Ayanna Pressley meets Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[Yavin4]

Last edited Tue Sep 4, 2018, 10:03 PM - Edit history (1)

“There was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if we could become something more.”

Starting to feel like an Avengers Team Up!!!

Link to tweet

[mobeau69]

1. "The people closest to the pain should be closest to the power." - @AyannaPressley.

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2. That's nice. But Pressley identifies as a Democrat.

[mobeau69]

3. huh?

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4. AOC calls herself a democratic socialist.

[Voltaire2]

9. And a Democrat.

One is s political party, the other isn’t.

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11. What does that mean?

[Voltaire2]

17. The Democratic Party is a political party not a

specific ideology. Democratic socialist is an ideology. The Democratic Party has members with many different ideologies. Is that clear?

[Hortensis]

19. Sure. She is a Democrat who identifies

as a democratic socialist. That's reality.

Let me be clear: Since she's not dissociated from her youthful association with Sanders and her support of ruthless political behaviors that strongly violate my own moral and ethical codes, and betrayed both his association with the Democratic Party and their claimed progressive goals, I don't trust her or respect her judgement.

[Voltaire2]

35. Wow.

Way to support our candidates.

[tirebiter]

5. DSA is a meaningless label

Cortez made clear on her election night that she's a big tent Democrat.

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7. Are you talking about Ocasio-Cortez?

She's on record as being a self-avowed democratic socialist.

[tirebiter]

12. The "S" part confuses things

Democrats have been mistaken for socialists since 1934. It's evil to some folks and romantic to some others. I come from the some who think it's just incorrect and unnecessary. Cortez spoke of the big tent into which her DSA could fit so I took her at her word

I used to think being "The forces of chaos and anarchy," was a good idea. It sounded cool when Jefferson Airplane sang it but it tends to suck now that Trump is doing it

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13. Yeah, that socialist label just gives repugs more ammo against us.

Many in the general public don't know the difference between a nazi and a socialist. Remember at Palin's word salad rallies some in the crowd had signs calling O both at the same time.

[SkyDancer]

22. And?

Those people screaming socialists would never vote for any Democrat anyhow.

Times have changed, "socialism" isn't a boogieman any more.

[KPN]

28. Exactly. Thank you.

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29. That's your view. It still is to many, and they are not all trumpers.

The biggest voting blocks of Dems still are boomers and genXers and many of them grew up with communists/socialists as just that, bogeymen, and don't even perceive the many positive aspects of socialism in our daily lives.

IMO it's smart for AOC to just call herself a Democrat or progressive Democrat so as not to give the repugs negative ammo to use against her.

Think about it, why else would she stop using the Democratic Socialist label?

[SkyDancer]

33. It isn't a view

Those who see socialism as a boogieman are literally dying out. This isn't 1950 anymore, it's 2018 where the largest voting bloc, millennials, have a more favorable view of socialism than they do capitalism. Boomers are not the largest voting bloc any longer and GenXers never have been. And many GenXers don't have your opinion of socialism.

IMHO It's smart for AOC to call herself a Democratic Socialist and engage younger voters who identify with the fastest growing political ideology in America. That is how you bring new people in to our party--- literal outreach.

She hasn't stopped using the Democratic Socialist label. Where are you getting that from?

Link to tweet

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37. Again, the biggest voting block are boomers and genXers, that includes Dems and Independents.

40 something GenXers are hardly dying out and the boomers from mid-50s on are still kicking and voting. No need to alienate any of them when you want their votes.

Better recheck you figures on all those millions of voters dying out.

You seem obviously to be wedded to the term socialist but whether you want to admit it or not, it's a liability now in politics in today's America.

After the millions of boomers and Xers are gone things might be different but AOC did the smart thing.

Boomers and Xers are the ones who vote and getting them to vote for you is now you win elections. Many millennials for some reason still don't vote in the same numbers percentage-wise as the older voters.

That's just how it is right now.

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8. I hope you're right and she finally ditched that democratic socialist label...

as I like Democrats, as Howard Dean famously said, from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

I'm proud to be a Democrat.

[SkyDancer]

23. Yes because let's narrow things down

and get even less people to vote for our party!

DSA has massive momentum, AOC is a member, she is NOT ditching the label as it is her ideology.

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24. It was smart to do though. Why give repugs more ammo against Dems...

as the word "socialist" has negative connotations to many whether justified or not. The repugs decades-long push to cut education has lead to many not knowing the difference between socialists and nazis even.

Remember Palin's crowds used carry signs calling O a nazi and a socialist and the two couldn't be more different (now many of those creeps are probably playing nazi themselves, what with the trump effect).

[MaryELease]

31. Maybe. . .

The issue isn't what ideology she favors, but the propaganda of decades smearing certain words.
Standing strong and speaking about the policies she supports (which an overwhelming majority of Americans across the political spectrum favor) neuters the fear mongering and lies about such labels.

Do you hate...
Medicare
Social Security
Fire and public safety
Clean drinking water
Public roads
Public Schools
.... the list goes on and on.

Those are socialist programs and policies.

National defense & the military. . . a socialist program.

Over 70% of Americans support
Paid maternity leave
Medicare for all
Free college
Childcare for working parents
Large Investments in rebuilding our infrastructure
Net neutrality
Local municipalities setting up their own competing broadband
Increasing the minimum wage to make it a livable wage that automatically increases y2y with inflation / COLA / & regional adjustments.
so on & so on.

When people hear the message it not only informs them more about rethinking they're misunderstanding of such labels, and actually undermines those who seek to attack such broadly popular policy positions.

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32. You're preaching to the choir here. Many out there in the electorate don't get that those things...

you list are socialist aspects of our society, unfortunately. And many of the largest voting block of Dems and independents, the ones who actually go to the polls and vote, are the boomers and genXers and many of them were raised when communism and socialism were anti-American bogeymen and many, not all, still harbor that mindset. Millennials no, but who actually votes the most?

We want to pick off as many of those most likely voters so it's smart to have the things you mention as policy goals but IMO we still give the repugs and media negative ammo and risk losing votes by calling ourselves socialists.

And the overarching goal is to get the most votes from the most likely voters and win elections.

[SkyDancer]

34. Because Palin's crowd would ever vote for a Democrat?

lol come on now.

[David__77]

15. Lots of Democrats are socialists.

The Democratic Party is a diverse organization.

[SkyDancer]

21. Those of us who are members of DSA don't find it meaningless

[ismnotwasm]

6. This is very cool and what I want to see

Women, women of color in Democratic positions of power. THIS is revolution. Pressley is the first Democratic African American women in a position to represent Massachusetts, ever.

[Yavin4]

10. I think you mean "to represent Massachusetts, eeevah"

We're talking about Massachusetts.

[ismnotwasm]

14. Yeah pretty much

[KPN]

30. Very cool indeed.

[namahage]

16. Yes, back in June.

Since then? Not a whole lot, it seems.

[oberliner]

18. They are the future of the Democratic Party

[Hortensis]

20. Ayana Pressley is great! Don't compare her with Alexandria Ocasio.

Depending on where one is politically, this inaccurate comparison of Ayanna Pressley with Alexandria Ocasio-Diaz is unjust to both.

Ayana Pressley is a strong liberal with a good record. She's competent and for good reason has been a rising star in the Massachusetts' Democratic Party for some years. At 44, there is nothing aberrational or accidental about this move to national office. Both Capuano and Pressley ran hard campaigns, with each garnering endorsements from mainstream power centers.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez belongs, as she admits proudly, to a dissident faction in the Democratic Party. One that shares the values of the grand alliance of the majority but but rejects its product of compromise between its many cooperating factions.

One can admire either or both for what they are, just don't mistake them.

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25. Well said. K&R

[heaven05]

26. +++ nt

[Voltaire2]

36. "a dissident faction in the Democratic Party"

The non-dissident faction is by definition the “establishment faction”.

[NCTraveler]

27. Pressley took PAC money.

And good for her for doing so. Not taking PAC money is a fools game.

Pressley is excellent. She should not be compared to Cortez. They aren't even close to the same.