Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Refused To Campaign More For Bernie Sanders

[George II]

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) turned down repeated requests from Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign to appear at events promoting the Vermont senator’s candidacy in recent weeks, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

After the Iowa caucuses, Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir asked Ocasio-Cortez to stump for Sanders in New Hampshire, according to the sources. The campaign prepared a model schedule to highlight the kind of popular support she would expect if she attended, one of the people familiar with the talks said.

Ocasio-Cortez resisted the entreaties until a few days before the primary on Feb. 12. She ultimately spoke the day before the election at a Sanders rally in Durham, New Hampshire, where the rock band The Strokes performed.

“It was like pulling teeth to get her to New Hampshire,” said a second person who knew about the discussions.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-bernie-sanders-campaign-rallies_n_5e6ade51c5b6bd8156f44356?6ukb

[TwilightZone]

1. Are they going to throw her under the bus like they did with Warren?

It's kind of curious that she wouldn't appear. I wonder what the thinking behind that was.

[Polybius]

9. Warren threw him under the bus

It's the other way around.

[TomCADem]

12. Please. How?

Bernie' and his urrogates broke the truce and started targetting her specifically arguing that she was part of the "establishment."

[TwilightZone]

15. Nope.

His surrogates attacked her on everything from calling him out for lying about her on national TV to not dropping out of the race soon enough and not endorsing him immediately after withdrawing. Snake emojis and all.

[Siwsan]

2. She might be preparing to defend her own seat.

I might be 'mis-remembering' but wasn't there talk of someone challenging her in the NY primary?

[Sloumeau]

4. I thought I read somewhere that there were something like

13 people challenging her for her seat--5 Democrats and 8 Republicans.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/aocs-competition-meet-the-candidates-running-against-ocasio-cortez]

[Blue_true]

23. Yes. In the Dem primary, something like 5 people are challenging her.

IMO, the best of the democrats is Jose Velazquez, an experienced community organizer and public advocate who has a proven progressive track record, but is still fairly young (thirties).

[louseb]

3. Sounds like more of scheduling issue that has been sorted out.

the timeline is a bit off to be able to put together an interesting narrative

[marble falls]

5. I think she realized she was being paraded like a trophy. AOC will be a national leader in ...

the future and its a pleasure to get to know about her now in her "back then". I hope one day to be able to vote for her.

[LizBeth]

21. Women are clever enough to see a man that doesn't respect women. AOC is particularly clever.

I do not imagine it took much time in Sanders company to understand he really has issues with women, and powerful women at that. Shove them to the side, hand up in the face to shut them up, talking over them. I don't see Sanders changing his ways while asking for help from AOC with her popularity.

[marble falls]

22. As enlightened as some men may be, fair treatment of women is the "next frontier".

[beastie boy]

6. She's been part of the Democratic establishment for over a year. And she is over 30 years old now.

Do you think she is taking Bernie's open contempt for both groups a bit personally?

[TomCADem]

7. Bernie Blaming Women Again. First Warren, Now AOC

What is up with Bernie. AOC helps Bernie, but it is not enough, so the Bernie campaign leaks information designed to hurt AOC's reelection chances. This is what Bernie does. He likes to attack his would be allies.

[democrattotheend]

17. I don't think the Bernie people iniated that story

It seems like a journalist trying to sow up discord, IMO.

[TomCADem]

19. It Seems Pretty Detailed With Inside Info From Bernie's Campaign

I can't imagine that AOC leaked info on turning down a request from Bernie's campaign staff. This would just earn her the ire of Bernie's supporters.

Perhaps AOC now feels pressure to show up more by Bernie's side to counter the article.

[comradebillyboy]

8. More from the linked article

"At a rally in Ames on Jan. 25, Ocasio-Cortez delivered a speech in which she failed to mention Sanders’ name ― an omission that Fox News noticed and highlighted. She also encouraged those in attendance to tip off people about the presence of immigration enforcement authorities in their communities to help undocumented immigrants evade detention.

As Vanity Fair first reported in February, Shakir communicated to Ocasio-Cortez his dissatisfaction over her remarks about alerting the presence of immigration authorities. While Sanders has sought to scrap and restructure the ICE agency in its current form, his campaign has been trying to avoid the impression that it was encouraging noncooperation with federal law as it exists, according to one source.

After that, Ocasio-Cortez ― already annoyed with the campaign’s Jan. 23 decision to publicize the endorsement of controversial podcast host Joe Rogan ― grew less interested in helping Sanders’ campaign, according to the source. After her last event in Iowa on Jan. 26, she did not return to the trail for Sanders until 16 days later, at the New Hampshire rally featuring The Strokes."

[TomCADem]

10. Bernie's Immigration Views Are Inconsistent With Those of AOC

This is what I did not understand about AOC's role. To this day, Bernie still uses right wing talking points attacking open border policies even though no candidate has endorsed such views. Indeed, AOC herself is often the subject of right wing attacks on "open border policies." So, it must have been galling to have Bernie's campaign to tell her to tone down her attacks on Trump's immigration policies.

[Tarc]

11. AOC has a duty to her constituents, not to be out on the campaign trail

She is quite dedicated to her actual job and responsibilities, one of her many many fine qualities.

[democrattotheend]

18. That's what I was thinking

The article seems like a bit of an over dramatization, IMO. AOC is facing several primary challengers and she's probably conscious of not giving the impression of spending more time campaigning for Bernie all over the country than serving her constituents.

[TreasonousBastard]

13. Perhaps she's seeing Bernie as a lost cause at this point. She does have other things...

to work on.

[Sunlei]

14. unfortunately for Sanders campaign,as he loses states our D stars & all D voters

have to stand and work with/for the D party winner.

We have to evict the republican party from our government.

[pampango]

16. Good. Bernie's supporters think highly of her. Her acknowledgement of his defeat will help

his supporters face reality. Sometimes a word from a friend caries more weight than that from a competitor.

[Cha]

20. Excelpt this says she was in Ann Arbor on Sunday the 8th of March

https://www.democraticunderground.com/12967275

[zackymilly]

24. Should Bernie, who won't release his medical records, have a band called "The Strokes" perform? n/t

[George II]

26. Clever - I never even thought of that!

[mcar]

25. What's her game?

She goes on Fox and cries voter suppression and now this?

[BidenBacker]

27. AOC couldn't go to NH to campaign for Bernie

because there was a 10-minute line to get on the plane.

[Pillow talk]

28. Resisted and refused are two different things. my lord can we get this right?