A thread for mocking politicians

[Jennifer]

If she doesn't want to move to DC before January, then there's no problem, so she has nothing to complain about.

I didn't read what she said as a "complaint," merely an explanation of why she's not moving to DC just yet.

Also, if you say "don't worry" and "we're working it out" then you don't get to say oh but also this is a huge problem with the system. If it's a problem then we should be worried. If we're not supposed to worry, nothing is wrong.

She didn't say it was a "huge" problem; she said (on Twitter) “There are many little ways in which our electoral system isn’t even designed (nor prepared) for working-class people to lead [and]This is one of them." Little, not huge.

[Aresen]

A 'working class person' who can't figure out how to transition for 3 months to a salary of $174,000/yr is too dumb to be allowed into Congress. She isn't stupid, but this is a stupid comment.

Huh? She is figuring out "how to transition for 3 months" (she saved money from her bartender job before quitting); she just can't afford to also rent a DC apartment during that time. I still don't see why I'm supposed to feel contemptuous of her because of that.

I assumed her comment was generic, not particular. She is obviously intelligent enough to figure it out, but the suggestion that it is a barrier that someone cannot surmount because of their social class is stupid. I don't know rents in DC, but I am guessing an apartment can be found for under $5k/m. On a guaranteed salary of $174k/yr, I am sure she could borrow $30k (additional funds for living expenses) from a legitimate source and repay it in 2 years.

Also, what was the "millennial attempt at humor" you were complaining about?

“I have three months without a salary before I’m a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment?” Ocasio-Cortez, 29, told the New York Times. “We’re kind of just dealing with the logistics of it day by day, but I’ve really been just kind of squirreling away and then hoping that gets me to January.”

Oh, poor me! I have no salary for three months until I take my place in one of the world's most powerful legislative bodies. How will I live? Tee hee hee!

I am sure that Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi can initiate her into the wonders of paid speaking engagements in the meantime.

[Jennifer]

Oh, poor me! I have no salary for three months until I take my place in one of the world's most powerful legislative bodies. How will I live? Tee hee hee!

If you're determined to find something contemptible in what she said then sure, that's a reasonable interpretation.

[Aresen]

Oh, poor me! I have no salary for three months until I take my place in one of the world's most powerful legislative bodies. How will I live? Tee hee hee!

If you're determined to find something contemptible in what she said then sure, that's a reasonable interpretation.

I said it was a millennial attempt at humor, which I still maintain. If you want to equate that with 'contempt', so be it. I have plenty of other reasons to have contempt for her politics - such as her position on free tuition for all. I do not make the mistake of having contempt for her intelligence.

[Jennifer]

I still don't read it as attempted humor, but as a straightforward explanation of her current situation: she can't afford to move to DC yet, but should be able to get by until then. Did you see a video of her saying this, with a tone of voice suggesting she was trying to be funny, or are you only reading humor between the lines of text here?

[JD]

I gotta come down on the side of "asinine and obtuse", whether she was trying to be funny or not. She's not wrong that it is difficult to move to a new high-cost-of-living city when your job doesn't start for a while. She seems to be implying, though, that this is something special about her or something about our system of governance, and not a problem that a shit-ton of people have faced with way less resources than she has at her disposal. Also, did she not have any plan for what she was going to do post-election if she won?

[thoreau]

I'm not a fan of hers, but let's be honest: Her job has already started. There is no doubt a ton of prep work that goes on before officially taking office. The official start date is not the real story.

That said, she can figure it out.

[Jasper]

Why is she going 3 months without a salary?

Did she quit her job to run for office? Did she even have a job?

I confess to knowing next to nothing about her except through memes.

[Jennifer]

I gotta come down on the side of "asinine and obtuse", whether she was trying to be funny or not. She's not wrong that it is difficult to move to a new high-cost-of-living city when your job doesn't start for a while. She seems to be implying, though, that this is something special about her

Compared to her new colleagues in Congress, though, it is.

[Eric the .5b]

I gotta come down on the side of "asinine and obtuse", whether she was trying to be funny or not. She's not wrong that it is difficult to move to a new high-cost-of-living city when your job doesn't start for a while. She seems to be implying, though, that this is something special about her

Compared to her new colleagues in Congress, though, it is.

A third of the city is below the poverty line, last I checked. Most of them find somewhere to live.

[Jennifer]

I agree with Reason's take on the issue: "Criticize Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Her Socialist Views, Not Her Struggle to Find Affordable Housing in D.C."

A New York Times profile of newly elected Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez noted that the young democratic socialist was having some trouble finding an apartment in Washington D.C.

"I have three months without a salary before I'm a member of Congress," said Ocasio-Cortez. "So, how do I get an apartment? Those little things are very real."

This comment was the hook for an odd segment on Fox News; the panelists sort of seemed to be mocking her while simultaneously agreeing that D.C. is unaffordable for renters. It sounded like they really wanted to accuse Ocasio-Cortez of hypocrisy, but there's nothing hypocritical about being a socialist who is poor.

Their callousness gave Ocasio-Cortez an opening.

"40% of ALL Americans currently struggle to pay for one basic need like food or rent," she tweeted. "The real scandal is that at the wealthiest point in our history, we are at one of our most unequal. Most Americans are barely scraping by."

Like other major cities, D.C.'s housing issues are partly the fault of government policy: most notably, zoning laws that make it difficult to build new apartment buildings. The city council even moved to restrict Airbnb type arrangements—the exact kind of short-term housing Ocasio-Cortez is currently in need of—to appease residents who are fixated on the downsides of greater density (i.e., having more neighbors who occasonally make noise).

The free market could help alleviate housing shortages in D.C. and elsewhere, if only government would get out of the way. It's perfectly appropriate to criticize the kinds of anti-market policy prescriptions a socialist like Ocasio-Cortez is likely to recommend. But let's not beat up on her for failing to have as much access to wealth as the average member of Congress. This problem should inspire sympathy, not scorn.

[JasonL]

I think the apartment thing detracts from the important message that’s she’s completely retarded in the “unemployment is low because everyone works two jobs” sort of way. Fucking. Stupid.

[Eric the .5b]

Also maybe because "I have to live in DC because I chose to run for office" is hard to pity anyone over.

[Warren]

I think the apartment thing detracts from the important message that’s she’s completely retarded in the “unemployment is low because everyone works two jobs” sort of way. Fucking. Stupid.

+1

[thoreau]

I didn't realize that Kirsten Gillibrand has an astronomy degree!

[Eric the .5b]

I didn't realize that Kirsten Gillibrand has an astronomy degree!

*blinks*

*looks around*

*reaches down and double-checks...*