Ocasio-Cortez slammed for banning press from public event

[Shumi]

Source: The Hill

New York Democratic House candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing blowback on social media after she banned reporters from a public town hall event earlier this week.

The event, which took place Sunday in the Queens borough of New York City, was open to the public but not the media.

Ocasio-Cortez's spokesman, Corbin Trent, told the Queens Chronicle that the banning was "an outlier" and the campaign is "still adjusting our logistics to fit Alexandria's national profile."

A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez's campaign declined to comment further to The Hill.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/media/402360-ocasio-cortez-slammed-for-banning-press-from-public-event

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A previous article on the topic by a different member was removed for being over 12 hours old.
This one is 2 hours old.

[Gothmog]

1. Why ban the press?

[RandySF]

2. Her staff don't know what they're doing.

[Cha]

41. Wasn't it AOC's decision? Didn't she say.. "..It's

a non story.."?

Which obviously it is.

[Shumi]

4. Because "the enemy of the people"

Or something.

[yardwork]

62. I believe that this may be stemming from the same source.

[onetexan]

3. banning the press from her townhall will only lead people to question WHY

and what she's got to say at the event that she doesn't want the public to know. Public events are to be PUBLIC, is that not the case? Otherwise they should have made it a private event.

[NastyRiffraff]

5. Does she really want to alienate the press this early in the game?

She SEEMS to be media savvy; she certainly knows how to attract attention, so this seems strange.

[OnlinePoker]

7. Someone else we know and love (to hate) has alienated the press

She should take a lesson and see how well that's worked out.

[TheCowsCameHome]

6. This won't play out well.

Nor should it. It is so Trumpesque

[George II]

10. No one in the back of the room to point at and say "you're fake news."

[George II]

8. It's not truly an outlier, they've been banned from two town halls. Kind of late....

....for a Congressional candidate's campaign to be "adjusting logistics to fit" her national profile.

(a spokesperson declined to comment further?)

Welcome to the real world, folks.

[pecosbob]

9. Consider the source and the lack of accompanying information

The Hill's spin on any story concerning Dems always seems to encourage Democratic infighting.
*Edited

[Shumi]

15. Washington Post reporter covering the White House

Link to tweet

?s=21

[pecosbob]

16. Thanks for the link

[mr_liberal]

20. Sounds like a 'safe space' for the 'snowflakes'. nt

[samnsara]

11. i think this signals the end of her short career..

[kstewart33]

12. Another mistake by a newcomer.

She's showing her inexperience and is in great need of a few top notch advisers. If this keeps up, her 15 minutes of fame will be over before she arrives in WDC.

[left-of-center2012]

13. Remind me why it's OK to attack Democratic candidates?

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. It should be when they do something dumb.

I think this qualifies as not very smart. Nothing good will come of it for her, that's for sure

[TeamPooka]

19. Because if we only attack Trump and the republicans when they ban the press from events it

makes us as hypocritical as them.
and then when people say both parties are the same they would be right.
We hold accountable our politicians in this party.
If you want to be seen as a New Democrat then don't act like an Old Republican.

[Cha]

42. Remind me why you think it's ok to cover up

news stories?

[left-of-center2012]

50. cover up ?

Where'd you get that from ?

I simply asked :
"Remind me why it's OK to attack Democratic candidates?”

DU rules say:
Support Democrats
Don't bash Democratic public figures

[Cha]

53. Reporting news stories is not "bashing".

Dictionary

bash·ing

/ˈbaSHiNG/

noun
informal

noun: bashing

violent physical assault.
"nine incidents of gay bashing were reported to the police"

•severe criticism.
"press bashing"

https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=gQh4W4mRKcOc0gKcv6TYDw&q=bashing+meaning&oq=bashing+meaning&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l10.2265005.2270521.0.2270875.15.11.0.4.4.0.293.1734.0j10j1.11.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.15.1851...0i131k1j0i10k1.0.kiHzNac5lp8

[left-of-center2012]

55. No, I asked ...

Where did you get the idea I wanted to "cover up" the story?

Never mind.
I'm not playing this 'debate game'.

bye

[Cha]

56. Good.

[left-of-center2012]

57. Congratulations

You win a place on my 'ignore list'.

[Cha]

58. Yes, Congratulations to ME!

Haha.. too bad you can't see this.

[stonecutter357]

59. Is this OP an attack on a Democratic candidates?

[left-of-center2012]

60. Not the OP, but many of the responses

Democratic primary election

On June 26, 2018, Ocasio-Cortez received 57.13 percent of the vote ...
Ocasio-Cortez will face Republican nominee Anthony Pappas in the November 6 general election in the race for U.S. House of Representatives for New York District 14.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez#General_election

[pecosbob]

17. MSM wants to dictate the narrative

and make the story all about her vs. the Democratic Party. Perhaps she doesn't want to play their game...

[Dave Starsky]

18. I love Alexandria as much as the next progressive guy.

But this wasn't a smart move. Invite the press, but tell them to hold their questions to the end. That's how it's always been done. This is strange to me, that she would do this.

[George II]

21. How is this a narrative dictated from the "MSM"? It's a narrative dictated by the campaign.

[pecosbob]

24. There is a continuing narrative in the mainstream media of AOC vs Democratic Party

Like clockwork every couple of days there's a new story about her vs the 'established' Democratic Party, either old vs. young or left vs. center and not about her candidacy or the things I imagine she wants to talk about. Just saying there's a lot of people invested in making her into a wedge for the Dems.

[OilemFirchen]

30. No there isn't.

However, on occasion, there's a report about her bashing "establishment" Democrats....because, on occasion, she does.

Do you think that the media should ignore this?

[George II]

31. Other than the times they've reported on her gaffes, the "mainstream media" (what is that anyway?)..

...has been gushing over her.

But your last thought is 100% correct - there's a lot of people invested in making her into a wedge for the Dems. The question, who are those people?

[Snellius]

37. Also trying to debunk her claims that Medicare for all will save money

which is true. The press always has to fit facts into a narrative and, even if they get the facts right, doesn't mean they get the story right, let alone the truth or how the story will be used.

[dansolo]

67. Actually, it is not true

She based that claim on a study that said that it could cost less IF all of the assumptions of Bernie's "medicare for all" legislation were correct. However, that same study concluded that the assumptions were most likely not valid, and his plan would cost more. Look it up yourself if you don't believe me.

https://www.mercatus.org/system/files/blahous-costs-medicare-mercatus-working-paper-v1_1.pdf

[Snellius]

68. Actually, it is.

Last edited Sun Aug 19, 2018, 12:55 PM - Edit history (1)

That Mercatus study was bogus, financed by the Koch Brothers, thru the libertarian Mercatus Center. It basically added up all the costs that came to about the same figure you get if you add up all we pay for Medicare, Medicaid, and private/group health insurance but didn't deduct all that would be saved. And the fact we're getting so much more. That study of savings is much more complicated and has not really been done. What businesses, for example, would save on employee health benefits and injury/disability claims. The paperwork alone. It would be competitively great for business. And what you're getting, medical coverage for everyone, is so much more than what it is now. Why does every advanced, and many not so advanced, countries in the world have some form of universal health care? Is the rest of world so stupid and we're the only ones who know how smart it is to pay through the nose.

[kstewart33]

26. She has not done well in previous interactions with the press.

Ms. O-C badly needs to study up on the issues in and beyond her platform and get some training in dealing with the press.

[DFW]

22. She's either smart enough to handle the media, or..........

She shouldn't be in politics to begin with.

In politics, you can either handle the media, own the media (e.g. Fox Noise/Soviet model), or piss them off, in which case, they'll have you for lunch.

The first option is not only the best, but also the most cost-effective. AOC doesn't have the money for number two, and she seems too smart to go for the third option. Instead of treating the press as an enemy to be held at arm's length, she is better off figuring out how to have them eating out of their hand, à la JFK. The press loves a wise Latina, not una Latina enfadada.

"Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer."

[pazzyanne]

23. Fox news is already all over this.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ocasio-cortez-bans-press-from-covering-campaign-event/ar-BBM494t?ocid=spartanntp

[nycbos]

25. Right now Ocasio-Cortez is acting like an AAA minor leaguer...

... who might have been called up to the majors a little too early.

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. But emotion. Same emotion that prompted "I just cant trust her", you know, how we got

here in the first place.

[kstewart33]

28. She is an AAA minor leaguer.

She has great potential. But presently she is in way over her head and is in danger of badly damaging her political career before it's barely started.

[Honeycombe8]

29. As well she should be criticized for it. It's wrong to ban the press for a public event,

no matter who does it. Trump, Cortez, whoever.

[JI7]

33. but it was open to public so anyone could have come in

[stuffmatters]

34. Open to all for sharing these specific concerns, yes. To photograph and expose victims, no.

[JI7]

35. if it was open to the public anyone can come in. were they doing background checks and ids of people

?

[stuffmatters]

38. She was holding a TH for victims of DA & immigrants and hoping to protect their anonimity & safety.

Done here. Not adding more hits to this anti O-C thread.

[Cha]

43. It's news.. "banning the press.. " Don't know

why you think it should be covered up?

[Cha]

69. Their names were posted on FB. She knows

it was wrong to ban the press.

[kstewart33]

36. Respectfully disagree.

We can support the Democratic nominee and still recognizes mistakes that are being made. I would gladly support Ms. O-C if I were a voter in her district.

I believe that she has real potential for a successful political career. However, she is making mistakes that threaten to seriously cripple her career.

You can support a Democrat without banning any criticism about mistakes he or she is making. I don't think that DU should or does support censorship.

[stuffmatters]

39. You just called her a "minor leaguerer" &concern trolling her "mistakes" is not "support"

That's what this whole thread is about.

[Cha]

44. All you have are personal insults.

[kstewart33]

49. True, I said she is a minor leaguer.

And in the world of politics on the national stage, that is exactly what she presently is. Ms. O-C won an impressive victory for the Democratic nomination in her district. She has not yet won her race. And so far, in interviews with the press, some televised, she has demonstrated that she has much work to do in developing a sound knowledge and understanding of issues beyond her platform.

When the Washington Post does a fact check on your statements in significant press interviews and concludes that you have a problem with facts, it's a problem.

IMHO, that problem is the reason why Ms. O-C banned the press from her recent event which the public attended. A questionable call given that anyone in the audience could have recorded her remarks. What the press could not do is ask her questions.

This is minor league behavior. And I am not trolling. I am stating facts and my view.

I'd gladly vote for her if I were in my district. I hope that she becomes a national-level spokesperson for the party.

But presently she has a problem. One that she can fix. And I'd argue that DU is and should not be the community where constructive concern about any Democratic candidate is censored.

[Thekaspervote]

40. We would all like to see young progressives succeed. I hope she reassess her actions. It won't

Bode well for long term survival

[JonLP24]

45. Considering her reasons to protect vulnerable populations

This is such a non-story to me.

[yardwork]

47. I can't agree. Banning the press is never, ever the right thing to do.

Journalism is under attack by Trump, and that's a first step into fascism. We can't allow Democratic candidates to ban the press from public appearances.

[JonLP24]

48. I think protecting vulnerable populations

Allowing them to speak openly to address those concerns especially undocumented is the right thing to do. We don't need those stories publicized especially on DV. I don't see it as an attack on the press but more of support for her constituents.

[Cha]

54. Then why did her campaign say..

"It won't happen again"?

[yardwork]

61. She's not a therapist. She's a politician.

This is a very dangerous path and I'm disappointed to see it promoted on DU. I strongly disagree with you.

[JonLP24]

64. That's fine

I understand her reasoning.

In a story first reported by the Queens Chronicle, her campaign manager, Vigie Ramos Rios, said the ban stemmed from the press attempting to question Ocasio-Cortez after a community meeting in the Bronx, despite the campaign saying ahead of time that there would be no question or interview opportunities after the event. Rios said that the candidate was “mobbed” by reporters, leading to the campaign to restrict the press from covering an event last Wednesday and Sunday.

“We wanted to help create a space where community members felt comfortable and open to express themselves without the distraction of cameras and press,” campaign spokesman Corbin Trent said in a statement to the Chronicle. “These were the first set of events where the press has been excluded. This is an outlier and will not be the norm. We’re still adjusting our logistics to fit Alexandria’s national profile.”

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/ocasio-cortez-defends-banning-press-campaign-event/story?id=57248722

[yardwork]

65. This is worse and worse. Now she won't take questions from the press?

Seriously?

[JonLP24]

66. She takes plenty of questions from the press

It is not unusual to set up a time and place or say there will be no time for questions. Politicians will set up press conferences all the time walk away without taking any questions. She is clearly responding to this story.

That's all I'm going to say, I trashed this thread a long time ago.

[rockfordfile]

46. Those actions remind me of another

[Scruffy1]

51. Definitely not ready for prime time.

I think it was a mistake to push a neophyte into the national scene where every mistake will be pounced on. The logic of this decision eludes me entirely. However, I am sure she will learn from the experience and maybe get some experienced staff.

[dlk]

52. Something Smells Funny

She has denigrated the older Democratic congressional office-holders and now she's banned the press from a "public event." Something is off, more than inexperience.

[democratisphere]

63. Definitely not ready for prime time.