Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) reacted to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s failed attempt to take over as chair of the Democratic Oversight Committee, saying her party was still stuck in “old ways.” I suggested that I was focusing too much on .
“I think they’re both absolutely qualified, but I think within the Democratic caucus we’re really stuck in the old way of doing things, reaching by seniority. So if you’ve been there longer you’ll get a spot. And we’re not going to sit there completely and ask, ‘Who’s the best person for this moment?’” Crockett said.
Ocasio-Cortez lost her bid to become the Democratic Party’s highest-ranking candidate to more moderate Democrat Gary Connolly, D-Va. The 74-year-old congresswoman’s victory over Ocasio-Cortez was seen as a blow to progressive forces.
“America looks at us and says, ‘Wait a minute. We lost the election, the Senate lost seats, and now the House of Representatives knows we won seats. I think he’s saying, ‘Right?’ But I think they are looking to you to show that you are willing to shake things up if it means we can move this country forward,” Crockett said.
Crockett said the Oversight Committee would do a good job under Connolly, but said more frequent changes in leadership would help Democrats.
“I think we’re going to have a conversation in the caucus about how to lead. On the Republican side, there are term limits, so you can’t stay in that position for long, so you get to exercise a lot of leadership. “More often than on our Democratic side,” he said.
Ocasio-Cortez’s loss drew criticism from several journalists, including MSNBC’s Jen Psaki. He said it was a clear opportunity for Democrats to show they had learned their lessons from the election results.
“This is one of the few committees in Congress that actually generates national attention or media coverage. Under Jamie Raskin, it became an important platform for countering Republican misinformation. I have great respect for Speaker Pelosi and nothing against Representative Connolly, but this felt like a clear opportunity to apply some of the lessons we should have learned from the November election,” Psaki said.
Psaki added that Democrats had replaced “one of the youngest, most media-savvy members of Congress for a key public leadership role.”
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes also criticized Democrats for passing AOC and took a cue from Pelosi, the former House speaker, specifically for voting for Connolly.
“But now Pelosi has swung the votes to ensure Connolly secures the oversight job for the party’s young star, even as the 84-year-old Pelosi recovers from hip surgery after a fall. It feels like a real moment of madness,” Hayes said. “And the Democrats, despite everything that has happened, are not taking this seriously. But it needs to be done.”
‘The View’ co-host Sunny Hostin also took issue with Ocasio-Cortez’s loss and voiced support for her progressive policies, which she said should be popular with all Americans. I did it.
“She has been demonized by the right. She’s been demonized as too much of a liberal far-left person. I want to try to set the record straight because if she’s too progressive, the Democrats will really lose. Working class,” Hostin said Wednesday.
