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US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered a speech rejecting a colleague’s apology after she allegedly used a sexist insult in an argument.
The New York City Democrat went to the House to accuse Republican Ted Yoho of harassing her Monday on the steps of the United States Capitol.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who is often the target of conservatives, said the words showed a “pattern” of misbehavior on the part of men.
Yoho denies saying the insult and has asked for civility.
“This issue is not an incident. It is cultural,” she told lawmakers, calling it a culture “of accepting violence and violent language against women, a comprehensive power structure that supports it.”
She added that she was prepared to let the incident pass until Yoho “excused himself” by quoting his wife and daughters in a speech Wednesday.
What happened in the incident?
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said she was entering Congress to vote when Yoho, a Florida congressman, and Texas Congressman Roger Williams approached her as they left the chamber.
She said he called her “disgusting” and said “you’re out of your mind” in what a journalist who also witnessed the incident called a “brief but heated exchange” about the recent comments Mrs. Ocasio-Cortez made about the crime. linked to poverty.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the so-called “squad” of young Democrats, said she said she was being “rude.”
Then when Mr. Yoho walked away, reporters heard him using a rude word and calling Ms. Ocasio-Cortez a “bitch.”
Mr. Yoho’s office has denied this, and instead said that he had exclaimed “shit” to himself when he was leaving.
- Is it wrong to be called a ‘bitch’?
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What did Ocasio-Cortez say?
In a passionate speech on Thursday, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez rejected Yoho’s comments on the floor of the Chamber a day earlier, in which he apologized for the “abrupt form of conversation” with her and said he was “very aware “of his language because he was married and had daughters.
“I will commit to each of you to lead me from a place of passion and understand that politics and political disagreements will be vigorously debated with the knowledge that we address the problems facing our nation with the betterment of the country and the people we serve,” Mr. Yoho said to his colleagues. “I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family and my country,” he added.
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Mrs. Ocasio-Cortez outside the Capitol in March, where the exchange took place
“Mr. Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters,” Ocasio-Cortez, 30, said Thursday. “I am two years younger than Mister Yoho’s youngest daughter. I am also someone’s daughter. Fortunately, my father is not alive to see how Mister Yoho treated his daughter.”
“I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that I was not raised to accept the abuse of men,” she continued.
“When you do that to any woman, what Mr. Yoho did was give other men permission to do that to their daughters,” she added. “By using that language, in front of the press, he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, the women in his community, and I am here to say that this is not acceptable.”
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest Democrat on camera, spoke about her education in the Bronx district of New York City and other times in her life when she had heard abusive language from men.
“I want to make it clear that Representative Yoho’s comments were not deeply hurtful or penetrating to me,” he added. “Because I have worked in a working class job.
“I’ve waited for tables and taken the subway. I’ve walked the streets of New York City. And this kind of language is not new.
“I found words spoken by Mr. Yoho and men who spoke the same words as Mr. Yoho as they harassed me in restaurants. I kicked out men from bars using language like Mr. Yoho’s.”
“This problem is not an incident. It is cultural,” she said, calling it a culture “of accepting violence and violent language against women, a whole power structure to back it up.”
What did other legislators say?
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy defended Yoho, 65, who retires in January, saying “when someone apologizes, they should be forgiven.”
“I think in a new world, in a new era, we now determine whether we accept when someone says ‘sorry’ if it is a good enough apology,” he continued.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top House Democrat, called the alleged insult “a manifestation of attitude in our society.”
“I can tell you firsthand that I’ve been called in for at least 20 years of leadership, 18 years of leadership,” he said, referring to Republicans.
“Personally, I have experienced a lifetime of name calling, racism and sexism,” said California Congresswoman Barbara Lee on the floor of the House. “And believe me, this did not stop after being elected to public office.”
