August 10, 2018

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Is Not Here for Insulting, Bad-Faith Invites to “Debate”

Preach.

G. Ronald Lopez/ZUMA

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has had quite a busy summer in the two months since her stunning victory against 10-term incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in New York’s Democratic primary, stumping for Democratic candidates across the country.

Along with her new national profile has come an onslaught of conservative criticism portraying the 28-year-old, who is likely to become the youngest women ever elected to Congress, as naive and uninformed, in addition to being a terrifying preview of a socialist takeover of the Democratic Party. This week, conservative writer Ben Shapiro, who runs the Daily Wire, publicly challenged Ocasio-Cortez to a debate.

“Miss Ocasio-Cortez, I’m really excited that you’ve been elevated to that position and I would love to have a real conversation with you about the issues,” Shapiro said in a video message. In an insulting move, he even offered to contribute $10,000 to her campaign if she acquiesced. 

“Not only am I eager to discuss the issues with you, I’m willing to offer $10,000 to your campaign today for you to come on our Sunday special.”

On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez responded by explaining the insulting and sexist nature of Shapiro’s invite.

Naturally, conservatives were not thrilled:

https://twitter.com/NoahPollak/status/1027740637607546881

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DEMOCRACY DOES NOT EXIST...

without free and fair elections, a vigorous free press, and engaged citizens to reclaim power from those who abuse it.

In this election year unlike any other—against a backdrop of a pandemic, an economic crisis, racial reckoning, and so much daily crazy—Mother Jones' journalism is driven by one simple question: Will America move closer to, or further from, justice and equity in the years to come?

If you're able to, please join us in this mission with a donation today. Our reporting right now is focused on voting rights and election security, corruption, disinformation, racial and gender equity, and the climate crisis. We can’t do it without the support of readers like you, and we need to give it everything we've got between now and November. Thank you.

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