Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not my favorite politician, but I respect the hell out of how she conducts herself publicly and politically, especially given the target on her back for being young, pretty, working class and smart. A certain kind of man is triggered by AOC’s existence, and that man is usually old, white, racist, misogynistic and douchebaggy. Guess who that describes? 99% of the RepublicanCongressional caucus. In what was a prime example of AOC getting attacked for merely *existing* in a political space, an old white dude got in her face this week. That dude was one of her colleagues in the House of Representatives.
Tensions flared on Capitol Hill this week when a Republican lawmaker challenged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on issues of crime and policing in an unusual — and decidedly personal — confrontation on the Capitol steps. Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) was coming down the steps on the east side of the Capitol on Monday, having just voted, when he approached Ocasio-Cortez, who was ascending into the building to cast a vote of her own.
In a brief but heated exchange, which was overheard by a reporter, Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez she was “disgusting” for recently suggesting that poverty and unemployment are driving a spike in crime in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic. “You are out of your freaking mind,” Yoho told her.
Ocasio-Cortez shot back, telling Yoho he was being “rude.”
The two then parted ways. Ocasio-Cortez headed into the building, while Yoho, joined by Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), began descending toward the House office buildings. A few steps down, Yoho offered a parting thought to no one in particular.
“F–king bitch,” he said.
Ocasio-Cortez, a liberal firebrand and social media sensation, is no stranger to attacks from the right. But shortly after the exchange, she said it was the first time since she arrived in Congress that another lawmaker has challenged her so aggressively. “That kind of confrontation hasn’t ever happened to me — ever,” she said. “I’ve never had that kind of abrupt, disgusting kind of disrespect levied at me.”
Approached a few hours later, Yoho declined to discuss any aspect of the exchange. “No comment,” he said.
Imagine working in this kind of environment and one of your COLLEAGUES gets in your face out of nowhere about something you said about your district and your local police force. “Rude” doesn’t even begin to describe it. And then calling her a “f–king bitch” once she was out of earshot – super-classy, Rep. Yoho. This whole thing is disgusting and I hope Speaker Pelosi drags the everloving f–k out of him.
In case you’re wondering which of AOC’s comments were being referenced by Rep. Yoho, it was a town hall she did last month where she simply said a lot of stuff that she always says, that the police are not the answer to all of society’s ills, that money used to fund bloated, militarized police departments could be better spent on education, mental health resources and social services. She said at one point, “Crime is a problem of a diseased society, which neglects its marginalized people. Policing is not the solution to crime.” That, apparently, triggered Rep. Yoho. I would assume that Fox News has been running AOC stories for weeks about that one town hall.
Update: AOC had some stuff to say on Twitter.
I never spoke to Rep. Yoho before he decided to accost me on the steps of the nation’s Capitol yesterday.
Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues. We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door.
But hey, “b*tches” get stuff done. 🤷🏽♀️ https://t.co/WlG3xccwR7
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 21, 2020
Gotta love Republican courage from Rep @RogerWilliamsTX: when he undeniably sees another man engaged in virulent harassment of a young woman, just pretend you never saw it in the most cartoonish manner possible and keep pushing.
(He’s lying, by the way. He joined in w/ Yoho) https://t.co/TAjvXBdd9u
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 21, 2020
What’s wild to me @RogerWilliamsTX is why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange?
You were yelling at me too, about “throwing urine.”
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 21, 2020
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Unreal. I can’t even imagine dealing with that in what should be a professional setting. Or in any setting for that matter.
AOC is my favorite politician. She’s around my age and she makes a point on social media to explain how government works and what her job entails in a way I never learned about before, and I really appreciate how accessible she makes it. I think she’ll inspire so many more young men and women to run for office.
She’s my favorite politician too! She has yet to put a foot wrong for me – I love what she’s doing and am excited she’s likely got her second term in the bag so she can keep it up.
I love that she scares these racist Republican fools so much but hate that she had to deal with them accosting her like this. That’s beyond unacceptable treatment from anyone, let alone an elected official.
I LOVE HER. She has more class and intelligence in her little pinky than all the Republicans combined, and those “men” are tacky bullies throwing a hissy fit because a woman doesn’t pretend to buy their stupid schtick.
GOP disgusts me!
Yes, young, pretty, smart, unafraid, and not seeking validation from white males makes you a threat to their egos. I don’t want to hear anything about women being sensitive. F@ck this guy.
The fact that they think treating women like this sells well for their constituents says it all. Disgusting!
It does though right?! My in-laws who are dump worshipers and as self righteous as they come hate her so much and it all comes from my FIL who is an old white repub and has zero idea what he’s talking about but he’s a misogynistic a$$ so she just lights a fire in him by existing. The problem is he’s rubbed it off on his younger sons so now they all talk crap about her like they have any idea outside of what Fox News and dump has ranted about her. My FIL is the worst and I can’t stand him so thankfully my husband isn’t ensnared in his toxic family’s manipulating ways or else we would be divorced.
Mel- are we related?!?
Yoho is such a yahoo. And he’s from Florida, cause of course.
If AOC is wrong, then what is the cause of this spike in crime then, Yoho? BLM? Commie Socialist Facist Antifa? You know his answer would be racist. The who exchange smack of unprofessionalism and racist, misogynistic ageism. Plus white male privilege. Only a white man would dare.
What I love about her is her lack of fear of clapping back and calling this stuff out. For decades Democrats were told to take the high road, be “civil.” There is no virtue in being civil with uncivil people.
I am also amused how obsessed the GOP is about her. There’s a quote that goes around (probably apocryphally attributed to Churchill) about how having enemies is a good thing because it means you took a stand. The right’s hatred of her shows she’s doing something right.
Don’t forget, she’s also targeted because she’s a woman.
Absolutely. These old men cannot stand women who are outspoken and smarter than they are. Dudes like this make me believe there are lots of “Americans” who would love to see a real life Handmaid’s Tale situation.
Are there no consequences for this behavior? I mean, if a co-worker called me an effing Bitch at my workplace, I’m pretty sure they would be fired. This should not be tolerated. It’s workplace harassment!
Additionally, if an 8th grader pulled this stunt, he’d be in a pile of trouble. We don’t even hold our legislators to the standard of appropriate middle school behavior. So sad.
And not white surely as well. Double whammy
Of course it’s an a-hole from Florida. Honestly surprised it wasn’t Matt Gaetz. Pelosi needs to censure all three of those men.
Call. I just called Ted’s office (his VM is full). Next up, Nancy’s office to request censure of dear ‘ol Ted.
Not just the old white guys. Extreme right wing pundits like Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk, and Kyle Kashuv are obsessed with her. Shapiro is mid-30s, Kirk is 27, and Kashuv has only been out of high school a year. Shapiro constantly references and attacks AOC during interviews. All three of them tweet about her constantly and the comments are a nightmare of horrible threats against her. These problems aren’t going away when the old white guys die off. There’s a cast of going white guys just as bad.
Totally agree. I said above my brothers in law all hate her so much along with my husbands cousins and they are all under 40. His brothers of course got this from the indoctrination of their misogynistic narcissistic father and I’m assuming the church they all go to every Sunday since they spout off hate along side Bible verses on social media constantly. It’s the GOP, and their fragile white male majority. The fact that no one from their party thinks this is absolutely disgusting and vile behavior for anyone in congress and isn’t calling them out says all you need to know. If it was the other way around though boy would we be hearing about it “REP HARASSMENT!!”
can you imagine if Adam Schiff (it’s hard, because he wouldn’t) called Liz Cheney a “f*cking b*tch”? the HOWLING that we’d hear from the GOP?
Vote them the f*ck out.
This gets me so angry. I can’t even imagine the position she is in. She handles herself extremely well, and this exchange will hopefully give her more strength . Don’t ever change, AOC.
As soon as I saw the headline, I knew it was some white male who did this. Of course.
It’s amazing how intimidated the far right is by her. She’s everything they’re afraid of, and unapologetic about it.
ETA – this is totally inappropriate behavior from an elected official, and if there is some sort of “punishment”, I hope Pelosi does something. Members of Congress should not be permitted to act this way towards each other.
The vitriol she gets is bizarre because it’s tinged with a weird energy. Not just hate for disagreeing on policy but hate tinged with attraction. Like negging but on 1000. Idk if I’m describing it right but I really fear for her.
Pelosi only gives a sh_t about the junior members when it’s time to vote for Speaker or admonish them.
I know what you mean. I think the GOPers find AOC physically attractive but hate her politics, and that causes them to react to her in weird ways. As you said, it’s like weird negging – deep down they wish she liked them or found them sexually attractive.
” Like negging but on 1000. Idk if I’m describing it right but I really fear for her.”
So true.
yes, said the same above before I saw your comment.
they’re confused because they’re simultaneously attracted to her and angered by her. and they get SO angry because their anger at her is combined with the anger at themselves for thinking she’s hot.
Yes, like stalker-ish energy of “I’m drawn to you, but you refuse me, so there’s something wrong with YOU. I’ll just have to keep trying to teach you why you’re so wrong.” She makes it clear she has no time for this type of man; she’s smart, she’s not passive, she doesn’t need their approval to make her confident and now they know she can get herself re-elected, even with the odds stacked against her. She can’t be bought and she’s not as easy to dismiss as older or less attractive women. She scares these men (while looking poised and beautiful), so attempting to “put her in her place” must turn some of these supposedly powerful men on. A lot of sexism is often misplaced attraction or jealousy. I hope she has some kind of bodyguard or protective detail.
All of this. It’s very concerning.
Please make it stop. Please stop misogynistic men. What else is there to say? This guy wants to off AOC like that other guy accused of murdering the federal judge’s son and critically injuring his father…all because he doesn’t like the wife and mother involved in his court case (but also previously stating how attracted he was to Black, Latina and Asian women).
Pelosi won’t do anything, won’t say anything. If she does, she’ll tweet about it at the end of this week or next. These two men won’t face any consequences.
Pelosi is no friend of Rep. AOC and Rep. Omar. Remember when instead of defending Rep. Omar against attacks and lies that she said anti-Semitic slurs, Pelosi pushed to the floor a resolution condemning Antisemitism? A tacit admonition of Omar.
💯💯
Yep, was coming on here to say the exact same thing. The whole Squad is too progressive for her.
There’s the GOP demographic in a nutshell – if a woman doesn’t immediately respond, or at least – respond in a way you like or worse, dates to disagree with you, you just immediately reduce her to “ a fucking bitch”.
Yoho is the kind of tool that tells women they deserve to be raped for speaking out about anything and was probably one of the losers whining about being friend zoned in high schools and saying that women don’t want “nice” guys because they’re whores.
*Florida Man* goes to Washington.
Disgusting. the people who elected him are probably thrilled.
I live in AOC’s district, and she is a badass. She is very active and hands-on in the community. She’s not like our old rep (and perhaps a lot of reps) who was never around the neighborhood at all. She’s engaged in a way that all politicians should be. I am about 10 years older than her, but I am in awe of her courage. Imagine dealing with this kind of vitriol and just staying collected and focused!
I haven’t followed her politically. She has a strong voice, strong ideas and thoughts. I am pleased she did not let this slide and stated what happened. Transparency has become my favorite word of 2020.
This and the Fox News sexual harassment suit are not unrelated. It all stems from the same place. These guys all have to go.
The only way Pelosi will do anything is if she is shamed into it like with Representative Omar.
I’m sure good ol’ boy Ted Yoo-Hoo (as I call him) was just engaging in “locker room talk.” Unfortunately, this disgraceful piece of human filth represents my District in Florida (we are a Democratic county, but with the way the District lines were drawn there are a lot of rural communities, both unincorporated and from surrounding rural counties that support his misogynistic and racist viewpoints). Fortunately, come January his stench will be gone as he is not seeking re-election. Unfortunately, the Republicans vying for his seat are just as bad, if not worse, then old Yoo-Hoo. Their TV ads pander to the Trumpeters so much that my husband and I change the channel every time one of them come on (otherwise I’m yelling at my TV which upsets our dog).
Of course the conservatives who are always going on about ‘the death of civility’, ‘tolerating disagreement’, and about how yelling at, insulting, or criticizing a person for something they’ve said violates their first amendment rights won’t have much to say about this. That’s because everything they say about free speech is really about how those like AOC are supposed to just shut up and take things like this, and worse. Good for her for calling them out.
You can request meetings on Yohos website. I filled it in asking for a meeting with the topic of being a F-in bitch 😀 And so on and so forth.
Lol..good job!
LOL I just did the same thing after seeing your comment. Thanks for the suggestion!
lol, awesome!
They are also going after Liz Chaney.
The GOP is imploding and you just hate to see it happen. *sips Gatorade*
Oh yeah I heard how Gaetz, Gohmert and Gym Jordan went after her for not pledging fidelity to the orange ass. Don’t worry about Liz. She gave as good as they tossed at her. She told Gaetz she’ll welcome his tv biopic and shamed Gym for not supporting his teammates.
I am not a Cheney fan but good for her!
The GOP is now anti woman and anti minority. People do not support this band of idiots.
they’ve always been anti-woman and anti-minority.
it’s just that they don’t put as much as an effort in to hide it anymore.
I am immediately reminded of the vitriol directed at Meghan Markle…..and indeed, as mentioned above, there is a REAL war on women. It’s been going on so long we’re almost not seeing it for what it is….we’re supposed to be intimidated by men, because they are male. But a true blue ‘man’ does not attack their peers. They work to be an ally because People matter (all people matter, this is not a BLM comment because they do; this is a gender comment). I just know the war on women is real and the war on Women of Colour (now it is about BLM) is the highest level of hatred known to women-kind…..
They can’t stand her because she’s actually doing her damn job.
Did they threaten to throw urine on her? I am not clear on these details. They should be arrested if so. Either way, can’t they be censored? This cannot slide, they will come back more viciously. They have no right to be intimidating their female colleagues. Oh trump must love this. “Women, you gotta treat em like sh*t”
And here I thought that women were the irrational, over emotional ones who couldn’t control their feelings in the workplace. Who knew!
In any workplace, this is called a hostile work environment and those “men” would have been disciplined for that.
This garbage is happening here in Canada. I live in Alberta and a male member of our ‘leadership’ said to a female politician “Calm Down Kitty Cat”.
She got thrown out of legislature for asking for an apology (which will never happen) and nothing happened to the male.
I hope women keep standing up to men and calling them out. Maybe, maybe, one day there will be change for who is elected.
Update: Rep. Yoho just issued an apology to AOC from the floor, but DENIED using those words.
So lame. He has to go.
The throwing urine comment definitely caught me off guard…