The mastermind behind Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning upset primary victory over longtime Congressman Joe Crowley has been heavily criticized by the congresswoman for his “divisive comments” directed at other Democrats.
Saikat Chakrabarti sent a now-deleted tweet in June that accused fellow “moderate” Democrats of being racists:
Whoa. @AOC’s chief just deleted this. pic.twitter.com/xRJphPAkwb
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) June 27, 2019
Several of these Democrats voted in favor of the Trump-supported border funding bill.
The tweet was from June 27, and AOC finally got around to condemning it today.
“I think it was divisive,” Ocasio-Cortez told the New York Daily News. “I believe in criticizing stances, but I don’t believe in specifically targeting members.”
Chakrabarti took the tweet down after her office held an “internal conversation” over his comments, Ocasio-Cortez said. The New York Democrat insisted Chakrabarti’s abrupt departure from her office Friday had nothing to do with his controversial tweet.
“We had been discussing this transition before that whole incident happened,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
What happened to the fire-breathing former bartender who was threatening to primary every “moderate” Democrat and their dog in order to purify the party?
Maybe this had something to do with it:
Chakrabarti’s departure comes as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is investigating alleged campaign financed violations involving him and two political action committess that funneled over $1 million into an LLC he controlled during the 2018 midterm elections.
Ocasio-Cortez served on the board of one of Chakrabarti’s PACs, Justice Democrats, from late 2017 to July 2018, while it was simultaneously supporting her primary campaign. She never reported her affiliation with the PAC to the FEC, the Daily Caller News Foundation first reported.
Ocasio-Cortez’s relationship with Justice Democrats has prompted at least three FEC complaints against her campaign.
Being under investigation by the FEC, like the prospect of being hung, concentrates the mind wonderfully.
The congresswoman dismissed the complaints as a “form of legal trolling” from “fringe, Republican groups.”
Ocasio-Cortez said Chakrabarti and his PACs operated “in total compliance,” adding that they were “in conversation” with the FEC.
Chakrabarti, who? Never heard of him.
Actually, it seems pretty obvious that the rookie congresswoman has overstepped her bounds and has been slapped down by the Democratic leadership, including Speaker Pelosi. The speaker may very well have read her the riot act and informed her in no uncertain terms that if she wants the support of the Democratic Party, and play a role in policymaking, she’s going to have to tone it down and toe the line. And that means no more saying mean, spiteful things about other Democratic members — even if they disagree with her.
I don’t think we’re going to see a kinder, gentler AOC — especially when it comes to criticizing Trump and the Republicans. But her mates in the Justice Democrats Party may pick up the ball and line up challengers for those Democratic apostates who aren’t
Join the conversation as a VIP Member