Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s outrage at the verbal assault of a Republican lawmaker escalated to an extraordinary moment on the floor of the House on Thursday when she and other Democrats attacked a sexist culture of “accepting violence and violent language against women “whose supporters include Donald Trump.
A day after rejecting Republican Congressman Ted Yoho’s offer of contrition for his language during this week’s Capitol Hill confrontation, Ocasio-Cortez and more than a dozen colleagues viewed the incident as all too common behavior by men. , including the president and other Republicans
“This problem is not an incident. It is cultural, ”Ocasio-Cortez said. She called it a culture “of accepting violent and violent language against women, an entire power structure that supports it.”
The remarkable splurge, with several female lawmakers who said they had routinely come across that treatment, came in an election year in which polls show women lean decisively against Trump, who has a history of mocking women. . Trump was caught on a 2005 tape that bragged about physically abusing them, and his contempt for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has included calling her “crazy.”
Lawmakers who joined Ocasio-Cortez represented a wide range of House Democrats, underscoring party unity on an issue that can energize your party’s voters.
Republicans did not speak. But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, in a separate appearance, defended Yoho, 65, one of his party’s most conservative members and who will retire in January.
“When someone apologizes, they should be forgiven,” said McCarthy. Then he added: “I think in a new world, in a new era, we now determine whether to accept when someone says I’m sorry if it’s a good enough apology.”
Pelosi herself intervened during a separate press conference.
“It is really a manifestation of attitude in our society. I can tell you firsthand that I have been called in for at least 20 years of leadership, 18 years of leadership, “Pelosi said of the Republicans.
Pelosi, who has five children, said that during a debate years ago about women’s reproductive health, Republican lawmakers “said, on the floor of the House, that Nancy Pelosi believes she knows more about having babies than the pope.”
In a Monday gathering witnessed by a journalist for The Hill, Yoho reprimanded Ocasio-Cortez in the House’s footsteps for saying that part of the increase in crime during the coronavirus pandemic could be attributed to increased unemployment and poverty.
Ocasio-Cortez, a freshman who has made his mark as one of the most outspoken progressives in Congress, described him in House on Thursday. She said Yoho put her finger to her face and called her disgusting, crazy and dangerous.
She also told the House that in front of the journalists, he called her, “and I quote, ‘a fucking bitch.'” That matched Hill’s version of what Yoho had said. Ocasio-Cortez was not there for that comment.
Ocasio-Cortez said Yoho’s references to his wife and daughters while explaining his actions during brief comments on Wednesday actually underlined the problem.
“Having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife is not a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect is a decent man, “he said.
He added that a decent man apologizes “not to save face, not to win a vote. He apologizes, and genuinely, to repair and acknowledge the damage done, so that we can all move forward.”
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