Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said her party was still stuck in its “old ways” as it responded to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s failed bid to be chair of the Democratic Oversight Committee, and suggested they were focusing too much on seniority.
“While I think they’re both quite qualified, I think that within the Democratic caucus, we’re really stuck in our old ways of doing things, which is that you get there by seniority. And so if you’re there longer, you’re going to get a chance,” Crockett said. Who might be better equipped for this moment?
Ocasio-Cortez lost her bid to be the committee’s top Democrat to Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia, who is more moderate. The 74-year-old lawmaker’s victory over Ocasio-Cortez was seen as a blow to progressives.
“I think America looks at us and says, ‘Wait a minute, we lost the election, we know the Senate lost seats, and now we’ve gained seats in the House, right?’ But I think they’re saying, ‘We’re looking forward to all of you to show us that you “Willing to make radical change if it means we can move this country forward.”
Rep. Crockett joined MSNBC on Saturday and said Democrats are stuck in their “old ways.” (Screenshot/MSNBC)
AOC’s loss in her bid for House committee chairman signals a generational choice for Democrats
Crockett said the Oversight Committee would be in good hands under Connolly’s leadership, but said frequent leadership changes would benefit Democrats.
“I think we’ll have conversations within the caucus about how we do leadership, because on the Republican side, they have term limits, and so you can’t stay in those positions for very long, so they end up handing over their leadership a lot more often than we do in the caucus,” he said. Democratic side.
Ocasio-Cortez’s loss was criticized by several media outlets, including MSNBC’s Jen Psaki, who said it was a clear opportunity for Democrats to show they had learned from the election results.
“This is one of the few committees in Congress that actually gets national attention or media coverage. And under Jamie Raskin, it has become a critical platform for countering Republican disinformation. And while I have deep respect for Speaker Pelosi…I have nothing against Congressman Connolly,” Psaki said. “Absolutely, it seemed like a clear opportunity to apply some of the lessons we should have learned from the November election.”
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Psaki added that Democrats have passed over “one of the youngest and most media-savvy members of Congress for a key public leadership role.”
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes also criticized Democrats for passing on AOC, and pointed to former House Speaker Pelosi specifically for knocking votes for Connolly.
“But now Pelosi has canvassed to make sure Connolly gets the job overseeing the party’s young star, even as the 84-year-old Pelosi recovers from hip surgery after a fall. It feels like a moment of true madness.” “And Democrats are not taking this issue seriously, despite everything that’s happened,” Hayes said. But they need to.”
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The View co-host Sunny Hostin also objected to Ocasio-Cortez’s loss and spoke in favor of her progressive policies, which she said should be popular among all Americans.
“She’s been demonized by the right, she’s been demonized as someone who’s too progressive on the far left, and I want to try to set the record straight because if she’s too progressive, the Democrats are really going to lose.” “Working class,” Hostin said Wednesday.
