Ocasio-Cortez Calls for 2020 Democrat To Drop Out Because She Disagrees with Him on an Issue
Longshot Democrat presidential candidate John Delaney received a scolding from New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday along with marching orders to drop out of the race because he does not see things her way on the issue of Medicare for All.
Delaney, a former congressman from Maryland, had sought to boost his campaign by appearing at the California Democratic Convention along with multiple other presidential candidates. Although Delaney announced his campaign in mid-2017, he does not register support in many polls, according to RealClearPolitics.
During his appearance, he dissed Medicare for All as “not good policy,” Fox News reported, and was roundly booed. That led Ocasio-Cortez to assume the role of arbiter of who should and should not be running for president.
“Since there’s so many people running for President (& not enough for Senate), instead of obsessing over who‘s a ‘frontrunner,’ maybe we can start w some general eliminations. This awful, untrue line got boo’ed for a full minute. John Delaney, thank you but please sashay away,” she tweeted Sunday.
Since there’s so many people running for President (& not enough for Senate), instead of obsessing over who‘s a “frontrunner,” maybe we can start w some general eliminations.
This awful, untrue line got boo’ed for a full minute.
John Delaney, thank you but please sashay away ?? https://t.co/0RDOwbfcgv
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2019
No doubt applying the adage that all publicity is good publicity, Delaney took full advantage of getting his name in front of Ocasio-Cortez’s more than four million followers to reply to her via Twitter.
“Hey @AOC, we have the same goal, universal healthcare for everyone, we just have different ways of getting there. Healthcare is the #1 issue for voters, so let’s debate the way forward. Any show of your choosing. Healthcare is too important for tweets, we need real discussion,” he tweeted.
Hey @AOC, we have the same goal, universal healthcare for everyone, we just have different ways of getting there. Healthcare is the #1 issue for voters, so let’s debate the way forward. Any show of your choosing. Healthcare is too important for tweets, we need real discussion. https://t.co/LDrWa9sZQD
— John Delaney (@JohnDelaney) June 3, 2019
Delaney followed that up with a statement released Monday by his press secretary, Michael Starr Hopkins, according to The Hill.
“The only person Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez helped with her tweet about Congressman Delaney was Donald Trump,” the statement said.
“If Democrats are serious about beating the President at the ballot box, we need less political grandstanding and more truth-telling from the Bernie wing of the party.”
“2016 should have taught us that if we allow this primary to become a popularity contest on Twitter rather than a debate of ideas in the public square, the country will lose. We’ve seen this playbook before and it ends with a second term for Donald Trump,” the statement added.
Ocasio-Cortez did not engage Delaney directly on Twitter, but she did post more comments defending Medicare for All.
✅ Medicare for All IS sound policy – one may disagree w/ it, but plenty of other countries have single payer + better outcomes than the US
✅ M4A IS good politics – it polls VERY well in swing states
✅ “Third-Way” (aka lobbyist-backed Dems) WILL lose the presidency to Trump— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2019
Reminder that @RepJayapal already took everyone to school on #MedicareForAll.
Watching how Pres candidates speak about healthcare really tells you who’s studied these proposals + who hasn’t ?
How much is Medicare for All? LESS than our current system. https://t.co/swMv0Jz7Fw
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 2, 2019
Many on Twitter thought Ocasio-Cortez’s slam was out of line.
WONDERFUL! SHE THINKS SHE’S STILL SERVING DRINKS AT THE BAR — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells 2020 Democrat John Delaney to ‘please sashay away’ https://t.co/pnV0fulFkV
— Cletus (@Cletus1942) June 3, 2019
Hashtag You AWAY !!! You are NO GOOD for Your State or OUR COUNTRY !! Need to Be VOTED OUT !!! Ocasio-Cortez tells Democratic hopeful Delaney to ‘sashay away’ after Medicare-for-All commenthttps://t.co/FgSbzVHxWZ
— Elizabeth Sellick (@busters2215) June 3, 2019
At the California Democratic Convention, Delany was roundly booed when he criticized the concept of Medicare for All.
“Medicare for All may sound good, but it’s actually not good policy, nor is it good politics,” Delaney said, according to CNN.
“We should have universal health care, but it shouldn’t be the kind of health care that kicks 150 million Americans off their health care,” he said.
“That’s not smart policy. I want everyone to have health care, but it’s got to be a plan that works for every American.”
Delaney’s words did not stop the booing, leading him to add one more remark.
“This is called the battle of ideas, my friends,” he said.
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