Progressive darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Friday had a temper tantrum on the House floor during a debate over the Wuhan coronavirus relief package that was being considered. Her biggest issue with the relief bill wasn't the price tag but that this was a "large corporate bailout."
According to AOC, the United States' future will become New York City's reality if Congress fails to act.
"Hospital workers do not have protective equipment. We don't have the necessary ventilators but we have to go into this vote with eyes wide open," she explained. "What did the Senate majority fight for? One of the largest corporate bailouts with as few strings as possible in American history. Shameful!"
"The greed of that fight is wrong, for crumbs for our families and the option that we have is to either let them suffer with nothing or to allow this greed and billions of dollars, which will be leveraged into trillions of dollars, to contribute to the largest income inequality gap in our future," Ocasio-Cortez said, flinging her arms. "There should be shame about what was fought for in this bill and the choices that we have to make."
AOC wasn't the only one that had a meltdown though. Freshman Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) refused to respect the fact that she ran out of time to make her position known. Instead, she continued on with her rant.
"We are so proud of Americans who are sacrificing so much right now. Our students gone from their beloved classrooms and classmates. We beam for our manufacturers–" Stevens said as her time expired. "I request 30 more seconds."
Even though her request was not granted, she continued to speak anyways.
"I rise before you adorning these latex gloves – not for personal attention, not for personal attention, not for personal attention – but to urge you to take this disease seriously," she said with her arms up in the air. "I rise for every American who is scared right now!"
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Eventually, she was granted 30 more seconds. Again, she went over her time allotment but continued on with her rant.
Both of these women try to make it appear as though they're standing up for average Americans and the millions of men and women who are currently out of work. The truth is they're focused on making this about partisan politics and advancing their own personal agenda.
The Senate passed this bill unanimously 96 to 0. That means Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), AOC's progressive mentor, voted in favor of this bill. Sanders was able to put his progressive fight on the back burner for a moment so Americans could receive some relief.
If people like Ocasio-Cortez and Stevens want to make issues about them, fine. So be it. But the least they could do is put that on hold for another day and another topic. The Wuhan coronavirus is infecting men, women and children of all walks of life. It doesn't care what political party a person belongs to, what color their skin is or how much money is in their wallet. It's hurting the American people, both physically and economically.
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