Last Updated on 04/09/2024 by Arun jain
A famously outspoken progressive Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC, as she is popularly known) has struck a new feud with the Green Party and its long-time flagbearer Jill Stein.
In a video shared on Instagram over the weekend that has since gone viral, Ocasio-Cortez attempted to answer a user-submitted question: “How do I tell my friends that Jill Stein voters are wasting their time and effort?”
“You guys, this is a little spicy, but I have ideas,” Ocasio-Cortez said, before launching into her criticism of the perennial third-party presidential candidate. “Believe me, I’ve been on the record about my criticisms of the two-party system, so this is not about that,” she said while filing her candidacy in New York, representing both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party (WFP). ) and its support of WFP and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates. “The problem I have is the fact that if you’re running for president, you are In fact Your party leader,” she said, “and if you run for years and years and years and years, and your party doesn’t grow and you don’t add city council seats and you don’t add ballot candidates. And you don’t add the elected people of the state, that’s bad leadership. It’s uncomfortable for me.”
“If,” Ocasio-Cortez continued, “all you do is show up once every four years to talk to people who are justifiably angry, but you only show up once every four years to do that, then you Not serious. To me, it doesn’t read as authentic, it reads as predatory.”
The pro-environment, anti-war Green Party—which currently has about 244,000 Registered Members Nationally, a candidate has never won federal office — down from its peak in 2004 at 319,000. Meanwhile, presidential candidates from the Green Party, which the party has fielded in every presidential election since 1996, have never earned more than 2.7% of the popular vote—the same amount that Ralph Nader did in 2000 and was widely criticized as a “spoiler”. The race that ultimately went to Republican George W. Bush received.
After earlier campaigns in 2012 and 2016, Stein, the party’s nominee again in 2024, reverted to Ocasio-Cortez—whom she labeled “AOC-Pelosi” in a pointed reference. Evolution of Ocasio-Cortez From firebrand outsider to mainstream messenger of the Democratic Party — in a video posted on social media Tuesday.
“Clearly AOC is an attack dog of the day And the Democrats are freaking out. And they should be, because who wants to support genocide? Who wants to vote for genocide?” Stein said. “If there’s anything violent here, it’s saying your candidate is ‘working tirelessly for a ceasefire’ when in fact they’re actively funding and weaponizing genocide and actually It refuses to even consider arms embargoes that could prevent genocide.”
The ongoing Israel-Hamas war that remains thousands Gazans’ death has become a presidential election issue that could cost the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Kamala Harris votes, especially in important swing states Muslim and Arab American populations. President Joe Biden’s administration, of which Harris is a key member, has been criticized for supporting Israel’s military campaign, and Harris has promised that as president he will “unmistakable and irrevocable“Support for Israel’s Right”Defend yourself” while noting that “many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
Citing Democratic efforts to limit voting access for independent candidates, Stein blamed the Green Party’s lack of power on “the anti-democratic tactics and tactics that the Democratic Party uses to crush and silence political opposition” and called Ocasio-Cortez “a useful ‘Green'”. Signature Issue”: The Green New Deal.
in many statesIt is very challenging for independent or third-party candidates to get on the ballot. Both the Democratic Party And Republican Party Fears that other candidates siphon votes have backed efforts to limit competition, which could prove crucial in cases where margins of victory are slim. (In 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton In some states by fewer votes than Stein received.) Candidates like Stein and Robert F. Kennedy JrBefore that Abandoned his 2024 bid and endorsed Trumphave fought against such restrictions. According to Politico’s ballot tracker As of Sept. 4, Stein has gained ballot access in 30 states, including Seven Battleground States Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
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