month — worked as a bartender at a taqueria in N.Y.C. She told the New York Times that while she saved money from that job and planned ahead with her partner, she was still admittedly concerned about finding housing, since during the transition, her salary won’t kick in for three months.
“I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real.”
“We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January,” she added.
When I read these quotes last week, I was charmed by Ocasio-Cortez because she sounded so REAL. Genuinely real, like a girl I would know, a college friend or someone I might know from the gym. She doesn’t have a trust fund, she doesn’t come from a wealthy family, and she doesn’t have a million lobbyist friends who are just dying to give her a discount on a luxury apartment. But other people started dunking on Ocasio-Cortez, because… she was honest about her money struggles.
Like many Millennials, Ocasio-Cortez is absolute FIRE on social media. When Fox News mocked her for, you know, being real about living paycheck to paycheck, she tweeted a lot of great stuff about how idiotic it is to make fun of the millions of Americans who don’t have savings, who live paycheck to paycheck, etc.
Thank you all for the overwhelming outpour of support! As I mentioned, we’ve been preparing and will be fine.
However, it’s been very revealing to see how gleefully Fox News hosts crack jokes about working-class people.
It reveals what they actually think about us. https://t.co/T4J9EIkoJt
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 9, 2018
40% of ALL Americans currently struggle to pay for one basic need like food or rent.
As much as @FoxNews likes to mock the working-class, the real scandal is that at the wealthiest point in our history, we are at one of our most unequal.
Most Americans are barely scraping by.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 9, 2018
And one more example of how she keeps it real:
um alexandria ocasio-cortez is literally making instant pot mac n cheese on instagram live and talking about politics and listening to janelle monae on a friday night. this is the representation i am here for!!!!!!! @ocasio2018 never change pic.twitter.com/A3AcrXbTC3
— eel notyep (@peyIRL) November 10, 2018
Photos courtesy of Getty.
I live in Northern Virginia, right outside of DC. It is EXPENSIVE to live here. You aren’t going to find a place to live in a decent area (unless you just want to rent a room) for under $2000-$2500 per month, and lots of places cost WAY more than that. I feel for her.
Don’t some Congressional reps just put a cot in their office, it’s so expensive to rent? Or other ones do the whole roommate thing with a shared houseful of reps. just like in college? Especially since they aren’t in DC most weekends but are instead heading home to their families and constituencies, it doesn’t make sense to rent a whole apartment.
I hope some of the experienced Dem reps take her under their wings and hint at cheap ways to do the whole DC living thing.
Not to make light of this serious and stressful housing situation, but this housemate comment makes me think of Amazon’s Alpha House…! With ol Dem Whip Wanda Sykes living next door!
That’s right, that has been what a lot of them have done for some time. I have a relative who was a Congressman from the early 80s to the mid 90s and that’s what he did. Showered in the Congressional gym. It’s too expensive to maintain two residences for many of these people. I’m glad she’s making an issue of it, though, because this is the kind of sh!t that keeps non-millionaires from running for office.
Exactly that. Some congressman got a lot of press about that years ago, living out of his office. I love everything she has to say about this.
I remember that too Beanie, it was a couple of young Congressmen from out west I think, and I believe they were GOP. I’d be willing to bet Fox News at the time called them “smart and thrifty”. it’s definitely not a new thing, but because she has the audacity to be a Democrat, a millennial, and a woman of color, they’re going to always attack her for everything.
I’m really happy for Alexandria, and all the people who broke barriers and got elected. I hope they are able to move things in a positive direction and do well for their constituents.
I don’t feel for her, she’ll be fine. I believe this story is being blown out of proportion. She’ll have to share like all new Congressman who aren’t wealthy.
This isn’t about feeling for her. This highlights the fact that housing prices are out of control, even for elected officials. It also highlights that the reason this point hasn’t been discussed before is because most- not all – of people elected into congress are wealthy enough to afford to move and live comfortably with dual households. It’s about the fact that serving your country in Washington DC is predicated on your personal wealth. That’s why so many people aren’t able to run for office or work for campaigns.
yeah, I don’t think she’s asking for sympathy or handouts. just highlighting what life is like for most of us in this country. she’s someone that can relate to the masses.
unlike folks like Mitt Romney who said stuff like “just borrow $10,000 from your parents” if you wanted to start a business right out of college. or how Romney’s wife (I think) who couldn’t remember how many houses they owned.
@iknow
I was responding to someone who said they felt for her. I don’t. As someone who wants to live in the DC area and has a relative in the area I’m aware of the prices and gentrification. I think the focus on Ocasio and not working and middle class black people who can barely afford to live in DC is misplaced.
@Jessica
You can feel for Ocasio AND for working/middle class POC at the same time. It’s not mutually exclusive. Particularly because Ocasio is a working class POC….
She didn’t seem like she was trying to get sympathy for people, she just shared an issue she was having.
You do realize that she herself is working a class ethnic woman, right? The whole point of her highlighting this is emphasizing her campaign message about wage inequality. Her rise is seen as an upset of the system for a reason, and a big part of that is how our government is built around the needs of the wealthy class. It locks people out, particularly the people who need representation the most.
She has her flaws, and she’ll be fine once the salary kicks in, but I totally get why she’s doing this. It’s very on brand.
There’s a lawsuit against DC right now saying that its housing policy intentionally gentrified and lightened the city and surrounding areas. But honestly, look at the stuff the National Low Income Housing Coalition puts out – it’s expensive to live anywhere. The affordable housing crisis that resulted from the financial crisis is hurting the vast majority of Americans. And for Black and Brown Americans, the financial crisis stole so much wealth. It was an act of war.
@Veronica
You can’t seriously start your response in such a condescending tone and then completely miss my point. Ocasio is a media darling and I’m not buying it. Black people, particularly black women have been highlighting rising rent and gentrification in D.C. for about a decade. The black women I’ve heard from aren’t impressed by this little PR stunt. I don’t care that she’s a Hispanic bartender; she’s basically a female Bernie Sanders and that’s not resonating with black people. I feel like her brand is already stale.
I didn’t miss your point. I disagreed with your exclusion of her from the possibility of coming up against ethnic and economic obstacles when that is her background. Most of us are well aware of the class warfare going on in DC. If she goes to DC and votes against the image she’s promoting now, then we can judge her as disengenuous. Until then, I’m willing to give her the chance to be more than a mouthpiece.
@Jessica
As I understand it black people, including black women, are voting for Bernie backed candidates. Because it’s not about Bernie. It’s about the issues those candidates are running on that are aligned with Bernie’s social-democracy platform.
Black voters couldn’t care less about “Bernie-bro” bashing. It’s counter productive and is really more about begrudging Hillaries than about going forward on issues that matter.
@Cranberry
You clearly arent black so all I’m going to say is that Bernie backed candidates actually DON’T do well with black voters unless there’s no other option. Barack Obama and Biden backed candidates do the best. Bernie’s recent comments was pretty much nail in the coffin for him. He’ll never make it out of the Dem primary.
Well said, Veronica.
And sometimes it takes a celebrity to highlight something, for something to be discussed.
I suspect that someone will hear her plight and pay up for her. She is making a very good point though and sharing her struggle highlights many problems.
That would be an ethics violation, so no, no one is going to pay for her apartment.
I interviewed for a job in that area around the age of 30, and I was really uncertain how I’d make it happen if I got the position. Whew, lucky me that didn’t work out. 🙂
I live in DC and have friends all over the MDV. It is a very expensive area, no doubt about it, but you can get nice apartments for under $2000-2500, especially if you’re willing to live in a studio. You can actually get a nice studio in an older building (so no dishwasher) for $1300 or less, at least that’s what my friend pays in Columbia Heights. Other areas, like Silver Spring, MD, has loads of brand new apartment buildings with studios with all the modern amenities in the $1500-1600 range. And in this area, a lot of apartments only require a $300-500 deposit, one month’s rent is the most that I’ve seen, unlike NYC or Boston, where –at least it used to be–first month, last month and a security deposit (which was usually another month’s rent). It’s still difficult, particularly for someone having to maintain two homes/apts. in different cities but you can def. find a place under $2000.
I can’t with her…and I will NEVA with her…however, even POTUS Obama talked about horrifically expensive it was to rent an apartment when he first went to D.C….And whenever I would look at house hunting or apartment renter shows on HGTV that showcased that area…I would GASP at the costs!
She should look into renting a room…that would probably be the best option at this point….
If I may ask, what are your concerns with her? She seems intelligent, well spoken, educated on the issues, relatable and has some solid ideas on how to help this country. I’d be interested in your POV on her policies.
Really? Wow, she seems like zero of those things to me. Not being snarky. She is none of those things to me.
However…I would like to like her. I am hopeful that in a few years she will have matured to the point that I can like her.
And I am with her here.
PS – some of the newer male house members, especially those whose home states are far away from DC, bunk in their offices. Interesting right? Wonder how feasible that would be for a young woman? I honestly don’t know.
@Darla, Paul Ryan is one of those who bunk in his office.
I think she’s got good intentions and some good ideas, and she does have the passion, but I do think there’s a naïveté to her that concerns me when I see her speaking sometimes. The real test over the next couple of years is whether she can mature into a viable statewoman rather than an idea.
She’s my rep in NY-14, so I had a lot of contact with her and her team during primary season. (I’d never met Crowley, who rarely came to the district.) Her policy positions are thorough and she can discuss them in-depth. She’s passionate about issues that matter to me, especially climate change. Several climatologists have noted that Ocasio-Cortez has the only climate platform capable of averting +2C. If you hold her to the same standard as the status quo, she’s better.
That’s nice but she’s still on my list for coming to my district to stump for a man in the primaries against Sharice Davids and then never came back to stump for Davis to show unity just because her middle-aged white male lost. She seemed out of touch by following Bernie around there and I have residual issues with Bernie himself (which is one of the reasons we chose to move t NH instead of VT).
Sorry I don’t believe this. I have seen interviews with her and she had no idea what she was talking about, flubbed, stuttered, and literally had no idea how to pay for anything or even how congress works. You sound like staff to me.
Tania, that was beyond everything, I still can’t get over what she did with Sharice. But even that aside (and that is a huge thing to put aside), sorry, she’s not knowledgeable and if she is she is doing like, academy award level work hiding it in interviews. So these claims here? Not buying.
Welder was a better candidate with stances on issues more relevant to Cortez’s own campaign. This isn’t effing rocket surgery. Also it’s not totally ridiculous for an up and coming candidate to endorse another that has more solid backing from establishment politicians for a sense of legitimacy.
Check out his (still up) website and stances on issues, then compare to Davids. She is important in terms of demographic representation, but she is just as terrible as Cortez in debates and articulating her position.
https://www.brentwelder.com/issues/
@babyjane
Sharice swung her district 8 points left. And she battered welder. So this notion that she’s has nothing to offer bar her identity seems flawed and a bit insulting to her campaign skills that are clearly considerable despite what you may think. A Native American gay woman running in Kansas and winning is a lot more impressive than some white middle aged man. There are progressive middle aged white males running and connecting with the working class and killing it in red states like Sherrod Brown so it’s not as you can’t run as a progressive. Clearly sharice is the more talented politican. I think you are underestimating her a lot. She’s not a media darling like AOC and she arguably had a much tougher district. Credit where credit is due. Also this notion that SP is the only litmus test for progressives needs to go. I support it. But Abortion, criminal justice reform, and the environment is just as important imo. I mean why is it ok for bernie to campaign for a pro life dem but we are supposed to cast aside anyone who doesn’t support SP despite them having other good positions that matter to POC.
@BabyJane, Welder wouldn’t have won the district because he wasn’t inspiring to the people here. Sharice’s story had people like me – who would rather donate money than time – do both. She had my hermit husband knocking on doors and he’s always identified as a libertarian.
Her story was one that resonated with the district because they saw parts of themselves in her. The single mother, the school debt, medical bills. All stories that keeps many of our residents up at night.
If Ocasio-Cortez did her homework rather than trusting Bernie, she would have realized how wrong she was to come out of the gates supporting someone that wasn’t from the district and moved here specifically to try win the district based on Bernie’s platform (that cost Hillary the election because of ride-or-die people) in a district that Hillary won.
LOL. I live in that district. Welder was the better candidate in the primary by far. Davids was the least bad candidate in the general. It’s as simple as that, and that’s the real vibe of the district from on the level. She is not a “talented politician,” she was NOT Yoder and decent at personal connections in small, untelevised meetings (which, fine, is a skill fasho).
Also KS District 3 swings back and forth regularly. HRC won the district (barely) over DJT in 2016. Davids did not independently swing the district 8 points left.
@BabyJane I live in the district as well and I was out there stumping for Sharice and she was inspiring. You have something against Native Americans, women or you just prefer to keep supporting middle aged mediocre white guys? Trying to figure out what your deal is.
If Welder was the better candidate, he would have won. He lost. BY A LOT. To a Native American woman. Or maybe you have something against lesbians? Who knows.
As someone from the district, I can say each time I stumped for her, they knew her name. They knew her background and they were voting for her.
If Welder was as great at parting waters as you seem to think, then he can find somewhere in St. Louis to run. Of course she wasn’t a “talented politician” That’s the entire point. Good Lord you’re hatred is blinding.
Tania. Wow. This is why liberals face backlash- if I don’t agree with your assessment of a person, it’s because I hate something about that person’s demographics…???
Buh Bye.
PS less red bull more water.
@LALA_117 and @Darla why the strong dislike of her? She hasn’t even moved to DC yet! She ran a brilliant campaign, is educated, seems genuine, seems caring. Is it because she is not yet 30 and social media savvy? Or not the typical democrat candidate? What is it? Not being sarcastic and wanting to understand.
I think what she said is fine. I think the issue is that a lot of dem voters dont like her because shes a Bernie disciple. I want to like her as well, but shes a political novice who acts like shes a political genius. She needs a little experience and humility before I listen to anything she says. She won a race in a progressive area of new york and before she even won her race was traveling around the country stumping for bernie candidates. Even in opposition to qualified women and candidates of color. She doesn’t understand that democratic candidates are specific to the place they’re representing. What works in new york doesn’t work everywhere. Picking dem candidates cant be done outside of an area. Trust local dems to know who they want representing them. Isn’t that how democracy works? She showed up in my state of Delaware to stump for a primary candidate in the Senate race with absolutely no experience in government. Neither her or Bernie know anything about the state I grew up in thanks. The minute her inexperienced candidate lost in the primary, she disappeared. Guess she didn’t care if our dem incumbent lost against the local head of the trump campaign.
Bernies candidates rarely win. Shes better than all of this Bernie campaigning nonsense, I really think she is. I think he knew this too, that’s why he hitched his wagon to her. I hope working in Congress wakes her up to reality and the more politically successful elected dems take her under their wing.
I don’t like her Bernie worship either. The Bernie stench ruins her for me.
Did you hear of his idiotic remarks about how the white folks who are uncomfortable with voting for a black person are not racist? I find Bernie loathsome and wish he would go away and take up knitting.
This is the remark: ““I think you know there are a lot of white folks out there who are not necessarily racist who felt uncomfortable for the first time in their lives about whether or not they wanted to vote for an African-American,””
My response? “Thanks for whitesplaining, Mr. Saint Bernie of the Bernie Bro Nation!!! And you are wrong…it IS racist! But thanks!”
And this is her idol?
That says something about her.
Frida, I did. And being “uncomfortable” voting for african-americans defines racist. I loathe bernie.
But I believe Cortez can mature beyond that old fraud. I am giving her time. I will take another look at her down the road. If she doesn’t mature, then I’ll cancel her. 🙂
@Chris, why does she need ‘humility’?
Is that -ever- being said to older men? Even with all the things said about Trump on this site, I’ve never seen someone say that he needs to be more humble.
She is their equal, chosen on equal footing. She represents her people. No need for her to smile and be humble.
I was watching The View (yes, you can mock me) and Megan McCain was laughing when the others mentioned a possible Beto presidential run in 2020. I think people are underestimating the power millennials have and how much they love they love the “real news” of people like Ocasio-Cortez-Cortez and Beto. They are showing casing the problems the country has and calling people out on it, and not playing the old politicians game. I feel like this is the new wave of politics, and how it will be done in the future. Republicans take note, these guys have more support than you give them credit for.
I agree with you Doodle. So many establishment “politicals” with platforms like VIew, even CB, mock or hate on Bernie, but the primaries should open their eyes to the sweeping success social-democrat progressives are having across the country and particularly in red states.
It shows there’s more dividing the country than just Trumper-racist-nationalists. Red states or blue, pro trump or against, people all over the country want real social change like National health care (i.e. single payer HC). That reality is not just going to be mocked away.
True. Still, though the amount of young people that vote has gone up, there’s still plenty to gain in that regard.
I am infuriated that Fox News and other right-wing extremists are mocking her for this after former Vice Presidential candidate and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Jason Chaffetz and numerous other Tea Party members of Congress made such a big deal about how their congressional salaries were inadequate to find housing in both their districts AND DC so they were living in their congressional offices.
Add Sean Duffy of Real World fame to that list. He’s whined multiple times how hard it is to support a wife and 8 kids on a US House Rep’s salary of $174K per year. His idea of a financial sacrifice – driving an older vehicle. When he made those comments during the Act 10 protests in 2011, that was 3 times the average of many of his constituents in Northern Wisconsin.
He could have saved money by not having 8 children.
Amen cay. Having 8 children is wildly irresponsible. No matter how rich you are, you cannot give enough emotional support and time to that many kids. There’s no way.
She handled that situation perfectly.
She’s being real.
Most city people work our asses off just to be able to pay rent. Since my BF moved in, I finally know what it’s like to not be struggling to pay rent, utilities, groceries etc all by myself. DC. NY, SF, Boston…all very expensive cities to live in but at least NYC has rent-control.
I like AOC a lot and I hate that she’s become a favorite target from people on the right AND some on the left. On a superficial note, I have major hair-envy.
Boston used to have rent control too. Other reason to dislike Howie Carr.
DC has rent control too. Lots of people dont know that. Not even DC life long DC residents. It can get pretty complicated. The main thing is it only applies to buildings built before 1975. So all those new buildings with extraordinary amenities are exempt.
Massachusetts had it until the late 80s/early 90s then a right-wing columnist for the Boston Herald inherited dozens of buildings in Somerville and Cambridge, prime rent control areas with high demand because of proximity to Boston and multiple colleges. He used his newspaper column and radio talk show to lobby for the end of rent control and succeeded.
Yup. And I moved to Boston in 1997 so I’ve never been lucky enough to know what rent control is like. The cost of housing in Boston is absolutely atrocious and shows no sign of slowing down.
Mr. Carr’s legacy and I’m sure he is oh-so-proud of it.
@Kitten, you didn’t miss much. I lived in Boston from the early ’80s to the mid-90s and rent control apartments were few and far between and pretty much impossible to get. They seem to be handed down and the few people that I know who had them didn’t really need them. One woman had a gorgeous 2 bedroom apt in Brookline–she lived alone and owned a restaurant. She was living with a boyfriend for a bit and barely there but didn’t want to give up her lease “just in case.” I always thought how perfect that apartment would be for a struggling single mom. I also recall there was a bit of a scandal that some minor royal (Danish prince perhaps?) had a rent control apartment in Cambridge while attending Harvard. I’m 100% for rent control but wish that there had been restrictions that kept people who could afford market rate rent from getting them.
@kitten
although I like her there are valid reasons why people criticise her.She Could have stayed out of the Kansas race, but went there to campaign against the first Native American congresswoman to shill for some middle aged white who bernie backed. She’s way too much of a Bernie loyalist.
Thankfully sharice won. It’s crazy that it took until 2018 to get a native rep in the house.
Thank you, Jessica, I’m well aware of all of the criticisms.
Still like her.
Other people are free to feel differently. *shrugs*
Jessica, you are right. I’m a Kansan and didn’t like that she didn’t back Davids. She missed the mark big time!
@kitten I havent said you shouldn’t like her. But you expressed frustration that she’s being criticised. If you are aware of why she’s criticised, why are you frustrated? Do you not think it’s valid or of importance?
( To me at least) her choosing to stomp for another white middle aged over the first Native American EVER ( which is ridiculous considering they were in America before ANY of us) is a fair criticism. Especially since she never came back to Kansas to stomp for sharice when she ran against the republican candidate. For me it’s more important and progressive that natives get representation than another white male who passes the Bernie litmus test which seems to be mostly a test made by white males anyway.
NYC’s rent control apartment are pretty much a holy grail and don’t really exist anymore. The only people still holding a rent controlled apt are mostly senior citizens who moved in before the 90’s. NO ONE is giving up that type of apt. And once they die/move out it’s over. You can no longer “inherit” a rent controlled apt. Many landlords have evicted family members that are not the tenant on record of the original lease, regardless of being children/relatives of the original lease holder. And once that apt becomes free, landlords will rent it at market rates. I think what you mean is rent-stabilized which is different . That falls under Affordable Housing and only people who make less than about 40k a year qualify. Single middle Incomers don’t qualify . A couple making 30k each wouldn’t qualify either . Then you have NYCHA (the projects) that rent according to income, but the waiting lists are ridiculous. A regular 1 bedroom in any part of the 5 boroughs (except for possibly Staten Island) will go for $1800/mo at least and it’s usually a tiny box of an apt in a bad neighborhood. Housing is terrible out here. The middle-incomers here are pretty much paying most of the money they earn on rent.
OMG, Boston is so expensive. As a graduate student, I was very lucky to live in a good neighborhood and still have a normal life. But I was only able to afford it because I had 3 roommates. 😅
But I would go back in a heartbeat! 💚
Yes @Kitten me too. At this point she’s in and will learn a lot. What I like is that I don’t think, from the stance she’s coming from, that she’ll grow into her role by taking the path of least resistance, i.e. becoming a person kowtowing to politics as usual – the “ha ha little missy, you don’t know anything” type of gauntlet she’ll be running. I think (and hope) that she’ll have enough self-possession to not take on any shame for any naivete – which is a plus for me. Piling on the criticism before she’s begun is the type of hate, especially the woman on woman hate, bothering me so much right now. It’s bumming me out a lot to be honest and I’ve stopped reading comments on the Meghan threads, as Kaiser and co generally author pieces I agree with and I can skip the rest. I’m holding onto the feeling of joy and being thrilled at so many of the political races won. So as the kids say don’t @ me, ha ha, even though I haven’t given up on the political posts.
Republicans hate anyone who isn’t them. Just like the Lannisters! New blood is coming.
I liked that she stated this. I am considerably older than her and this is ALWAYS an issue for me. This is a very real issue.
They used to have shared housing for congresspeople, for exactly this reason. Like basically dorms but for politicians. I guess they don’t do that anymore?
What people aren’t factoring in – you don’t get paid while running for Office either. The campaign covers some costs but it’s not a salary.
Chef José Andrés and his family offered her space in their home for as long as she needs it. His home base is in the DC area.
It’s a lot a lovely offer but she can’t actually accept; it would be an ethics violation to accept anything more than a nominal value.
Is it an off-the-wall idea that states might buy a permanent place (or several if they have a large delegation) for their representatives to stay when they are working in DC? Something like an ambassadors residence, but on a much, much smaller scale. I’m not suggesting palatial mansions or anything, just a basic apartment/condo/house that actually belongs to the state, not the elected person.
When I lived in DC there were some income controlled apartments. IE, you had to make under a certain amount. They weren’t the greatest apartments but they were in decent neighborhoods.
Something tells me a $170K salary might exceed the income limitations for those apartments.
My Senator, Dick Durbin, Senator Chuck Schumer, and Representative George Miller lived in the same house for 30+ years. http://www.newser.com/story/200094/after-30-years-lawmakers-are-no-longer-roomies.html Their tales were pretty funny. I support term limits so that no one is there for 30+ years, no matter how good they are.
Someone I knew who lobbied in DC for years, mentioned that elected officials used to have a lot more interaction and spend more time in DC. They knew each other and their families beyond meetings.
He theorized that the more divisive behavior could partly be due to fewer no longer doing that. He said more were just in and out of the Capitol, without the same levels of interaction.
I like her positions and she’s raising a valid point but I have questions.
Why did she stomp against sharice?
Was that just because the other candidate was bernie backed?
I don’t want representation that’s following bernie like a cult.
And why is there a campaign to make her speaker before she even stepped into the house.
If anyone from the progressive wing should challenge pelosi it should be Barbara Lee.
Yes I agree Barbra Lee should be the one to replace Pelosi. NP needs to be booted asap. She has done a huge disservice to the party. She brags about being a top fundraiser but she takes serious pac money and is more interested in staying in power than being the voice for her constituents. She’s extremely out of touch with the everyday working class people of her party…as most of them are. Sigh…our current political setup is a sh*tshow. Its depressing. So much to fix and just hurdle after hurdle.
Wait, what? She’s the most effective legislator the dems have had in a very long time. There is no one who can whip votes like she can. The ACA wouldn’t have passed without her. It drives me crazy that Democrats are buying into the Republicans hatred of her. Of course Republicans hate her, shes good at her job. A record number of dems and women have been swept into office under her leadership and fundraising. We won the house and this is everyone’s topic of conversation? Why not argue its chuck Schumer who needs to go. Hes toothless and partially responsible for the appointment of all of the lifetime conservative judges the Republicans are ramming in. I do think dems need to begin grooming replacements, those older dems cant and shouldn’t lead forever. And at least you guys are suggesting an experienced woman should take her place. I’ve seen plenty of young Male reps who want to push Pelosi out or some people suggesting it should be AOC who hasn’t even served a single term yet.
I have my issues with Pelosi, but let’s not pretend that the largest piece of health care reform in the last several decades didn’t get passed under her watch. Regardless of how you feel about her as a person, she managed to rally enough of her fellow Democrats together to get a bill to the Senate that mustered enough votes to get passed, even with a vote that hinged on an independent. That’s far more productive than anything that occurred under Boehner or Ryan. She may not be as progressive as some would like, but calling her ineffective is just fallacious in comparison to the struggles of other reps. She’s competent as hell at what she does, and if she needs to be replaced, it better be somebody who’s up to the same par.
Chris right! I find it so telling that so many want to get rid of Pelosi, who is awesome at her job!! meanwhile Schumer who should be run out of town on a rail as far as I am concerned, skates.
No one should replace Pelosi. She knows how to keep the Dem caucus together and the work to be done in this Congress calls for a seasoned Speaker of the House. Why do you think the Republicans go on and on about Nancy Pelosi??? It’s because they know just how effective she is. Worst mistake Dems could make is to replace her.
Read up on her and heck, even listen to some political podcasts in which she is discussed. That’s how I learned just how effective she is and why the Repubs want her out.
My concern is where she gets her money. Follow the money and you’ll see where her loyalty lies. I def give her props for the ACA but at the end of the day she gets her money from big corporations and pacs and that is my issue. Dems in general are in a heap of mess due to being afraid of losing their big donors. I’ve historically voted blue and was devastated when HRC lost but this past year I’ve really tried to understand where we went wrong and again imho a huge issue was where we are getting our money. Republican or Democrat, campaign funds are a huge issue that hinder the democratic process.
“Dems in general are in a heap of mess due to being afraid of losing their big donors.”
What? Um, did you mean to say REPUBLICANS?
Because this past mid term election Dems raised $46M from small donors to win the House while Republicans raised only $15M. We LITERALLY just showed that we can win with grassroots fundraising and no PACS.
Many of us who aren’t rich set aside a couple hundred dollars to support candidates in tight House races and your takeaway is “Dems are in trouble because they are losing big donors”? SMDH
Meanwhile, the largest donation from either party came from Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, who gave $113M to Republican candidates in the midterm election and they STILL lost the House.
Stuff like this and some of the comments above about Pelosi are why I will always be an Independent. You guys literally parrot right-wing talking points that are incredibly destructive to YOUR OWN PARTY. LOL I will never understand why you guys do this….
” A record number of dems and women have been swept into office under her leadership and fundraising.”
@chris
I wouldn’t give Pelosi that much credit. Rather “in spite of her ” than because of her leadership.
Pelosi is very experienced and effective raising funds and negotiating inside congress, but it’s the DNC that decides what candidates to financially support. That committee is made up of other members not necessarily holding congressional seats and not NP. Of course she probably has great influence on DNC , but they had there work cut out for them this election, and many dem candidates rose up on their own, not through DNC recruitment.
A DNC california member on radio explained they had limited budget, and there were so many candidates running that their general plan was to help select, strategic races with substantial funding and other candidates might get some support. Many of the winning candidate’s campaigns were funded through grassroots organizing.
Yes, give credit where it’s due. But you can not give Pelosi credit for the primaries. She really didn’t have to do much of any thing, it was going to happen with or without her. That’s what the blue wave is about. It’s the swelling from the bottom up.
Is it possible because Welder was just a better candidate all around? That Cortez identified with his positions more than with Davids’?
https://www.brentwelder.com/issues/
Sharice David said she would vote for SP given the chance. She also is for free community college. It’s not as if she’s some awful Blue dog. In addition she’s better than welder on voter suppression which matter to POC.
Just because someone is bernie backed and worked on his campaign doesn’t make them better.
sharice worked with underrepresented native Communities after law school she’s just as grass roots and for the people as anyone Bernie backed.
I hear you. But I am also her constituent. I don’t prefer Welder because Bernie backed him, I prefer Welder because I identified more with the articulation of his policy stances and believed he could posture against what is a very red state more successfully. Doesn’t mean Davids’ positions are bad. Additionally, most Kansas Naive peoples live OUTSIDE District 3, for what it’s worth.
Dude, the average MIDDLE CLASS person couldn’t afford a place in DC. It’s notoriously expensive, right up there with California pricing. Very revealing indeed about how little these people understand basic finance.
When my congressman from NM (now Senator Heinrich) was first elected, he slept on a cot in his office. He had been a city councilor in Albuquerque before being elected. Generally our Congresspeople have great salaries and incredible benefits, but it is clearly tough if you don’t have $. Also, I just love her for making this about more than herself and the instant instagram just threw me into major fan-girl territory!
Housing prices are a huge concern in big cities. I live and work in DC; I was lucky to find a place I could afford, although I had to really look at what I needed v. wanted. Many of my colleagues commute from suburbs in Virginia or Maryland, even Delaware and Pennsylvania, some up to 2 hours each way. It’s not unusual for university students and young professionals to live together in row houses, sleeping 2 or 3 to a room.
Yeah, I live in Northern Virginia and work in downtown DC and the prices are crazy. Many congresspeople/Senators actually do the group house thing (like their 20-something aides), because rents are so high and they’re also paying for mortgages etc back home in district. I think Chuck Schumer has done that for years.
I hope she finds something nice on Capitol Hill. I think she’ll enjoy DC, if not having to work in the Capitol, which can be…challenging.
It’s really not that expensive to rent in the region. There is a lot of nice housing stock in Prince George’s County with good downtown access (you can find a house for less than 2k, walking distance to the MARC and sometimes Metro). She could also rent east of the river if she’s so working class. She’s exhausting. We all know she could make 2k/night bartending in DC if she wanted to…
Who cares. She’s not better than anyone else. Sleep in your office if you can’t afford an apartment.