We’ve seen a lot of performance art from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) — most recently the pretend handcuff episode outside the Supreme Court.
AOC is not popular with some of the left. Because while she’s doing these stunts to hype her national profile, some don’t think that she’s doing the work that she was elected to do.
AOC was called out by someone who claimed he was a student in medicine on Twitter. He said that AOC cancelled a meeting with academics about socialized medicine, British style. He claimed that they were blown off by AOC’s people with the comment, “We’re not doing healthcare right now.” He let her have it for her response saying she was doing “performative resistance art” for the cameras but she wasn’t “doing healthcare right now,” while:
“We are in the middle of two pandemics & people are still dying because they lack health care. this is not fighting.”
AOC seemed to acknowledge that it happened with her response, “I’m really sorry to hear that this happened. It’s not representative of me nor my values. If you can connect with details I’d appreciate it. I’ll follow so DMs will be open.”
That exchange then set off New York State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who is a leftist “Working Families Democrat.” Ramos represents Queens, and her district overlaps with that of AOC. AOC got it.
Maybe if you spent more time in your office and with your team you’d know what goes on. It would just be nice to breathe our air. As an employer, what do you do with that employee?
— Jessica Ramos (@jessicaramos) July 24, 2022
“Maybe if you spent more time in your office and with your team you’d know what goes on. I’m just saying that it would be nice to breathe in our air. So, as an employer, what happens with the staffer who said this?” ” Ramos tweeted, chastising AOC for deserting her district. The attack was similar to AOC’s attack on her predecessor, Joe Crowley, about never being in his district.
Ramos didn’t leave it there. “Our district offices are on the same floor in the same building. She’s barely ever present in the community. It’s an indisputable fact,” Ramos said blasting AOC.
“I texted on 1/6 that I hope she’s ok and never even heard back. She doesn’t meet with local elected officials,” Ramos said. “The point is that’s when I gave up texting her. She reached out to me many times. She hasn’t shown interest in meeting w me or other colleagues that I know about.”
In response to one user who proposed that Ramos was just jealous of Ocasio-Cortez, Ramos responded: “Nah. Just want my congressional representative to be around and do their job in the community.”
“My congressperson being absent is not dirty laundry. It’s never been with any other elected official,” she added in another tweet.
Ramos then responded to a political pundit who noted that since she was AOC’s “prominent local ally…the fact this has gone public suggests private diplomacy has failed.”
Ramos confirmed that. “I gave up texting her a while back, and as petitioning unfolded, I reached out through staff and requested a meeting. In months, I haven’t spoken with my congressperson. Perhaps more than one year. What else is it I’m supposed to do?”
That now has resulted in a firestorm back and forth with people variously supporting Ramos and/or saying she shouldn’t be calling out AOC in public.
But what it does show is that AOC may have the same problem that Crowley had, when she isn’t even responding to an ally to such a degree that the ally is making such a stink about it. This could indicate that AOC could be taken out by someone within the district, much like Crowley. Performance art may play for some on the national scene, but it doesn’t enamor you to folks back in your district if they think you are just blowing them off.
AOC could be troubled in her own district if this is the message of an ally.
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