Tensions erupted on Capitol Hill this week when a Republican lawmaker challenged the representative. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezTrump threatens to double in Portland in other major cities. House Seeks Ways to Honor John Lewis House to Bring Controversial Homeland Security Bill MORE (DN.Y.) on matters of crime and police surveillance in an unusual, and decidedly personal, confrontation on the steps of the Capitol.
Rep. Ted Yoho
Theodore (Ted) Scott Yoho Bipartisan lawmakers present bill to limit further expansion in 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force Democrats fear the US has already lost the battle of COVID-19 Republicans of the Casa de Guerra urge White House to support TSA in giving travelers temperature controls MORE (R-Fla.) He was walking down the steps on the east side of the Capitol on Monday, he had just voted, when he approached Ocasio-Cortez, who was going up to the building to cast his own vote.
In a brief but heated exchange, overheard by a journalist, Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez that he was “disgusting” for recently suggesting that poverty and unemployment are causing an increase in crime in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic.
“You’re crazy,” Yoho told him.
Ocasio-Cortez replied, telling Yoho that he was being “rude”.
The two separated. Ocasio-Cortez went to the building, while Yoho, accompanied by the representative. Roger Williams
John (Roger) Roger WilliamsCook Shifts 20 House Districts to Democrats Businesses Linked to Legislators Received PPP Loans Rhode Island Moves to Change Its Official Name to the Connotations of Slavery MORE (R-Texas), began to descend toward the Chamber office buildings. A few steps below, Yoho did not offer a parting thought to anyone in particular.
“Damn bitch,” he said.
Ocasio-Cortez, a liberal brand of fire and social media sensation, is no stranger to attacks from the right. But soon after the exchange, he said it was the first time since he arrived in Congress that another legislator had challenged him so aggressively.
“That kind of confrontation has never happened to me, never,” he said. “I’ve never had that kind of abrupt and unpleasant disrespect.”
Approaching a few hours later, Yoho refused to discuss any aspect of the exchange. “No comment,” he said.
Williams, who was able to listen to the entire exchange, said he was not paying attention.
“I was actually thinking, as I was going down the stairs, I was thinking about some problems I have in my district that need to be resolved,” Williams said. “I don’t know what her theme was. There is always a theme, right?”
At issue were the comments Ocasio-Cortez made earlier this month during a virtual town hall meeting with the mothers of two black men, Eric Garner and Ramarley Graham, who have been killed in recent years by New York police officers.
During the event, Ocasio-Cortez was asked about gun violence in New York, which skyrocketed this summer when the nation’s largest city, which was hit by the coronavirus, slowly reopens after a multi-month blockade. .
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, has long advocated for policies that cut police budgets and transfer those funds to education, mental health and other social services. In his response, he stuck to that topic, suggesting that the rise in crime is due to the economic difficulties facing New York’s poorest communities, and the failure of policymakers to fund programs aimed at leveling economic disparities .
“Crime is a problem of a sick society, which neglects its marginalized people,” he said during the July 9 event. “The police are not the solution to crime.”
Ocasio-Cortez went on to propose that the “economic despair” caused by the coronavirus pandemic, combined with failure to deliver federal stimulus checks and unemployment payments, has helped trigger the increase in crime.
“Perhaps this has to do with the fact that people are not paying the rent and they are afraid to pay the rent, so they go out and need to feed their children and have no money,” he said. “So … they are put in a position where they feel like they need to steal some bread or go hungry that night.”
Conservatives launched themselves, accusing Ocasio-Cortez of proposing tortured arguments to excuse violent crimes.
“There is a huge difference between shoplifting and cold-blooded murder, and for her not knowing the difference is downright surprising,” former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (R) said last week on Fox News.
On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez defended his position, saying he made it clear during city hall that he was referring to “misdemeanors and crimes of poverty.”
Conservative media, he said, have deliberately taken his comments out of context.
“I say, ‘Listen, I am not talking about violent crimes, I am not talking about shootings. But when it comes to petty theft, many of these are crimes of poverty and people are desperate,'” he said. . “So the right wing cuts this clip, as always, in a very deceptive way … Basically [want] to make it look like I’m saying that people are shooting themselves because they’re hungry. “
Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged that her outspoken defense of liberal politics has made her an easy target for conservatives.
“Obviously, I am no stranger to this,” he said.
But the confrontation with Yoho was something new.
“In all these intense news cycles, I have never been treated that way by another member before,” he said. “Frankly, I’m pretty puzzled.”
UPDATE: Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about the exchange after this story was posted online.
I never spoke to Representative Yoho before I decided to harass him on the steps of the nation’s Capitol yesterday.
Believe it or not, I generally get along well with my fellow Republicans. We know how to review our legislative fight at the committee door.
But hey, “b * tches” do things. ♀️ https://t.co/WlG3xccwR7
– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 21, 2020
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