General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTwitter thread: Liberals Should Stop Believing What Conservatives Say Liberals Believe
Link to tweet
1. Something happened at the Capitol Tuesday to reaffirm my long-held view that liberals should stop believing what conservatives say liberals believe.
2. One of the biggest obstacles in the history of American liberalism has been this tendency among liberals to accept as true things liberalisms enemies say about it and them.
3. Newly elected members of the US Congress arrived for orientation. @Ocasio2018 spoke at a sit-in featuring about 200 people outside Nancy Pelosis office.
4. The protest, as it was called, was organized by an advocacy group aiming to raise awareness about climate change and to advocate for more green-energy jobs.
5. This was manna to Ocasio-Cortez, who made history as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress after unseating US Rep. Joe Crowley, the former No. 3 in the House Democratic leadership.
6. The 29-year-old Latina has been stumping for liberal candidates across the country, making liberal arguments in unapologetically liberal ways. That she spoke with activists demanding action from leading liberals should have come as no surprise to anyone any time anywhere.
7. But then came this bit of disinformation from the spokeswoman of Paul Ryan to Capitol Hill reporters, which set the tone for the entire day: "Huh, well this is unconventional," AshLee Strong wrote in an email. "The incoming speaker is getting protested by one of her freshman."
8. From this point onward, Ocasio-Cortez wasnt doing what a young dynamic liberal legislator does. No, no, no! She was protesting Pelosi!
9. AshLee Strong paved the way for every Capitol Hill reporter to tell a story they had been wanting to tell even though the narrative was based on a falsehood: that this unruly mob cant be controlled.
10. This narrative drew the ire of liberals who would have otherwise cheered Ocasio-Cortez. It rekindled the battle between the youngs and the olds, between centrists and leftists, and between insurgents and the establishment.
</snip>
20. AOC: This is about uplifting the voice and the message of the fact that we need a Green New Deal and we need to get to 100 percent renewables because our lives depend on it. ***We are here to back [Pelosi] up.***
21. To which, Pelosi said: We are inspired by the energy and activism of the many young activists and advocates leading the way on the climate crisis
22. Pelosi: We welcome the presence of these activists, and we strongly urge the Capitol Police to allow them to continue to organize and participate in our democracy.
23. Um, yeah, no. This was not a protest, as Republican AshLee Strong said. It was activism. This was not disunity. It was unity.
There's more but my copy-paste hand is worn out
demmiblue
(36,742 posts)2. One of the biggest obstacles in the history of American liberalism has been this tendency among liberals to accept as true things liberalisms enemies say about it and them.
3. Newly elected members of the US Congress arrived for orientation. @Ocasio2018 spoke at a sit-in featuring about 200 people outside Nancy Pelosis office.
4. The protest, as it was called, was organized by an advocacy group aiming to raise awareness about climate change and to advocate for more green-energy jobs.
5. This was manna to Ocasio-Cortez, who made history as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress after unseating US Rep. Joe Crowley, the former No. 3 in the House Democratic leadership.
6. The 29-year-old Latina has been stumping for liberal candidates across the country, making liberal arguments in unapologetically liberal ways. That she spoke with activists demanding action from leading liberals should have come as no surprise to anyone any time anywhere.
7. But then came this bit of disinformation from the spokeswoman of Paul Ryan to Capitol Hill reporters, which set the tone for the entire day: "Huh, well this is unconventional," AshLee Strong wrote in an email. "The incoming speaker is getting protested by one of her freshman."
8. From this point onward, Ocasio-Cortez wasnt doing what a young dynamic liberal legislator does. No, no, no! She was protesting Pelosi!
9. AshLee Strong paved the way for every Capitol Hill reporter to tell a story they had been wanting to tell even though the narrative was based on a falsehood: that this unruly mob cant be controlled.
10. This narrative drew the ire of liberals who would have otherwise cheered Ocasio-Cortez. It rekindled the battle between the youngs and the olds, between centrists and leftists, and between insurgents and the establishment.
11. Worse, it inspired some liberals to trot out the old (often vaguely sexist) nomenclature: Ocasio-Cortez was grandstanding. She was showboating. She was this, that, and whatever. Too many liberals accepted as true what liberalisms enemies said about it and them.
12. Thing is, when you actually listen to the women, a different picture comes to light. Not only was Ocasio-Cortez doing what young dynamic liberal legislators are supposed to dobring new energy and new ideas to the table
13. she was charting her own course while forging alliances with established powers. She created a bridge between an energized under-30 base & the partys leadership. Shell likely be an invaluable ally as Pelosi plots a way forward.
14. Few can say theyve accomplished more on their first day.
15. Bloomberg reported the incident was a challenge to party unity. The Times said earlier these renegades may be unwilling to toe the party line. Foxs Laura Ingraham thrilled at the sight of Nancy Pelosi trying to wrangle newly elected insurgents.
None of it was true.
16. As is the case when women rise to power, people are eager to project onto them what they want to see, and are not listening to what they are actually saying.
17. Reporters can be trusted to frame politics in conservative terms. Thats what happened. Right-wing media can be trusted to cement the view that the Democrats are a mob and risk overplaying their hand. Thats what happened. But liberals ought to know better.
18. Here is what Ocasio-Cortez said to activists:
Should Leader Pelosi become the next Speaker of the House, we need to tell her that weve got her back in showing and pursuing the most progressive energy agenda that this country has ever seen.
19. Later, to the news media:
AOC: One of the things I admire so much about Leader Pelosi is that she comes from a space of activism and organizing. And so I think that she really appreciates civic engagement. What Im here to do is to support the folks who are here.
20. AOC: This is about uplifting the voice and the message of the fact that we need a Green New Deal and we need to get to 100 percent renewables because our lives depend on it.
***We are here to back [Pelosi] up.***
21. To which, Pelosi said: We are inspired by the energy and activism of the many young activists and advocates leading the way on the climate crisis
22. Pelosi: We welcome the presence of these activists, and we strongly urge the Capitol Police to allow them to continue to organize and participate in our democracy.
23. Um, yeah, no. This was not a protest, as Republican AshLee Strong said. It was activism. This was not disunity. It was unity.
24. This isnt the Tea Party. This isnt a conservative party. Its a liberal and democratic party. Reporters should cover it as such if only for the purpose of accurately representing reality.
25. But liberals werent listening either. They should have been. Instead, they accepted as true what liberalisms enemies said about it and them.
26. Hi! Thanks for reading this thread. Please share! And please consider signing up for the Editorial Board, a daily newsletter about national politics. THANKS! stoehr.substack.com/p/listen-liber
CORRECTION: Crowley was the No. 4 House Dem, not No. 3. I regret the error.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1062761886796668934.html
blogslut
(37,955 posts)demmiblue
(36,742 posts)I trashed the thread that posted a tweet from the Hoarse Whisperer after it became obvious that people didn't take the time to listen/watch the video, which seems to be a common practice here (especially true regarding reading longer written news/opinion pieces). It would help if people didn't post tweets from Twitter sources who purposely spin events for their own purposes. Hell, there was a thread recently that received almost 200 recs based on info that was completely false (a frickin' single tweet that only a few decided to investigate).
Le sigh.
WhiteTara
(29,676 posts)Hermit-The-Prog
(33,021 posts)libdem4life
(13,877 posts)She carries a whole new generation(and some of us old fogies) on her back, and she knows it. Great Post.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,271 posts)... dull tired axes.
To them I say, congratulations, youve been suckered by Paul Ryans spokesperson and helped spread the unruly mob lies.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)And yes, I do mean everywhere. Those pots aren't going to stir themselves.
unblock
(51,973 posts)instead of asking aoc who or what she's protesting, they ask paul ryan's spokeswoman.
and instead of saying "you're wrong, that's not what she's protesting", they go ahead and put the bogus statement on the air, because it generates eyeballs, and that's more important to the media than the truth.
HopeAgain
(4,407 posts)many Dems jumped at the chance to go after AOC.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)All the GOP has are lies and hate.
pecosbob
(7,502 posts)Anytime you hear ANYTHING in the media about a Dem be suspicious of it's spin and it's origin. Notice how many even try to make the term progressive into a coded insult here at DU?
HopeAgain
(4,407 posts)the word "socialist" is on the comeback.
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)The GOP does a good job of defining what conflicts exist within the democratic party, even if they don't really exist.
Kurt V.
(5,624 posts)that scares the hell out of the GOP
Small-Axe
(359 posts)And now AOC is a "liberal" as opposed to a "progressive?"
"Unity" is fascinating.
demmiblue
(36,742 posts)" "
pwb
(11,204 posts)No names but they are obvious if one pays attention. I like the new blood and don't think they are dividing us at all. Way to early for this talk. They have not spoken in the floor or even cast one vote. Jeesh !!!!
FSogol
(45,355 posts)Autumn
(44,743 posts)Thanks for posting.
SweetieD
(1,660 posts)a ton of responses joining in the bashing. And most people did not bother to watch the video or read actual stories about it.
Autumn
(44,743 posts)And it was off and running.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,021 posts)Thank you for finding and posting this. It seemed fishy that Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez were being so amicable while the 'press' was clutching pearls and squawking.
Iggo
(47,486 posts)Celerity
(42,630 posts)greyl
(22,990 posts)greyl
(22,990 posts)On Saturday, Strong was simply going about her business setting the record straight on the Republicans American Health Care Act (AHCA)and by straight, she means all kinds of crooked.
AHCA was posted online a month ago, went through 4 committees, & has been scored by CBO twice, she tweeted Saturday morning.
Link to tweet
Pesky reporters and really anyone whos been following the news lately knew that the current version of the bill passed by the House this week had in fact not been scored by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), as Strong claimed. Many asked her for a link to that mystery CBO score.
https://splinternews.com/paul-ryan-s-spokeswoman-fed-up-with-people-calling-her-1794987872