Democrat Circular Firing Squad Targets AOC for House Losses

A Democrat circular firing squad has targeted far-left Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for the party’s losses in the U.S. House of Representatives that will likely give Republicans the majority.

The fight erupted on Thursday when Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) reflected on his failed reelection campaign, lamenting to the New York Times how AOC did not contribute to the Democrats’ overall agenda this election cycle.

“The last time I ran into A.O.C., we were beating her endorsed candidate two to one in a primary, and I didn’t see her one minute of these midterms helping our House majority,” he told the Times.

“But let’s be clear, she had almost nothing to do with what turned out to be an historic defense of our majority,” he added. “Didn’t pay a dollar of dues. Didn’t do anything for our frontline candidates except give them money when they didn’t want it from her.”

Republicans performed well in the state of New York, where they flipped several seats in the suburbs largely thanks to Rep. Lee Zeldin’s impressive campaign against Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul that mobilized turnout due to fears about rampant crime. Though Zeldin did not win the race, political candidates have credited his strong showing against Hochul for the wins that down-ballot Republicans enjoyed in the Empire State.

Maloney stressed that a majority of voters simply do not identify with AOC’s extreme politics.

“There are other voices who should be heard, especially when suburban voters have clearly rejected the ideas that she’s most associated with, from defunding the police on down,” Maloney said. “She’s an important voice in our politics. But when it comes to passing our agenda through the Congress, or standing our ground on the political battlefield, she was nowhere to be found.”

Maloney also feels that Kathy Hochul addressed the crime problem in New York too late in her campaign, yielding to losses in the suburbs.

“New York is home to the fiercest outlet in the News Corporation fear machine,” said Maloney. “In fairness to the governor, she and the rest of us have to contend with the hysteria of The New York Post and of Fox News combined. But if you look at her own race, they clearly understood they had to answer the charges and began to do so late.”

AOC later took to Twitter to address some of Maloney’s charges.

“Let’s make something crystal clear: SPM courted me for donations to swing races & it was the 1st thing I did this term. Over a quarter million for Dems this cycle, DCCC facilitated some & now he denies it. If he isn’t aware of my visit to CA & efforts we put in, that’s on him,” she tweeted.

– Because of Dem party abandonment in key areas, statewide victories depended HEAVILY on driving up numbers in progressive areas like mine & @nywfp

– To our knowledge, I was the only NYC House Dem in a safe seat to run a full-throated heavy field operation for GOTV

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 11, 2022

As for him “not seeing me” – perhaps it’s because he as a party leader chose not to see nor value prominent members of his party for years.

Either way, we will continue to organize & turn out undervalued + unseen communities in this country – whether the powerful like it or not.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 11, 2022

Yet we*

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 11, 2022