By Thom Duda
Since being the youngest representative ever elected to Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been the target of mockery and outright idiocy from pundits, politicians and, of course, Fox News.
Now these attacks have ranged from everything she says, to her financial situation, and even to her wardrobe.
Fox talking heads were joking about her difficulties in finding a place in D.C. until her new salary kicked in – completely ignoring the fact that normal housing is already expensive in many areas and even more so in our nation’s capital.
Sen. Lindsey Graham mocked Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet on Nov. 25, 2018 where she commented on the refugees in the migrant caravan. After she drew reasonable comparisons to families Peeing Nazi
Germany, Rwanda, and Syria, Graham recommended Ocasio-Cortez take a visit to the Holocaust museum to “better understand the differences between the Holocaust and the caravan in Tijuana.”
Of course, Graham ignored that the museum focuses on teaching the lessons of the past and the beginnings of the Holocaust rather than just the end result, something Ocasio-Cortez quickly pointed out.
In a now-deleted tweet, Eddie Scarry, an opinion writer for the Washington Examiner, retweeted a photo of Ocasio-Cortez with the comment, “that jacket and coat don’t look like a girl who struggles.”
She can’t have a work wardrobe without being financially well off, it would seem.
To Ocasio-Cortez’s credit, she has not backed down from any of these incidents and has not been afraid to confront her detractors.
Ocasio-Cortez is precisely what this country needs right now.
She is young, intelligent, clearly motivated to the betterment of her country and her fellow Americans and, above all else, willing to speak about the issues plaguing our country.
This Congresswoman has not only drawn attention to issues of housing and wages, something she herself has intimate experience with, but has also drawn upon the staggering difference in healthcare costs that those serving in Congress pay compared to the general populace.
Ocasio-Cortez has advocated for combating climate change and not shying away from the reality that many people will lose their lives as the climate continues to worsen.
Ocasio-Cortez has even pledged to make sure that the interns working under her are paid above minimum wage, something that is not common at all in our country.
The Congresswoman is doing what she was voted to do – there is no need for mockery at all, especially about something as innocuous as her clothing or the real struggles she shares with hundreds of Americans.
Let the new representatives come in and do their jobs because they are the future of Congress and of this country.