Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warns Joe Biden not to ditch progressives

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warns Joe Biden not to ditch progressives

Credit: Reuters

Radical New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned Joe Biden not to marginalise the party’s insurgent wing when he enters the White House.

With the Democrats still celebrating their election triumph, Ms Ocasio-Cortez signalled, in an interview with the New York Times, the difficulties Mr Biden will face holding together a coalition of moderates and the left once he enters the White House.

While Mr Biden is on course for a comprehensive victory, the Democrats lost ground in the House and failed to capture several Senate seats which they had hoped to flip.

The sniping has already started.

"Because before we even had any data yet in a lot of these races, there was already finger-pointing that this was progressives’ fault and that this was the fault of the Movement for Black Lives," she said.

Moderate Democrats did not fare badly because voters were scared by the party’s left, Ms Ocasio-Cortez added, but because of half-hearted campaigning.

"If you’re not door-knocking, if you’re not on the internet, if your main points of reliance are TV and mail, then you’re not running a campaign on all cylinders. 

"I just don’t see how anyone could be making ideological claims when they didn’t run a full-fledged campaign. Our party isn’t even online, not in a real way that exhibits competence."

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She rounded on the party establishment. "frankly, people in some of the most important decision-making positions in the party — are becoming so blinded to this anti-activist sentiment that they are blinding themselves to the very assets that they offer."

Abandoning policies such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal would cost the Democrats’ dear, she added.

A similar message was voiced by Ilhan Omar, another member of the so-called "Squad" of radical women congresswomen.

"Every swing candidate who got us the majority in that red to blue victory that we had in 2018 who sponsored medicare for all won or is on track to win their race," she said on CNN.

"And all of those members who are part of the progressive caucus who are also in those swing districts won their races or on track to win."