Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Subterms

    More stories

    • 300 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      We need direct talks with Russia and a negotiated settlement | Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Barbara Lee, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and others

      by

      We need direct talks with Russia and a negotiated settlementRepresentatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Barbara Lee, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and othersProgressive members of Congress are urging Joe Biden to push for a settlement with Russia over Ukraine. Here’s their letterEditors’ note: on Tuesday, the signatories withdrew their letter Dear Mr President,We write with appreciation for your commitment to Ukraine’s legitimate struggle against Russia’s war of aggression. Your support for the self-defense of an independent, sovereign and democratic state has been supported by Congress, including through various appropriations of military, economic and humanitarian aid in furtherance of this cause. Your administration’s policy was critical to enable the Ukrainian people, through their courageous fighting and heroic sacrifices, to deal a historic military defeat to Russia, forcing Russia to dramatically scale back the stated goals of the invasion.Crucially, you achieved this while also maintaining that it is imperative to avoid direct military conflict with Russia, which would lead to “world war III, something we must strive to prevent”. The risk of nuclear weapons being used has been estimated to be higher now than at any time since the height of the cold war. Given the catastrophic possibilities of nuclear escalation and miscalculation, which only increase the longer this war continues, we agree with your goal of avoiding direct military conflict as an overriding national security priority.Given the destruction created by this war for Ukraine and the world, as well as the risk of catastrophic escalation, we also believe it is in the interest of Ukraine, the United States and the world to avoid a prolonged conflict. For this reason, we urge you to pair the military and economic support the United States has provided to Ukraine with a proactive diplomatic push, redoubling efforts to seek a realistic framework for a ceasefire. This is consistent with your recognition that “there’s going to have to be a negotiated settlement here,” and your concern that Vladimir Putin “doesn’t have a way out right now, and I’m trying to figure out what we do about that”.We are under no illusions regarding the difficulties involved in engaging Russia, given its outrageous and illegal invasion of Ukraine and its decision to make additional illegal annexations of Ukrainian territory. However, if there is a way to end the war while preserving a free and independent Ukraine, it is America’s responsibility to pursue every diplomatic avenue to support such a solution that is acceptable to the people of Ukraine. Such a framework would presumably include incentives to end hostilities, including some form of sanctions relief and bring together the international community to establish security guarantees for a free and independent Ukraine that are acceptable for all parties, particularly Ukrainians. The alternative to diplomacy is protracted war, with both its attendant certainties and catastrophic and unknowable risks.Ukraine needs foreign aid to build a future apart from Russia, says Kyiv mayorRead moreRussia’s invasion has caused incalculable harm for the people of Ukraine, leading to the deaths of countless thousands of civilians, Ukrainian soldiers, and displacement of 13 million people, while Russia’s recent seizure of cities in Ukraine’s east have led to the most pivotal moment in the conflict and the consolidation of Russian control over roughly 20% of Ukraine’s territory. The conflict threatens an additional tens of millions more worldwide, as skyrocketing prices in wheat, fertilizer and fuel spark acute crises in global hunger and poverty. A war that is allowed to grind on for years – potentially escalating in intensity and geographic scope – threatens to displace, kill, and immiserate far more Ukrainians while causing hunger, poverty, and death around the world. The conflict has also contributed to elevated gas and food prices at home, fueling inflation and high oil prices for Americans in recent months. Economists believe that if the situation in Ukraine is stabilized, some of the speculative concerns driving higher fuel costs will subside and likely lead to a drop in world oil prices.We agree with the administration’s perspective that it is not America’s place to pressure Ukraine’s government regarding sovereign decisions, and with the principle you have enunciated that there should be “nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”. But as legislators responsible for the expenditure of tens of billions of US taxpayer dollars in military assistance in the conflict, we believe such involvement in this war also creates a responsibility for the United States to seriously explore all possible avenues, including direct engagement with Russia, to reduce harm and support Ukraine in achieving a peaceful settlement.In May, President Zelenskiy, despite deadlocked negotiations, reiterated that the war “will only definitively end through diplomacy”, and had previously explained that “any mentally healthy person always chooses the diplomatic path, because he or she knows: even if it is difficult, it can prevent the loss of thousands, tens of thousands …and maybe even millions of lives.”I had to fight for Bosnia. That’s how I know Ukrainians can win, and they will rebuild | Faruk ŠehićRead moreIn conclusion, we urge you to make vigorous diplomatic efforts in support of a negotiated settlement and ceasefire, engage in direct talks with Russia, explore prospects for a new European security arrangement acceptable to all parties, which will allow for a sovereign and independent Ukraine, and, in coordination with our Ukrainian partners, seek a rapid end to the conflict and reiterate this goal as America’s chief priority.Pramila Jayapal, Member of CongressEarl Blumenauer, Member of CongressCori Bush, Member of CongressJesús G “Chuy” García, Member of CongressRaúl M Grijalva, Member of CongressSara Jacobs, Member of CongressRo Khanna, Member of CongressBarbara Lee, Member of CongressIlhan Omar, Member of CongressAyanna Pressley, Member of CongressSheila Jackson Lee, Member of CongressMark Pocan, Member of CongressNydia M Velázquez, Member of CongressGwen S Moore, Member of CongressYvette D Clarke, Member of CongressHenry C “Hank” Johnson Jr, Member of CongressRashida Tlaib, Member of CongressAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Member of CongressMondaire Jones, Member of CongressPeter A DeFazio, Member of CongressJamaal Bowman, Member of CongressMarie Newman, Member of CongressAlma S Adams, Member of CongressChellie Pingree, Member of CongressJamie Raskin, Member of CongressBonnie Watson Coleman, Member of CongressMark Takano, Member of CongressAndré Carson, Member of CongressDonald M Payne Jr, Member of CongressMark DeSaulnier, Member of CongressTopicsUS newsOpinionUS politicsUkraineAlexandria Ocasio-CortezJoe BidencommentReuse this content More

    • 150 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      AOC vows to champion LGBTQ+ rights after hecklers storm New York event

      by

      AOC vows to champion LGBTQ+ rights after hecklers storm New York eventHecklers were attacking a policy providing affordable housing for LGBTQ+ people The progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said she will stand up for LGBTQ+ rights after an attack by hecklers caused chaos during a recent speaking event in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York.The Democrat from New York met the heckles at the back of the Boys and Girls Club with dancing, the video of which has gone viral on social media.“AOC has got to go,” the protesters shouted in unison to the sound of a beating drum.These homophobes were yelling Westboro Baptist-style anti-LGBT+ slogans. What do you think I’m gonna do? Take them seriously?😂💃🏽🪩If you want to associate w/ their views, that’s your business.But NY-14 will ALWAYS have a champion for LGBTQ+ people on my watch. Period. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️💕 https://t.co/aFTp8hv8SH— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 23, 2022
      On Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez responded to the video, saying the hecklers “were yelling Westboro Baptist-style anti-LGBT+ slogans. What do you think I’m gonna do? Take them seriously?“If you want to associate with their views, that’s your business.”Referring to the 14th congressional district of New York she represents, Ocasio-Cortez added: “But NY-14 will always have a champion for LGBTQ+ people on my watch. Period.”A video online of the 19 October confrontation between Ocasio-Cortez and the hecklers showed one of them badgering her about how a policy providing affordable housing for LGBTQ+ seniors would discriminate against heterosexual people.Another heckler shouts “there’s only two … genders” – a concept that is discriminatory toward people who identify as non-binary.One heckler held up a homemade sign in support of Tina Forte, a rightwing candidate from Rockland county running against Ocasio-Cortez in the midterms.Last month, the local news outlet NY1 reported that Forte was at the US Capitol during the January 6 attack staged by supporters of Donald Trump.In a video posted on the day, Forte is seen wearing a pro-Trump beanie on the steps of the Capitol. The video showed her standing next to a large caricature of Nancy Pelosi, saying “we will not allow this election to be stolen from us” even though Joe Biden beat Trump in the 2020 presidential race.Hey @SpeakerPelosi this ones for you pic.twitter.com/0uWJwyP5I0— Tina40 (@RealTina40) January 6, 2021
      In response to questions about her whereabouts on 6 January, Forte has said: “I went there to shine light on the election. I did nothing. I didn’t participate in anything that went on that day, from what I see on videos or anything that they want to call it. I’m not going to say I regret it because I don’t.”As Forte’s campaign vows to “stop socialism”, Ocasio-Cortez is expected to easily win reelection to a third term during the 8 November midterms.Polls show the congresswoman holds a significant lead over Forte. Her campaign has raised more than $11m (£9.8m) while Forte has raised less than $1m (£887,995).Last week was not the first time that a video of Ocasio-Cortez dancing went viral. A video of her dancing on a rooftop while she was a student at Boston University went viral on the day she was sworn in to her first term in 2019, with her opponents on the political right wing trying to use it to embarrass her and her supporters, drowning out that criticism with positive reactions.TopicsAlexandria Ocasio-CortezUS politicsNew YorknewsReuse this content More

    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Ocasio-Cortez to Pence: ‘No one wants to hear your plan for their uterus’

      by

      Ocasio-Cortez to Pence: ‘No one wants to hear your plan for their uterus’Congresswoman makes remark after former vice-president says there will be ‘pro-life majorities’ in House and Senate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a simple message for Mike Pence on abortion, after the former vice-president predicted “pro-life majorities” in both houses of Congress after the midterm elections.“I’ve got news for you,” the Democratic New York congresswoman wrote. “Absolutely no one wants to hear what your plan is for their uterus.”The ‘election-denier trifecta’: alarm over Trumpists’ efforts to win key postsRead morePence was speaking in response to Joe Biden, after the president announced that if Democrats hold Congress in the midterm elections next month, he will seek to establish the right to abortion in law.The right was removed in June by the conservative-dominated supreme court, when it struck down Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that made abortion legal.Pence, once a conservative congressman and governor of Indiana, is maneuvering for a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.Asked this week if he would support his old boss, Donald Trump, should he mount a third White House campaign, Pence said: “Well, there might be somebody else I prefer more.”He added: “All my focus has been on the midterm elections and it’ll stay that way for the next 20 days. But after that, we’ll be thinking about the future, ours and the nation’s. And I’ll keep you posted, OK?”The tweet that stoked the ire of Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent House progressive, said: “I’ve got news for President Biden. Come January 22nd, we will have Pro-Life majorities in the House and Senate and we’ll be taking the cause of the right to Life to every state house in America!”According to most polling, Republicans are well placed to take the House and possibly the Senate.Boosted by results in special elections and ballot measures earlier this year, Democrats hope turnout among women angered by the supreme court decision on abortion can help them keep control of Congress and important state posts.TopicsUS midterm elections 2022Alexandria Ocasio-CortezMike PenceUS politicsAbortionDemocratsUS CongressnewsReuse this content More

    • 200 Shares189 Views

      in US Politics

      The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas review – why it pays to talk in a polarised world

      by

      The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas review – why it pays to talk in a polarised world The US journalist and TV pundit has written an engaging and provocative study of the dangers of political purityIt is a mark of the problem that The Persuaders seeks to describe that I had to force myself to sit down and read it. Anand Giridharadas, well known in the US as a journalist and TV political pundit, has written a thinky book on a subject many of us may feel we’ve heard too much about already – namely, the feedback loops, filter bubbles and interference of Russian bot farms that have led to extreme polarisation in the US and beyond. Giridharadas describes this state of affairs as “Americans’ growing culture of mutual dismissal”, leading to a mass “writing-off from a distance” and the inability of anyone to change their minds about anything. In overview, it looks like a book borne of Twitter discourse, and who needs that?As it turns out, The Persuaders is, well, persuasive, with a mission to find solutions for all this by identifying strategists, activists and thought leaders who have broken through entrenched political indifference or partisanship to build bridges or win over new fans. If the understanding is that no one will cede an inch to the other side, Giridharadas seeks cheering counter-examples, from the coalition behind the 2017 Women’s March, to the explosion in mainstream support for Black Lives Matter, to the rise of figures such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – her modern campaigning style is studied usefully alongside the less flexible and successful style of Bernie Sanders. The book grapples with the dangers of political purity and how to persuade people from the centre right and flabby middle to the left without diluting the cause. Despite the occasional cuts-job vibe of books by busy media operators, I found it a useful, thoughtful and interesting read.Which is not to say it didn’t annoy me. That’s the point, I suppose. The clever thing about Giridharadas’s approach is that while dissecting the prejudices of others, he flushes out your own kneejerk reactions, a dynamic from which the author himself isn’t spared. In the chapter on the Women’s March, the Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, one of the organisers, describes how alienated she was by the movement’s roots in “white feminism”. There are readers who, presented with other names from the Women’s March leadership team, will have an equally forceful recoil, thanks to their perceived links with antisemitic figures.The concern around white feminism is given many pages of thoughtful discussion. The latter worry, triggered by support among some march organisers for Louis Farrakhan, the antisemitic leader of the Nation of Islam, is given half a sentence. One requires understanding; the other is largely dismissed. The effect of this, deliberately or otherwise, is to underscore the need for everyone to consider the alternative view. Multiple interviewees with decades of activism behind them express frustration at the present state of leftwing politics and its habit of either occupying a drippy middle ground or else digging into the narcissism of small difference. In the era of no microaggression going unpunished, the book makes the case through various veteran activists that not only is the purity spiral counterproductive to broadening the movement, it is, for those pursuing it, almost addictively recreational. As the author writes: “Social media rewarded the hunt for apostates more than the conversion of non-believers.”Loretta Ross, a pioneering activist and theorist in Black radical feminist tradition, puts it this way: “I think the 90-percenters spend too much time trying to turn people into 100-percenters, which is totally unnecessary.” She means those ostensibly on the same side who say: “If you’re not working on my issue from my angle, then you’re erasing my issue. If you’re championing economic justice, you’re problematic for minimising race. If you’re championing racial justice, you don’t post enough about the ills of capitalism. If you’re focused on long-term climate change, you’re neglecting the here-and-now needs of poor communities.” These fights only hurt the progressive cause. It’s OK to call people out, but understand what you’re reaching for, she says. “You can’t change other people. You can’t even change the person you’re married to. You can help people. You can expose people to different information and help them learn – if you do so with love.”What this means in some contexts, argues Giridharadas, is shelving what feels good for what actually works. One chapter studies a fascinating programme trying to stop rapists reoffending by educating them on feminism, which requires a huge emotional effort on the part of the female educators to overcome what Ross calls “the justified instinct to focus on those hurt by the problem, not those perpetrating it”. Who wants to put resources into engaging with a rapist at the expense of funding his victims? But if it’s the most effective way to reduce rape, it’s at least worth considering.The most skippable stretch of the book is a long, Wikipediaesque biography of Ocasio-Cortez, all well-rehearsed information by this point. And there are occasional, inadvertently funny passages. An account of a consciousness-raising group of white people trying to become better educated about their own race privilege contains a testy back and forth over whether the description “recovering racist” implies that they are, in fact, racist, that is pure Monty Python.By far the most fascinating and potentially useful case study is that of Anat Shenker-Osorio, the communications strategist for progressive causes, whose tactics, pegged to the data, have exposed a lot of shortfalls in leftwing political campaigning. Shenker-Osorio points out that when people get frightened, they skew right; when they feel compassion and common cause with their fellow humans, they skew left. The left has often made the mistake of tailgating on the right’s framing of a discussion, piping up “We too are tough on law and order!” rather than calling out the right’s way of sowing disagreement between groups. “What is it about winning that is distasteful to you?” she says drily to a campaigner fixated on small differentials in language. She also counsels the left to cheer up. “Many progressive and Democratic messages basically boil down to ‘Boy, have I got a problem for you!’” – proven to be a big downer at the polls. “You’ve got to sell people on the beautiful tomorrow.”Exacerbated by new technology, these are, nonetheless, very old problems. As Saul Bellow put it in The Adventures of Augie March: “That’s the struggle of humanity, to recruit others to your version of what’s real.” This enjoyable, helpful read may, paradoxically, suspend our solipsism for long enough to better prosecute that recruitment.TopicsPolitics booksThe ObserverBlack Lives Matter movementFeminismAlexandria Ocasio-CortezUS politicsreviewsReuse this content More

    • 125 Shares129 Views

      in US Politics

      Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls for supreme court justices to be impeached

      by

      Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls for supreme court justices to be impeachedThe congresswoman says Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch lied under oath to Congress about their views on Roe Political pressure is mounting on Joe Biden to take more action to protect abortion rights across the US as firebrand New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for supreme court justices to be impeached for misleading statements about their views on Roe v Wade.Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks took aim at justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. Both were appointed by former president Donald Trump and had signaled that they would not reverse the supreme court’s landmark 1973 decision in Roe v Wade during confirmation hearings as well as in meetings with senators.On Friday, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch formed part of the conservative majority which in effect ended legal access to abortion in most states, and Ocasio-Cortez said “there must be consequences” for that.‘They set a torch to it’: Warren says court lost legitimacy with Roe reversalRead more“They lied,” the leftwing, second-term representative said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “I believe lying under oath is an impeachable offense … and I believe that this is something that should be very seriously considered.”Ocasio-Cortez added that standing idly by “sends a blaring signal to all future nominees that they can now lie to duly elected members of the United States Senate in order to secure … confirmations and seats on the supreme court”.She also mentioned impeaching Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife Ginni emailed 29 Republican lawmakers in Arizona as she tried to help undermine Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Thomas has not recused himself from election-related cases, drawing criticism.“I believe that not recusing from cases that one clearly has family members involved in with very deep violations of conflict of interest are also impeachable offenses,” Ocasio-Cortez said.House members can impeach a judge with a simple majority vote. But to be removed from office a justice would need to be convicted by a two-thirds majority of the Senate.Biden’s Democratic party controls the House with a clear majority, but its standing in the Senate is much more tenuous. The Senate is split 50-50, though Biden’s vice-president, Kamala Harris, can serve as a tiebreaker for votes that can be carried by a simple majority.The president dismissed the overturning of Roe v Wade as “cruel” but stopped well short of calling for the impeachment of any justices. He has also rejected the strategy proposed in some quarters to expand the supreme court in a way that would allow for the addition of more liberals and blunt the bench’s current conservative majority.Joining Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Thomas as conservatives on the supreme court are justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts. The liberals are Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.Breyer is retiring and due to be replaced by Ketanji Brown Jackson, another liberal.Nonetheless, on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez urged Biden to personally take steps to address what she called the supreme court’s “crisis of legitimacy”.“President Biden must address that,” she said.Ocasio-Cortez suggested Biden could order the opening up of abortion clinics on federal lands in states where terminating pregnancies has been outlawed “to help people access the healthcare services they need”, echoing an idea from the Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren.In states where abortion is no longer allowed because of Friday’s ruling, residents who need to terminate pregnancies must now travel hundreds of miles – if not more – to get access to the procedure.Many US corporate giants have taken steps to provide support and financial assistance to employees seeking abortions in states where that is outlawed in most cases. But such measures won’t help millions of people who need abortions but are not employed by a large international or national company.That’s where an order from Biden to allow abortion on federal lands in anti-abortion rights states would come in and help.Ocasio-Cortez also discussed possibly expanding access to abortion pills that could be mailed to those in need, though Republican politicians are gearing up to limit access to those as well.For instance, South Dakota’s governor, Kristi Noem, said her state would move to block medical providers in states where abortion is legal from mailing to South Dakotans pills that could end a pregnancy.The pressure on Biden follows Ocasio-Cortez’s remark earlier this month that she could not yet commit to endorsing him for another run at the White House in the 2024 election.Roe v Wade: senators say Trump supreme court nominees misled themRead moreHer comments on Sunday also came after senators such as Susan Collins of Maine and Joe Manchin of West Virginia said they felt deceived by Friday’s controversial supreme court decision to end nearly 50 years of protections granted by Roe v Wade.Collins, a Republican, said she felt “misled” after Kavanaugh and Gorsuch had said they would leave in place “longstanding precedents that the country has relied upon” during their confirmation hearings and in meetings with her.Meanwhile, Manchin said he had trusted both Kavanaugh and Gorsuch when they “testified under oath that they … believed Roe v Wade was settled legal precedent”.Manchin was the lone Democrat to support Kavanaugh’s appointment.TopicsRoe v WadeAlexandria Ocasio-CortezUS supreme courtAbortionUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

    • 175 Shares129 Views

      in US Politics

      ‘They set a torch to it’: Warren says court lost legitimacy with Roe reversal

      by

      ‘They set a torch to it’: Warren says court lost legitimacy with Roe reversalTop Democrats again call for appointing additional justices to blunt conservative super-majority which made ruling possible Leading Democrats on Sunday continued calling the supreme court’s legitimacy into question after it took away the nationwide right to abortion last week, and some again called for appointing additional justices to the panel so as to blunt the conservative super-majority which made the controversial ruling possible.Abortion banned in multiple US states just hours after Roe v Wade overturnedRead moreThe Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren suggested to ABC’s This Week that there was urgency to do that because supreme court justice Clarence Thomas indicated within Friday’s decision to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling that he’s open to reconsidering precedents guaranteeing contraception, same-sex marriage rights and consensual gay sex.“They have burned whatever legitimacy they may still have had,” Warren said of the supreme court. “They just took the last of it and set a torch to it.”Warren joined Georgia gubernatorial candidate and Democratic organizer Stacey Abrams in again lobbying to expand the supreme court in a way that balances the current makeup of six conservatives and three liberals.Joe Biden has rejected the strategy. But Abrams – who’s also previously served in Georgia’s house of representatives – said the president doesn’t have the final word on the matter, with legislators also having a potential say.“There’s nothing sacrosanct about nine members of the United States supreme court,” Abrams said on CNN’s State of the Union.Warren didn’t just once again mention the idea of abolishing the filibuster, a delaying tactic that both parties use to prevent legislative decisions, which Biden and centrist Democrats have also rejected.She also urged Biden to issue orders shielding medication abortions and authorizing the terminations of pregnancies on federal land.Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press, the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocascio-Cortez argued that drastic measures were justified.Trying to avoid burn-out: a Colorado abortion clinic braces for even more patientsRead more“I believe that the president and the Democratic party needs to come to terms with is that this is not just a crisis of Roe – this is a crisis of our democracy,” Ocascio-Cortez said.The congresswoman also said the supreme court was undergoing “a crisis of legitimacy”, making it a point to allude to how Thomas’s wife, Ginni, emailed 29 Republican lawmakers in Arizona as she tried to help overturn Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.“The supreme court has dramatically overreached its authority,” Ocascio-Cortez said. “This is a crisis of legitimacy.”Speaking from a Republican point of view on another program, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem fawningly said it was “incredible” that reproductive laws had been returned to the states. South Dakota is one of 13 states where trigger laws banning most abortions came into effect after Friday’s decision.“The supreme court did its job: it fixed a wrong decision it made many years ago and returned this power back to the states, which is how the constitution and our founders intended it,” Noem told CBS’ Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan”.World leaders condemn US abortion ruling as ‘backwards step’Read moreSouth Dakota, she said, would ensure that “babies are recognized and that every single life is precious”.The governor said the state would move to block Democratic efforts to allow access to out-of-state telemedicine and the ability of health practitioners in legal abortion states to provide pills in the mail that would allow them to end a pregnancy.Noem voiced that abortion pills were “very dangerous medical procedures”, though Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan correctly pointed out that the pills were approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.Nonetheless, Noem insisted, saying, “A woman is five times more likely to end up in an emergency room if they’re utilizing this kind of method for an abortion.“It’s something that should be under the supervision of a medical doctor and it is something in South Dakota that we’ve made sure happens that way.”The governor, a rising star in Republican circles, said that mothers would not be prosecuted for receiving abortions, rather the state planned to target illegal abortion providers.“We will make sure that mothers have the resources, protection and medical care that they need and we’re being aggressive on that. And we’ll also make sure that the federal government only does its job,” Noem added.TopicsUS politicsElizabeth WarrenAlexandria Ocasio-CortezRoe v WadeUS supreme courtnewsReuse this content More

    • 175 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      AOC refuses to endorse Biden for 2024 as Democrats doubt his ability to win

      by

      AOC refuses to endorse Biden for 2024 as Democrats doubt his ability to win Congresswoman says she’s focused on trying to preserve Democrats’ congressional majority in November’s midterms Left-wing congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday refused to endorse Joe Biden for another run at the White House, adding to growing anxiety in Democratic circles over the president’s ability to run in and win the 2024 election.The powerful progressive New Yorker said she could not commit to supporting Biden during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, saying she was more focused on trying to preserve Democrats’ congressional majority in November’s midterms.“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Ocasio-Cortez said when asked directly if she would support Biden.“If the president has a vision and that’s something we’re all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes… we should endorse when we get to it. We’ll take a look at it.”“Right now we need to focus on winning a majority instead of a federal presidential election.”Ocasio-Cortez is a vocal member of the Democratic party’s left wing, which has been pushing Biden to take executive actions to get past a congressional logjam in his agenda.But there appears to be growing discomfort with the 79-year-old president across the array of Democratic ranks.The New York Times reported on Saturday that “dozens of frustrated Democratic officials, members of Congress and voters” were doubtful Biden possessed the ability to turn around the party’s fortunes.And New York magazine’s Intelligencer explored the issue of Biden’s longevity last month, noting that: “Many of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors – even as they pledge to back Biden’s reelection in earnest – have quietly started to poke around for alternatives in 2024.”Biden is mired by the lowest approval ratings of his presidency and seemingly unable to solve a raft of problems facing the country from inflation to abortions rights and gun reform.Despite Democrats having control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, he has also been unable to advance signature policy objectives such as the Build Back Better act and voting protections.Adding to the discomfort is Biden’s age: he will turn 82 the day barely two weeks after he would be seeking re-election.“The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,” David Axelrod, former president Barack Obama’s chief strategist, told the New York Times.Ocasio-Cortez did tell CNN that she thought Biden was “doing a very good job so far” and didn’t rule out eventually backing him “if the president chooses to run again”.Traditionally, however, sitting first-term presidents have always enjoyed the unswerving loyalty and backing from their party, something Biden clearly does not have. The questioning is expected to intensify if, as polls suggest, Democrats take a hammering in November’s midterms and lose control of one, or both chambers of Congress.“[Biden] should announce his intent not to seek re-election right after the midterms,” Steve Simeonidis, a Miami-based member of the Democratic national committee (DNC) told the Times.“To say our country was on the right track would flagrantly depart from reality.”Many of the Democrats interviewed by the newspaper, including elected officials, indicated the situation was not helped by a lack of clarity over a natural successor.At a Detroit rally during his 2020 campaign, Biden said he viewed himself “as a bridge” to a younger generation of Democratic leaders, an indication that his objective was to run to get Donald Trump out of office, then prepare to hand over the baton.But vice-president Kamala Harris, once seen as Biden’s heir apparent, has struggled to make a mark, despite attempting to seize the lead on Democrats’ opposition to the supreme court’s expected imminent ruling ending almost half a century of abortion rights.Biden has indicated he intends to run again, telling his old boss Obama in April that he was preparing for 2024 with Harris on the ticket. Sources said he sees himself as the only candidate capable of keeping Trump out of the White House if the former president launches another campaign.According to Intelligencer, Democrats are broadly split into two camps, those who see Biden’s troubles as familiar midterms woes facing most administrations, with fortunes set to improve as 2024 approaches; and those who consider that the unprecedented combination of circumstances, including Biden’s age, his strategy and uncertainty of succession, make a future path uncertain and unpredictable.Jasmine Crockett, a Democratic Texas state representative, told the New York Times that many of her party’s problems at a national level, and by extension Biden’s problems too, come down to one thing: failing to stimulate voters by using their power.“Democrats are like, ‘What the hell is going on?’” Crockett said.“Our country is completely falling apart. And so I think we’re lacking in the excitement.”TopicsUS elections 2024Joe BidenUS politicsDemocratsUS CongressAlexandria Ocasio-CorteznewsReuse this content More

    • 113 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets engaged to longtime partner Riley Roberts

      by

      Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets engaged to longtime partner Riley RobertsDemocratic congresswoman confirms engagement to Roberts, whom she met as a student at Boston University Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took a break between visiting Amazon union workers and endorsing progressive candidates to get engaged to her longtime partner Riley Roberts.Ocasio-Cortez to unionized Amazon workers: victory is ‘just the beginning’Read moreOcasio-Cortez, 32, confirmed to Insider on Thursday that she and Roberts, who met while both were at Boston University, got engaged last month while visiting her parents’ home town in Puerto Rico.She then wrote on Twitter: “It’s true! Thank you all for the well wishes.”According to Insider, the pair were quiet about their relationship even before Ocasio-Cortez became a popular political voice, and their friends at university did not always know they were together.Roberts has also been one of her greatest support systems throughout her career, according to a biography published earlier this year, People magazine reported.“What we do know about Roberts doesn’t fit the stereotype of a politician’s partner,” writes Josh Gondelman in an essay in Take Up Space: The Unprecedented AOC by the editors of New York magazine.“He doesn’t seem focus-grouped or media-trained for state dinners and press conferences. We know he’s supportive and encouraging in private,” Gondelman writes. “And his expertise, as far as his public image goes, is his elusiveness and restraint.”The few times Roberts, a marketing professional, has popped up in media it has been with the couple’s dog, Deco, or in the 2018 documentary Knock Down the House.Ocasio-Cortez said she and Roberts would not start planning a wedding for at least a month.TopicsAlexandria Ocasio-CortezDemocratsUS politicsnewsReuse this content More