New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hinted that she may challenge Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for his seat in their state's Democratic primary, the New York Post reported. Ocasio-Cortez indicated this during a CNN town hall discussion on Wednesday with independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The moderator, Kaitlin Collins, asked the leftist politicians whether they thought Schumer had to go because of his role in the continued government shutdown. While both seemed to brush off the idea as absurd, what Ocasio-Cortez said next seemed to suggest that she believes it's time to challenge the 74-year-old senator.
Ocasio-Cortez said she is "sick of talking about these horse races" and "sick of leaders who only want to spend their time talking about that instead of talking about real issues that affect our lives." She then made a gaffe that is sure to become a classic. "Instead of talking about healthcare; Instead of talking about wages; Instead of talking about having air that is drinkable – I mean, air that is breathable and water that is drinkable."
Both were deflecting and attempting to take the heat off Schumer and the Democrats as the government shutdown drags on because of their unwillingness to budge. Sanders turned to his usual socialist arguments about inequality and economic issues, without really discussing Schumer and his positions.
"That's exactly what we're talking--we have a country that is falling apart. We had a housing crisis, a health care crisis, an education crisis, massive income and wealth inequality, corrupt campaign finances, and the media says, ‘Are you going to run? What are you going to run for?’ Nobody cares!" Sanders claimed.
Collins pushed back on Sanders that it is not just the media talking about challenging Schumer, noting that President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have been speculating whether Ocasio-Cortez would be the one to do unseat Schumer. Sanders said that the president and vice president are only doing this to "deflect attention away from the real issues" before launching into more of his default rhetoric.
"We're living in the richest country in the history of the world, right? All right, you tell me why we're the only nation not to guarantee health care to all people," Sanders bemoaned.
"The only nation not to guarantee paid family and medical leave, why we have a $7.25 an hour minimum wage, why we have 800,000 people sleeping out on the street," he added. "Let’s talk about that issue — not her political future. She’ll decide that," Sanders said.
This idea is not out of nowhere, as Fox News reported that others have hinted that Ocasio-Cortez may already be more powerful in the party and is striving for even more sway. During an appearance on MSNBC last month, Ocasio-Cortez made it seem like she was the one calling the shots.
"My office is open, and you are free to walk in and negotiate with me directly," she said to Republicans while speaking about the shutdown. When a reporter asked former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi whether there was any merit in Republicans's feelings that Ocasio-Cortez had bargaining power, Pelosi snapped back at the reporter who dared to breach the topic.
"Why are you saying such a ridiculous thing? She’s wonderful, she’s a real team player, and the rest of that," Pelosi said.
"You started by saying Republicans say that she’s directing this. She is not, Hakeem Jeffries is," Pelosi said, referring to the House Minority Leader.
The Democratic Party is having a hard time pulling out of this tailspin, and perhaps it is time for new leaders to step up. Still, even if Ocasio-Cortez is downplaying it and others are sidestepping it, it's time for new leadership before they get to a point where they'll never politically recover.
